Autism, a neurodevelopmental difference, has become much better understood in recent years, as more children are identified and diagnosed. A great deal of research looks at the causes of autism, and a growing number of studies and programs focus on helping autistic people take part fully in school, work and community life.
There are plenty of debates in this area, such as how best to support the symptomatic issues related to Autism, how much to focus on social skills, and what kinds of jobs suit people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
In 2015, a Curry School professor presented a method to make reading easier for students who are dealing with Autism. His interest-based reading approach aims to aid students with autism by building on what they already love.
Michael Solis, an assistant professor of social education at the Curry School, developed an approach called “Interest-based Reading”. It uses autistic students’ own interests to motivate them to read and to improve their comprehension.
The approach is aimed at children from grade four to grade eight.
Solis recognises that many autistic children find conventional texts daunting. They may find it hard to pick out the main idea from all the details. Texts with multiple characters, each with their own point of view and emotions, are more complex still. Many autistic children read and express emotions differently, so working out the unspoken feelings of fictional characters in textbooks can be especially hard.
Solis and his team found that children with Autism respond much more positively when the text covers topics they are naturally curious about. Interest-based reading can make it easier for autistic children to understand what they read and build skills through their own interests.
Solis believes the same logic could be applied to other kinds of text, helping children gain many different kinds of knowledge.
His research also incorporates ‘the token economy behavioral system‘, in which children are given small tokens or rewards for the behaviour being encouraged. With a positive, supportive teacher beside them, reading can become a more rewarding experience for children with autism.
Solis acknowledges something many parents and teachers of autistic children know well: getting an autistic child to sit down and read can be very hard. Plenty of children don’t enjoy sitting down with a book. For an autistic child, sitting still in one place, unfamiliar texts and sensory distractions can make it even harder.
In the study, interest-based reading worked best when it was combined with the token economy system.
Solis hopes this approach can be used widely to help children with autism read and understand what they read, a skill that will benefit them throughout their lives, including in further study and work.
Autism and reading at home
You can use the same idea at home. Find books, magazines or websites about your child’s favourite topics, whether that’s trains, animals, space or a favourite game. Let them choose, read together, and keep sessions short. A comfortable spot, movement breaks and reading on a screen or in large print can all make reading easier. Talk about what happened and why characters felt the way they did, using your child’s interests as the bridge.
Also, read our posts on:
How leveraging reading skills can support autistic children
First Responders in Newfoundland Learn Strategies to Aid Autistic People
I am Ash and I celebrate Neurodiversity! Growing up with an elder brother with severe Autism was tough – but it has also taught me essential life lessons. I don’t believe that people with Autism are necessarily or have any disorder (except in extreme cases). They are just different! And that is something to be proud of! I am passionate about helping other families who may have Autism conditions in their family. So please reach out and drop me a note. I will be glad to help 🙂
