Effects of Direct Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Autism and Developmental Disabilities

This study investigated effects of a Direct Instruction reading comprehension program implemented with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD). There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of reading comprehension Direct Instruction (DI). This study extended previous research by investigating the extent to which more complex instruction could be implemented with students with ASD and DD and its effect on their reading comprehension. A multiple probe across behaviors design was used. A functional relation between Direct Instruction and reading comprehension skills and behaviors was demonstrated across all behavioral conditions and across students. Data were also collected using curriculum-based assessments and all student demonstrated improvement. Results and their implications are discussed further. Though not indicated in diagnostic criteria for pervasive developmental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), reading comprehension deficits are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Kanner (1943) initially observed such difficulties in depth of understanding of reading materials in his participants. Individuals with ASD often have delays in both reading decoding and reading comprehension (Nation, Clarke, Wright, & Williams, 2006). However, other individuals with ASD have significant discrepancies between their reading decoding skills, which are relatively high, and their reading comprehension skills, which are relatively low (Newman et al., 2007). That is, reading decoding skills and reading fluency may be at or above levels anticipated by mental age or intelligence, while reading comprehension skills are significantly delayed (O’Conner & Hermelin, 1994; Frith & Snowling, 1983). Ultimately, it is clear that individuals with autism spectrum disorders are a diverse group in terms of reading skills (Nation et al.). Researchers have investigated a few components of reading comprehension and related skill areas. Nation et al. (2006) found that children with ASD who have deficits in reading comprehension also have deficits in comprehending oral language. Frith (2003) and O’Conner and Klein (2004) noted that integration of contextual information is difficult for individuals with autism. Specifically, Frith and Snowling (1983) found that people with autism have difficulty determining the appropriate homograph given the context of a sentence. Wahlberg and Magliano (2004) investigated reading comprehension in high functioning individuals with autism and observed that they had deficits in connecting previous information with ambiguous texts to assist with comprehension and difficulties making global and abstract connections to what they had read, compared to matched peers. O’Conner and Klein also stated that people with ASD have difficulty monitoring their comprehension as they read. Sandaña and Frith (2007) challenged previous findings, discovering that individuals with ASD read questions as quickly as their matched peers when those questions were related to Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Margaret M. Flores, Dept. Special Education Rehabilitation Counseling/School Psychology, College of Education, 2084 Haley Center, Auburn, Alabama 36849. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 2009, 44(1), 39–53 © Division on Developmental Disabilities Effects of Direct Instruction / 39 previously read texts and more slowly when they were not, as did their peers. They suggest that this indicates reading comprehension difficulties might be caused, not by difficulty making inferences or lack of background knowledge, but instead by difficulties with higher processing skills. Nation and Norbury (2005) and Snowling and Frith (1986) have asserted that oral language skill deficits have a negative impact on reading comprehension skills in individuals with ASD. Although some individuals with ASD do not speak, even those who do speak and who have normal cognitive functioning often have deficits in language skills (Lord & Paul, 1997). In particular, most individuals with ASD find that abstract and figurative language is difficult to comprehend (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), which directly impacts reading comprehension tasks beyond literal and recall questions. Further, Happé (1994) and Jolliffe and Baron-Cohen (1999) found that high functioning individuals with autism had difficulty understanding stories, particularly when they were required to understand characters’ thought processes. Norbury and Bishop (2002) also discovered story comprehension deficits in high functioning individuals with autism, specifically observing that these individuals had difficulties considering information from multiple sources, made incorrect inferences, had poor shortterm memories, and had inefficient working memories. These areas of deficit necessitate research investigating effective and explicit strategies to address oral language skills that are prerequisites for figurative and abstract skills required for reading comprehension. Interventions in Reading Comprehension for Individuals with ASD Little research had been conducted regarding methods best suited to teach reading comprehension or prerequisite oral language skills to individuals with ASD. Three studies have demonstrated such methods. O’Conner and Klein (2004) improved reading comprehension in 20 children with ASD via cueing students regarding pronouns referents. Kamps, Barbetta, Leonard, and Delquadri (1994) implemented classwide peer tutoring in an elementary general education classroom that included three children with high-functioning autism, resulting in improvements in reading fluency and comprehension. Flores and Ganz (in press) implemented Direct Instruction (DI) Corrective Reading (Engelmann, Haddox, Hanner, & Osborn, 2002) for reading comprehension with four children with ASD and reading delays, finding that the participants mastered comprehension of statement inference, using facts, and word-based analogies and maintained those skills one month following instruction. While only one study has reported the effects of DI reading comprehension for children with ASD (Flores & Ganz, 2007), several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of DI for other children with reading comprehension deficits. Specifically, DI has been used to improve reading comprehension in children in general education classrooms (MacIver & Kemper, 2002; Ryder, Burton, & Silberg, 2006), students with learning disabilities and mental retardation (Carlson & Francis, 2002), English language learners (Carlson & Francis), individuals with epilepsy (Humphries, Neufeld, Johnson, Engels, & McKay, 2005), and students at risk for school failure (Carlson & Francis; Fredrick, Keel, & Neel, 2002; Grossen, 2004). DI reading comprehension approaches have resulted in improvements when implemented with students with reading difficulties across a range of ages, from elementary (Carlson & Francis; Fredrick et al.; Humphries et al.) to middle school (Grossen; Humphries et al.). Purpose and Research Questions The purpose of this study was to extend the research regarding the use of DI to improve reading comprehension of students with ASD and developmental disabilities (DD). Flores and Ganz (2007) implemented portions of a DI program and measured student progress with probes that were similar to the program skills and tasks. This study implemented different and more complex portions of the program and in addition to instructional probes, student progress was measured using curriculum-based assessments and standardized assessments. The research study investigated the following: (a) the extent to which more difficult and complex tasks included in the Direct 40 / Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities-March 2009 Instruction program could be implemented with students with ASD and DD and (b) the effectiveness of a Direct Instruction program with regard to reading comprehension skills in students with ASD and DD, specifically investigating their progress in picture analogies, inductions, deductions, and (c) the effect of the DI program on the students’ overall reading comprehension as measured through curriculum-based assessments.