Abstract
Reading comprehension is an area of difficulty for many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to the
Simple View of Reading, word recognition and oral language are both important determinants of reading comprehension ability.
We provide a novel test of this model in 100 adolescents with ASD of varying intellectual ability. Further, we explore whether
reading comprehension is additionally influenced by individual differences in social behaviour and social cognition in ASD.
Adolescents with ASD aged 14–16 years completed assessments indexing word recognition, oral language, reading comprehension,
social behaviour and social cognition. Regression analyses show that both word recognition and oral language explain unique
variance in reading comprehension. Further, measures of social behaviour and social cognition predict reading comprehension
after controlling for the variance explained by word recognition and oral language. This indicates that word recognition,
oral language and social impairments may constrain reading comprehension in ASD.
Simple View of Reading, word recognition and oral language are both important determinants of reading comprehension ability.
We provide a novel test of this model in 100 adolescents with ASD of varying intellectual ability. Further, we explore whether
reading comprehension is additionally influenced by individual differences in social behaviour and social cognition in ASD.
Adolescents with ASD aged 14–16 years completed assessments indexing word recognition, oral language, reading comprehension,
social behaviour and social cognition. Regression analyses show that both word recognition and oral language explain unique
variance in reading comprehension. Further, measures of social behaviour and social cognition predict reading comprehension
after controlling for the variance explained by word recognition and oral language. This indicates that word recognition,
oral language and social impairments may constrain reading comprehension in ASD.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s10803-012-1619-4
- Authors
- Jessie Ricketts, Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR), University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Catherine R. G. Jones, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Francesca Happé, MRC SGDP Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK
- Tony Charman, Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK
- Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Online ISSN 1573-3432
- Print ISSN 0162-3257