Teaching Simple Syllables, Combinatorial Reading and Comprehension Reading for Learners with Autism

ABSTRACT:

Children with autism may have difficulty in learning reading skills. The study, with the purpose to evaluate the teaching of oral reading and reading comprehension, was conducted with three boys with autism, illiterate, aged five years and nine months and nine years and nine months, speakers and students from regular schools. The procedure was divided into six teaching sets and consisted of the direct teaching of naming simple syllables and the teaching of naming pictures, with the purpose of establishing combinatorial reading and comprehension reading; in other words, the purpose was to teach the ability to read orally and to understand words composed of simple syllables, from the combination of taught syllables and the formation of stimulus equivalence classes. Participants were evaluated for naming letters, syllables, words and reading comprehension (relationship between pictures and printed words) before and after each set of teaching. Data were analyzed individually by comparing the performance of each participant before and after the instruction. The results indicated that the procedure favored the learning and maintenance of combinatorial reading with understanding, with few teaching sessions and low number of errors during the process.

KEYWORDS:
Special Education; Autism; Teaching Reading