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Reading and autism

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Reading abilities among autistic people tend to differ from non-autistic people. Even among those without intellectual disability or comorbid disorders that could influence reading fluency, most autistic children have below-average reading ability.[1] Severity of autistic traits is negatively correlated with reading abilities in autistic children across multiple domains.[2][3]

Compared to neurotypical peers, who have a general preference for fiction text compared to nonfiction, autistic adults with normal intelligence have little preference either way.[4] However, autistic children prefer fiction to nonfiction, with little difference from their same-aged neurotypical peers.[4][5][6]

Reading fluency

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Preschool-aged children with autism tend to have better alphabet knowledge but lower print-concept knowledge and print interest compared to their typically developing peers.[7][2] A majority of school-aged autistic children are impaired in terms of reading rate, although reading speed is highly variable.[2]

Autistic children tend to have similar ability at reading words versus nonwords.[8] In autistic adolescents without intellectual disability, automatic word recognition tends to be similar to typically-developing peers.[9]

Reading comprehension

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Autistic adolescents frequently achieve disproportionately low reading comprehension test scores compared to their measured IQ.[10][9] Reading comprehension in autistic people tends to be disproportionately impaired compared to other reading skills, with nearly all school-aged autistic children being at least one standard deviation below population norms in terms of comprehension ability.[2] Autistic people also often struggle to make inferences about a text.[11]

Some researchers attribute the discrepancy to difficulties for autistic people in applying background knowledge to ambiguities in a text.[12][13][11] Reading comprehension difficulties may also stem from a lack of background knowledge, particularly when reading texts requiring social knowledge: Autistic people tend to struggle more with comprehending texts that require higher levels of social knowledge, and may therefore prefer nonfiction to more socially-complex fiction, although this does not account for the entirety of the reading comprehension gap.[14][15][16] However, other research has found that autistic people do not lack the social comprehension to understand narrative texts, which often require a lot of social understanding compared to nonfiction.[4] Other research has suggested that deficits in working memory may account for lower reading comprehension abilities among autistic people. The bottom-up processing style common in autistic people may also contribute, as many autistic people focus strongly on details but struggle to understand the bigger picture.[13][17]

Learning disabilities

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Dyslexia

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A study of adults diagnosed with Asperger's disorder found that about 14% of the sample had comorbid dyslexia.[18] Autism and dyslexia are also both highly comorbid with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.[18] The gene MRPL19 is associated with both autism and dyslexia, and both autistic and dyslexic brains have differences in their neuronal fibers.[19][20][21] Both autistic and dyslexic children are also impaired in their ability to perceive global motion.[22]

Hyperlexia

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Hyperlexia is defined as word-decoding ability superior to reading-comprehensive ability.[23][24] Hyperlexia and autism are commonly comorbid: 84% of people with hyperlexia are also autistic, and about up to 20% of autistic children are hyperlexic.[25][26] Some researchers have suggested that hyperlexia may be a first step in a non-social language acquisition pathway.[26]

Therapies and tools

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Tools developed for typically-developing young children learning to read, such as the MimioSprout Early Reading software, may also be effective for autistic children.[27] Adaptive tools designed to simplify passages, particularly by reducing metaphors, textual ambiguities, and slang, can also improve reading comprehension in autistic adolescents and adults.[28] Modified versions of Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) may also help autistic people improve in reading skills, particularly in oral reading.[29]

Reading itself can serve as a tool to help autistic people with social challenges: The social benefits of narrative texts, often assumed to only apply to neurotypical readers, also extend to autistic readers.[4] Shared reading can also help facilitate social learning in autistic children.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Solari, Emily J.; Grimm, Ryan P.; McIntyre, Nancy S.; Zajic, Matthew; Mundy, Peter C. (2019). "Longitudinal stability of reading profiles in individuals with higher functioning autism". Autism. 23 (8): 1911–1926. doi:10.1177/1362361318812423. PMID 30866651.
  2. ^ a b c d Nally, Amanda; Healy, Olive; Holloway, Jennifer; Lydon, Helena (2018). "An analysis of reading abilities in children with autism spectrum disorders". Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 47: 14–25. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2017.12.002.
  3. ^ Åsberg Johnels, Jakob; Carlsson, Emilia; Norbury, Courtenay; Gillberg, Christopher; Miniscalco, Carmela (2019). "Current profiles and early predictors of reading skills in school-age children with autism spectrum disorders: A longitudinal, retrospective population study". Autism. 23 (6): 1449–1459. doi:10.1177/1362361318811153. PMID 30523706.
  4. ^ a b c d Chapple, Melissa; Williams, Sophie; Billington, Josie; Davis, Philip; Corcoran, Rhiannon (2021). "An analysis of the reading habits of autistic adults compared to neurotypical adults and implications for future interventions". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 115 104003. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104003. PMID 34116300.
  5. ^ Armstrong, Rebecca M.; Paynter, Jessica; Westerveld, Marleen F. (2019). "Fiction or non-fiction: Parent-reported book preferences of their preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder". Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 4 2396941519896736. doi:10.1177/2396941519896736.
  6. ^ Davidson, Meghan M.; Ellis Weismer, Susan (2018). "A preliminary investigation of parent-reported fiction versus non-fiction book preferences of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder". Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 3 2396941518806109. doi:10.1177/2396941518806109. PMC 6363357. PMID 30733999.
  7. ^ Dynia, Jaclyn M.; Lawton, Kathy; Logan, Jessica A. R.; Justice, Laura M. (2014). "Comparing Emergent-Literacy Skills and Home-Literacy Environment of Children with Autism and Their Peers". Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 34 (3): 142–153. doi:10.1177/0271121414536784.
  8. ^ Vale, Ana Paula; Fernandes, Carina; Cardoso, Susana (2022). "Word reading skills in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review". Frontiers in Psychology. 13 930275. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.930275. PMC 9363706. PMID 35967660.
  9. ^ a b Baixauli, Inmaculada; Rosello, Belen; Berenguer, Carmen; Téllez De Meneses, Montserrat; Miranda, Ana (2021). "Reading and Writing Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Disability". Frontiers in Psychology. 12 646849. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646849. PMC 8330596. PMID 34354627.
  10. ^ Jones, Catherine R. G.; Happé, Francesca; Golden, Hannah; Marsden, Anita J. S.; Tregay, Jenifer; Simonoff, Emily; Pickles, Andrew; Baird, Gillian; Charman, Tony (2009). "Reading and arithmetic in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: Peaks and dips in attainment". Neuropsychology. 23 (6): 718–728. doi:10.1037/a0016360. PMID 19899830.
  11. ^ a b Senokossoff, Gwyn W. (2016). "Developing Reading Comprehension Skills in High-Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of the Research, 1990–2012". Reading & Writing Quarterly. 32 (3): 223–246. doi:10.1080/10573569.2014.936574.
  12. ^ Wahlberg, Timothy; Magliano, Joseph P. (2004). "The Ability of High Function Individuals with Autism to Comprehend Written Discourse". Discourse Processes. 38: 119–144. doi:10.1207/s15326950dp3801_5.
  13. ^ a b Randi, Judi; Newman, Tina; Grigorenko, Elena L. (2010). "Teaching Children with Autism to Read for Meaning: Challenges and Possibilities". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 40 (7): 890–902. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-0938-6. PMC 2892026. PMID 20101452.
  14. ^ Brown, Heather M.; Oram-Cardy, Janis; Johnson, Andrew (2013). "A Meta-Analysis of the Reading Comprehension Skills of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 43 (4): 932–955. doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1638-1. PMID 23054199.
  15. ^ White, Sarah; Hill, Elisabeth; Happé, Francesca; Frith, Uta (2009). "Revisiting the Strange Stories: Revealing Mentalizing Impairments in Autism". Child Development. 80 (4): 1097–1117. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01319.x. PMID 19630896.
  16. ^ Baron-Cohen, Simon; Wheelwright, Sally; Skinner, Richard; Martin, Joanne; Clubley, Emma (2001). "The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Males and Females, Scientists and Mathematicians". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 31 (1): 5–17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471. PMID 11439754.
  17. ^ Au-Yeung, Sheena K.; Kaakinen, Johanna K.; Liversedge, Simon P.; Benson, Valerie (2018). "Would adults with autism be less likely to bury the survivors?: An eye movement study of anomalous text reading". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 71: 280–290. doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1322621. PMID 28434395.
  18. ^ a b Russell, Ginny; Pavelk, Zsuzsa (2013). "Co-Occurrence of Developmental Disorders: Children Who Share Symptoms of Autism, Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". Recent Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Volume I. doi:10.5772/54159. ISBN 978-953-51-1021-7.
  19. ^ CASANOVA Manuel, F.; FARAG Aly; EL-BAZ Ayman; MOTT Meghan; HASSAN Hossam; FAHMI Rachid; SWITALA Andrew E. (2015). "Abnormalities of the Gyral Window in Autism: A Macroscopic Correlate to a Putative Minicolumnopathy". Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation. doi:10.5281/zenodo.28941.
  20. ^ Williams, Emily; El-Baz, Ayman; Nitzken, Matthew; Switala, Andrew; Casanova, Manuel (2012). "Spherical harmonic analysis of cortical complexity in autism and dyslexia". Translational Neuroscience. 3 (1): 36–40. doi:10.2478/s13380-012-0008-y. PMC 3336871. PMID 22545198.
  21. ^ Eicher, John D.; Gruen, Jeffrey R. (2015). "Language Impairment and Dyslexia Genes Influence Language Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders". Autism Research. 8 (2): 229–234. doi:10.1002/aur.1436. PMC 4412753. PMID 25448322.
  22. ^ Pellicano, Elizabeth; Gibson, Lisa Y. (2008). "Investigating the functional integrity of the dorsal visual pathway in autism and dyslexia". Neuropsychologia. 46 (10): 2593–2596. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.04.008. PMID 18501932.
  23. ^ Cardoso-Martins, Cláudia; Da Silva, Juliane Ribeiro (2010). "Cognitive and language correlates of hyperlexia: Evidence from children with autism spectrum disorders". Reading and Writing. 23 (2): 129–145. doi:10.1007/s11145-008-9154-6.
  24. ^ Lin, Chu-Sui (2014). "Early language learning profiles of young children with autism: Hyperlexia and its subtypes". Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 8 (3): 168–177. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2013.11.004.
  25. ^ Ostrolenk, Alexia; Forgeot d'Arc, Baudouin; Jelenic, Patricia; Samson, Fabienne; Mottron, Laurent (2017). "Hyperlexia: Systematic review, neurocognitive modelling, and outcome". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 79: 134–149. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.029. PMID 28478182.
  26. ^ a b Ostrolenk, Alexia; Courchesne, Valérie; Mottron, Laurent (2023). "A longitudinal study on language acquisition in monozygotic twins concordant for autism and hyperlexia". Brain and Cognition. 173 106099. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2023.106099. PMID 37839243.
  27. ^ Grindle, Corinna F.; Carl Hughes, J.; Saville, Maria; Huxley, Kathleen; Hastings, Richard P. (2013). "Teaching Early Reading Skills to Children with Autism Using Mimiosprout Early Reading". Behavioral Interventions. 28 (3): 203–224. doi:10.1002/bin.1364.
  28. ^ Cerga-Pashoja, Arlinda; Gaete, Jorge; Shishkova, Antoneta; Jordanova, Vesna (2019). "Improving Reading in Adolescents and Adults with High-Functioning Autism Through an Assistive Technology Tool: A Cross-Over Multinational Study". Frontiers in Psychiatry. 10 546. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00546. PMC 6692437. PMID 31447711.
  29. ^ Hua, Youjia; Hendrickson, Jo M.; Therrien, William J.; Woods-Groves, Suzanne; Ries, Pamela S.; Shaw, Julia J. (2012). "Effects of Combined Reading and Question Generation on Reading Fluency and Comprehension of Three Young Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disability". Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 27 (3): 135–146. doi:10.1177/1088357612448421.
  30. ^ Boyle, Susannah A.; McNaughton, David; Chapin, Shelley E. (2019). "Effects of Shared Reading on the Early Language and Literacy Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review". Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. 34 (4): 205–214. doi:10.1177/1088357619838276.
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