Quality Literacy Instruction for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Christina Carnahan and Pamela Williamson see reading as a difficulty for kids with autism. The reason isn’t a case of “can or can’t read,” but a case of what part they will read. They discuss how an autistic child might have what they call “selective attention,” where they’ll focus on only one part. This makes sense, because autistic children often focus on certain shapes or colors, not on the whole picture. If you think of it, they may have a sort of “tunnel vision” that a baseball pitcher would have, as opposed to the outfielder, who has to be watching the whole field. The question is, what does the teacher do about it?

In a later chapter, Dr. Kara Hume gives an example of scheduling to keep the student aware and one task. Each student is given a schedule that shows what is expected for that day, so they know what to expect when they come in. So far so good, all students need structure. But what about the student who is easily distracted, or has trouble with multiple instructions? For this, Dr. Hume suggests a “visual schedule,” where symbols or illustrations are used. For an activity that involves listening, a picture of a kid with headphones can be used. For math problems, 2+2 can be used, or you can use a pie chart, ruler, or abacus. This can be applied to reading a chapter as well; you can break it down into characters, events, or how the characters change.

What we have here is a case study on literacy for autistic students, written by a selection of experts on educating students with special needs. The general purpose of the book is to provide instructional approaches for literacy, but in a way that allows them to be educated with all other students. The use of visual cues and scheduling teaches time management, while story diagramming teaches them to focus on multiple factors, not just one.

Unfortunately, many of the services discussed in this book, such as resource rooms, will be unavailable in many schools. It remains to be seen how the nation’s schools will improve with regard to special education services.