Effective Reading Intervention Strategies for Elementary Students with Autism

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is prevalent in 1 in 68 children ages 3-17, with the rate increasing every few years. For a number of students diagnosed with ASD, learning impairments may accompany their autism and limited communication skills make traditional teaching methods more difficulty (Mule, Volpe, Fefer, Leslie, & Luiselli, 2015). With an increasing number of students diagnosed with ASD in the classroom, identifying practices that improve students’ reading abilities remains a vital concern for teachers. Little research, however, is dedicated to finding effective intervention practices specifically for students diagnosed with ASD. This literature review evaluates different reading intervention strategies that have been assessed for their effectiveness in improving students’ sight word recognition and reading comprehension capabilities. Determining effective reading intervention strategies is crucial for teachers in making decisions in meeting the needs of students with ASD