Abstract
The purpose of this literature synthesis is to examine the empirical literature on comprehension measures used in studies of reading interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low IQ. Sixteen studies met inclusion criteria for this review. All studies were experimental, included a measure of reading comprehension, and sampled participants with ASD and low IQ (i.e., at least one standard deviation below the mean). The focus of this synthesis is on the comprehension measures used in the interventions, including type of measure and comprehension construct assessed through the measure. Results indicate that most of the studies included measures of comprehension that the researchers created for their study, while a few researchers relied on published measures. Additionally, among the assessments, five different comprehension behaviors were assessed: passage reading comprehension, supported passage reading comprehension, sentence/phrase comprehension, listening comprehension, and literacy engagement. The measures and the comprehension behaviors they assessed are discussed in detail. Implications for research and practice involving reading comprehension measures to inform research on reading interventions for individuals with ASD and low IQ are also discussed.
Key words: autism spectrum disorder, low IQ, reading comprehension, comprehension measure(s), comprehension behavior(s)
Degree Date
Summer 2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Teaching and Learning
Advisor
Jill H. Allor
Subject Area
Education
Number of Pages
125
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Conner, Carlin, "Making the Case for the Systematic Observation of Language and Reading: A Reading Comprehension Measure Inclusive of Students with Disabilities" (2020). Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations. 11.
https://scholar.smu.edu/simmons_dtl_etds/11
