JCPSLP Vol 17 No 3 2015

Fresh science and pioneering practice

Shared reading between mothers and children with autism or specific Language Impairment An exploratory study Alison Arndt and Joanne Arciuli

Shared reading (SR) has many benefits for children’s reading development, yet we know little about SR in families where children have a developmental disability. This study reports on 2 cases of SR in mother–child dyads. One child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the other with specific language impairment (SLI). SR interactions were video-recorded and each mother’s utterances were analysed. Results revealed some evidence to suggest that the mothers in our study were able to adapt their utterances during SR to address their children’s specific needs. With speech-language pathologists increasingly being asked to advise on children’s literacy, this study provides a framework for monitoring the input that parents provide to their children during SR. S hared reading (SR, also referred to as “shared book reading”, “home-based reading”, “family literacy”, or “parent–child reading”), where a parent reads with their child, has a number of positive benefits with regard to children’s reading acquisition. By engaging in SR, adults provide a structured, yet naturalistic, setting to develop children’s language and literacy skills (e.g., Audet, Evans, Williamson, & Reynolds, 2008; Barachetti & Lavelli, 2011; Evans, Barraball, & Eberle, 1998). As some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or with specific language impairment (SLI) are at risk for literacy difficulties (Catts, Bridges, Little, & Tomblin, 2008; Nation, Clarke, Wright, & Williams, 2006), it may be especially beneficial for these children to engage in SR interactions. However, to date, the majority of SR research has examined typically developing children. There has been much less research on SR within special populations. In the current study, we were interested in exploring mothers’ input during SR for a child with ASD and a child with SLI. The overarching aim was to provide a framework for monitoring mothers’ input during SR that can be used by speech-language pathologists. ASD and SLI Autism spectrum disorder is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which affect the way individuals function and interact with people and their environment. According to

the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , 5th edition (DSM-V), a diagnosis of ASD is characterised by impairments in social interaction/communication, and restricted, repetitive, and/or sensory behaviours (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A seminal study explored the reading performance of 41 children with ASD aged 6–16 years (Nation et al., 2006). Half the sample obtained scores that were age-appropriate or above on tests of reading accuracy. Of these children, more than half had relatively poor comprehension. This suggests that regardless of how well some children with ASD can decode words, reading comprehension can sometimes be adversely affected. This finding was supported in a study by Arciuli, Stevens, Trembath, and Simpson (2013), and in a recent review which highlighted that some children with ASD experience particular difficulties with reading comprehension, despite having adequate word identification skills (El Zein, Solis, Vaughn, & McCulley, 2014). Specific language impairment refers to the presence of impaired oral language, despite no other physical or cognitive impairments (Bishop & Adams, 1990). Some children diagnosed with SLI experience difficulty with literacy development (Catts, Bridges, Little, & Tomblin, 2008; Catts, Fey, Tomblin, & Zhang, 2002). It has been estimated that 51% of children with SLI have impaired reading (McArthur, Hogben, Edwards, Heath, & Mengler, 2000). A study by Botting, Simkin, and Conti-Ramsden (2006) examined the reading ability of 200 children with SLI at age 7, and again at age 11. They found that 82% of poor word readers at age 7 had poor reading accuracy at age 11. This pattern of results mirrored earlier data which suggested that children with persisting language difficulties at age 5½ had reading difficulties at age 8½ (Bishop & Adams, 1990). Of course, poor reading accuracy is often related to poor reading comprehension. Some studies have highlighted that children with SLI can also show weakness in reading comprehension (Botting et al., 2006; Catts et al., 2008; Nation, Clarke, Marshall, & Durand, 2004). Despite this, there appears to be less evidence of particular weaknesses in comprehension in the SLI literature than the ASD literature. In summary, children with ASD or with SLI can present with a variety of reading profiles. Some children perform at average or even well above average levels, when compared with typically developing peers, while others face difficulties learning to read. These reading difficulties may involve accuracy and/or comprehension. Much of what we know about reading in children with ASD or SLI has come from studies that have used standardised tests of reading

KEYWORDS AUTISM SHARED READING SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN PEER- REVIEWED

Alison Arndt (top) and Joanne Arciuli

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JCPSLP Volume 17, Number 3 2015

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology

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