Combining Readers Theater, Story Mapping and Video Self-Modeling Interventions to Improve Narrative Reading...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education
• Applied Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by atypical development, impacting perspective-taking and observational learning.
• Children with ASD often face challenges in social interactions and academic tasks like narrative comprehension, which requires understanding others' thoughts and feelings.
• Existing research offers limited effective interventions for these specific deficits in children with ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a combined intervention package for improving reading comprehension in children with ASD.
• To address deficits in perspective-taking and observational learning through a novel intervention approach.

Main Methods:

• A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness.
• The intervention package integrated three research-based strategies: Readers Theater, story mapping, and video self-modeling.
• Participants were children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Main Results:

• The integrated intervention package demonstrated significant success in improving reading comprehension among children with ASD.
• Consistent improvements in reading comprehension were observed across all participants.

Conclusions:

• The combined intervention package is a viable and effective approach for enhancing reading comprehension in children with ASD.
• Findings support the integration of Readers Theater, story mapping, and video self-modeling for addressing academic and social-cognitive deficits in ASD.