The Impact of Reading to Engage Children With Autism in Language and Learning (RECALL)

• Published in: Topics in early childhood special education Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 102 - 115
• Main Authors: Whalon, Kelly, Martinez, Jose R., Shannon, Darbianne, Butcher, Colleen, Hanline, Mary Frances
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2015; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Attention; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Battelle Developmental Inventory; Children & youth; Coding; Communication Skills; Evaluation; Interpersonal Communication; Intervention; Learner Engagement; Learning; Peer Relationship; Peer Teaching; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Positive Reinforcement; Preschool Children; Preschool Language Scale; Program Effectiveness; Prompting; Reading; Reading Aloud to Others; Reading Difficulties; Responses; United States (Southeast); Video Technology; Young Children; literacy; intervention strategies; experimental studies; disability populations; communication/language; preschool; research methodologies; autism spectrum disorder (ASD); single-subject designs
• ISSN: 0271-1214; 1538-4845
• DOI: 10.1177/0271121414565515

A multiple baseline across participants design was used to investigate the impact of RECALL (Reading to Engage Children With Autism in Language and Learning) on the correct, unprompted responding and initiations of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). RECALL is an adapted shared reading intervention based on dialogic reading. RECALL embeds systematic instructional procedures and supports known to facilitate the learning of children with ASD (e.g., prompting hierarchy and visual supports). Interventionists read aloud with a child with autism and a peer 3 days a week for approximately 2.5 months. Following intervention, all four participating children decreased the frequency of incorrect responding and gradually improved their correct, spontaneous responding to fact- and inference-based questions about story content. In addition, three of the four participants increased the frequency of their initiations. Findings suggest that young children with ASD can participate in and benefit from shared reading interventions with supports. Implications for the implementation of shared reading interventions with young children with ASD are discussed.