Reading Comprehension Strategies

What works for students with High Functioning Autism?

Susan Hines

Characteristics of HFADo not make connections with others.Are most often visual learners.Tend to be literal and concrete thinkers

and have difficulty with abstract ideas.Have difficulty finding or following a

pattern or sequence.Often develops an area of intense

interest.

Do not make connections Help the student make

connections to text before he reads. Ask questions of your students to assess prior knowledge.

STRATEGIES• Complete the K segment of a

“KWL” chart.• Complete a Mind Mapping

Activity.

Make Connections “KWL”

“K”What do you already know about this topic?

What do I predict this will be about?

?

“Mind Mapping”Organize key concepts

and vocabulary into a visual map that is a pictorial representation of the topic. Add familiar “landmarks” to help new information fit into current background knowledge.

Graphic Organizersfor Visual Learners

Help with abstract ideas: Anaphoric CueingWith a fairly short list of anaphora (words that

refer to other words) that can be listed on a bookmark  we can teach them when to stop in their reading and what to ask themselves before they move on.

When we read: he, she, they, we, I, you We ask who?When we read: hers, his, its, theirs, ours, yours We ask whose?

Anaphoric CueingWhen we read: it, that, this, can, do We ask what?When we read: here, there, come, go We ask where?When we read: then, before, after We ask when? 

Finding Patterns or SequencesHelp students see that stories follow a pattern.Divide a page into four boxes.Box One - Setting: where and when the story took

place.Box Two – Characters: identify the main

character and one or a couple helper characters. Box Three – Problem: describe the problem of

that story or chapter or draw a picture showing the problem.

Box Four – What Will Happen Next: Describe what will happen next in words or pictures. 

Build on Interest