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Abstract
Introduction
The most recent report from the Center for Disease Control
(2014) states that 1 in 68 children are currently diagnosed with autism
spectrum disorder. Many of these students are taught in the regular
education classroom. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
are characterized by their differences in socialization, restricted and
limited interests, and communication abilities (Williamson, Carnahan, &
Jacobs, 2012). According to Flores and Ganz (2007), students with
autism have difficulty drawing on background knowledge to
comprehend texts. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
requires school districts to assess students with disabilities using
standardized tests and to use scientifically based learning strategies to
teach students with disabilities (Yell, Drasgow, & Lowrey, 2005). For
this reason, regular classroom teachers need to understand specific
strategies that can be used to help autistic students comprehend texts
by drawing on background information to make inferences.
Researchers have known for quite some time that the integration of
background knowledge is key to making inferences, however not much
research has been devoted to methods for teaching students with
autism how to make inferences. The purpose of this study is to
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chose one of four pictures to go along with the knowledge base. Next,
they were given a verbal-recall task about the knowledge base.
Following this, they were asked to listen to stories and answer
questions with various types of inferences. Finally, memory for the
knowledge base was tested again. Cain et al. (2001) found that literal
memory for the text did not account for group differences in inference
making. Less-skilled comprehenders broke down earlier in the stages
of inference making because they had difficulty finding the relevant
knowledge to make the inference. Skilled comprehenders who
experienced inference failures experienced a break down later in the
process. They recalled the relevant information, but failed to integrate
it.
Bowyer-Crane and Snowling (2005) state that inference
generation and reading comprehension are inextricably linked. They
studied the types of inference questions on reading comprehension
tests and aimed to determine if children had trouble with general
inference generation or if it was specific to certain types of inferences.
Thirty-six students from a local school participated and were broken
into skilled- and less-skilled comprehenders. The researchers
concluded that the type of inference question asked did make a
difference. Both groups found questions that required use of real world
knowledge more difficult than those that required literal information or
cohesive inferences. They assert that the difference in performance in
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struggling with comprehension will likely benefit from the same reading
strategy interventions as other students.
In summary, all the researchers concluded that background
knowledge plays a key role in text comprehension. Many students lack
the skills to recall prior knowledge and integrate it with the text to
draw key inferences. Every study concluded that inference skills can
and should be taught in order to improve comprehension skills. . Some
researchers also state that many students with Autism Spectrum
Disorder have difficulty integrating new knowledge with existing
knowledge and accessing that stored information when needed. This
can all hinder the comprehension process. The unique cognitive style
of students with autism likely influences their reading comprehension
(Williamson, et al., 2012; Flores & Ganz, 2007).
Research Question
Can inferential skills be taught to an autistic student through
direct instruction and a gradual release of responsibility using the
Background Knowledge + Text Clues = Inference Strategy?
Methods
Setting
I am an educational consultant for a homeschool group. This
means I provide consultation services to aid in curriculum development
and assessment from a group of parents who homeschool their
children. For this study, I worked in the home of one of the families
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that I have been providing services to for the past two years. I came to
the students house and worked with him one-on-one during his
regularly scheduled reading time.
Participant
The student in this case study is a 10-year-old, 4th-grade level,
boy named Ben who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder. Ben lives in a middle class family with both parents in the
home. Ben is considered very high functioning and demonstrates
many of the characteristics typical of children with autism, including
social impairment, restricted interests, and difficulties with language
and communication. Ben has difficulty socializing, and often fails to
make eye contact when conversing with another person. He
demonstrates a restricted interest in cars and other vehicles. For
example, he can quickly recall statistics for all of the NASCAR drivers
and has most of the Consumer Reports vehicle reviews memorized. He
also has difficulty with language skills. Ben receives language and
occupational therapy to help him with his disability. He also attends a
weekly social skills group. His mother decided to homeschool him after
he completed first grade in a regular classroom at a local public school
because she felt his needs were not being met in the regular
classroom.
Design
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to correctly identify appropriate text clues 96% of the time. This was
strength of Bens from the beginning. He had a lot of difficulty with
recalling appropriate background knowledge and making inferences
when we first began using the strategy. I did notice, however, that
when Ben was able to recall appropriate background knowledge, and I
reminded him to put it together with the text clues, he was able to
come up with an appropriate inference. When he did not have the
appropriate background knowledge, he was not able to come up with
an inference. For example, in the third session we read the book Dear
Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School. Ben had a new puppy
and had just been to obedience school so he had lots of background
knowledge to share. He was also able to easily come up with
inferences during this session even though he had struggled and
needed lots of prompting in the prior session.
There seemed to be a direct correlation in the amount of
background knowledge Ben had and the number of inferences he could
make (See Figure 2). This caused me to start thinking more about my
original hypothesis. I thought Ben was struggling with making
inferences because he did not know how to combine his background
knowledge with the text clues. However, the more background
knowledge Ben had, the more likely he was to make appropriate
inferences on his own. According to Williamson and colleagues (2012)
the life experiences of children with autism tend to be limited, and this
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References
Bowyer-Crane, C., & Snowling, M. J. (2005). Assessing childrens
inference generation: What do tests of reading comprehension
measure? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 189-201.
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Kendeou, P., Bohn-Gettler, C., White, M. J., van den Broek, P. (2008).
Childrens inference generation across different media. Journal of
Research in Reading, 31, 259-272. doi: 10.1111/j.14679817.2008.00370.x
McGee, A. & Johnson, H. (2003). The effect of inference training on
skilled and less skilled comprehenders. Educational Psychology:
An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology,
23(1), 49-59.
McKenna, M. C. & Kear, D.J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward
reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(9),
626-639.
Pearson, P. D., Hansen, J., & Gordon, C. (1979). The effect of
background knowledge on young childrens comprehension of
explicit and implicit information. Journal of Reading Behavior, 11,
201-209.
Tarchi, C. (2010). Reading comprehension of informative texts in
secondary school: A focus on direct and indirect effects of
readers prior knowledge. Learning and Individual Differences,
20, 415-420.
Williamson, P., Carnahan, C. & Jacobs, J. (2012). Reading
Comprehension Profiles of High-Functioning Students on the
Autism Spectrum: A Grounded Theory. Exceptional Children, 78,
449-469.
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Yell, M. L., Drasgow, E., & Lowrey, K. (2005). No Child Left Behind and
Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Focus On Autism &
Other Developmental Disabilities, 20(3), 130-139.
Yuill, N. & Oakhill, J. (1988). Effects of inference awareness training on
poor reading comprehension. Applied Cognitive Pshychology, 2,
33-45.
Background
Knowledge
Text Clues
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Inference
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Background Knowledge
Text Clues
Inference
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Session
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Background Knowledge
Inference