As many as 1 in 54 students may be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and these students face a variety of academic challenges, including literacy difficulties. In the second of two forums in this month’s issue of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (LSHSS), Guest Editors Marleen F. Westerveld and Jessica Paynter present seven articles highlighting “Literacy in Autism—Across the Spectrum.”

Westerveld and Paynter open the forum with an introduction summarizing the papers and providing their perspective on the importance of the forum. “The question that drives our research efforts is why this population is at increased risk of literacy difficulties compared to their peers without ASD, with the ultimate aim of delivering early, targeted, individualized intervention to those who need it” (Westerveld & Paynter, 2021, p. 149).

After the introduction, a tutorial by Fleury et al. summarizes practical, evidence-based strategies on using shared book reading to encourage comprehension skills in preschoolers with ASD. Preschoolers with ASD are also the subject of an article later in the forum by Dynia and Solari, which looks at the print-related skills of typically developing preschoolers compared to preschoolers with ASD and those with developmental language disorder (DLD).

Children with ASD who are nonverbal have been described as “the neglected end of the spectrum” (Tager-Flusberg & Kasari, 2013). In the fourth article, Clendon and colleagues focus on this population, presenting an emergent and early literacy assessment battery with ASD-specific assessment considerations for use when working with children with ASD who are nonverbal.

Finally, three articles look at issues pertaining to school-aged children with autism. Davidson outlines the many factors that contribute to poor reading outcomes for students with ASD. Later, McIntyre and colleagues focus on high school students, studying the literacy skills of a large and diverse sample of high school students with ASD. In the final article of the forum, Arciuli and Bailey show the advantages of a comprehensive approach to early literacy instruction for children with ASD.

We’d like to thank Drs. Westerveld and Paynter for putting together this forum for LSHSS. To view a video of the editors discussing the forum, see the link below under the “Related Media” tab. Check out this forum, as well as one on African American English, here, or explore the individual articles below. We hope you enjoy this forum on literacy skills in children with ASD!

References

Tager-Flusberg, H., & Kasari, C. (2013). Minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder: The neglected end of the spectrum. Autism Research, 6(6), 468–478. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1329

Westerveld, M. F., & Paynter, J. (2021). Introduction to the forum: Literacy in autism—Across the spectrum. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 149­­–152. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00124

Explore the Forum

Arciuli, J., & Bailey, B. (2021). The promise of comprehensive early reading instruction for children with autism and recommendations for future directions. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00019

Clendon, S., Paynter, J., Walker, S., Bowen, R., & Westerveld, M. F. (2021). Emergent literacy assessment in children with autism spectrum disorder who have limited verbal communication skills: A tutorial. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 165­­–180. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00030

Davidson, M. M. (2021). Reading comprehension in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder: Examining the many components that may contribute. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 181–196. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00010

Dynia, J. M., & Solari, E. J. (2021). Print knowledge in children with autism spectrum disorder: Do child and family variables play a role? Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 197­­–208. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00025

Fleury, V. P., Whalon, K., Gilmore, C., Wang, X., & Marks, R. (2021). Building comprehension skills of young children with autism one storybook at a time. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 153­­–164. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00026

McIntyre, N. S., Tomaszewski, B., Hume, K. A., & Odom, S. L. (2021). Stability of literacy profiles of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and associations with stakeholder perceptions of appropriate high school support needs. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00016

Westerveld, M. F., & Paynter, J. (2021). Introduction to the forum: Literacy in autism—Across the spectrum. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 149­­–152. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00124