Reading Comprehension and Autism in the Primary General Education Classroom

Reading comprehension is a critical building block for effective early literacy development. Many students with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate difficulties in reading comprehension. These difficulties may be attributed to deficits in Theory of Mind, Weak Central Coherence, and Executive Functioning. Given the rise in the number of students with this disability participating in the general education setting, practitioners need to acquire the background knowledge on how to effectively teach this population. The purpose of this article is to introduce practitioners to a step-by-step guide for teaching reading comprehension, the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder that may impede students from acquiring reading comprehension, and evidenced-based practices that can be used to improve their comprehension abilities.