Effectiveness of Direct Instruction for Teaching Statement Inference, Use of Facts, and Analogies to Students With Developmental Disabilities and Reading Delays

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) reading comprehension program implemented with students who had developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and reading delays. There is little research in the area of reading comprehension for students with ASD and no research as to the effectiveness of reading comprehension DI. A multiple-probe-across-behaviors design was employed. A functional relationship between Direct Instruction and reading comprehension skills and behaviors was demonstrated across all behavioral conditions and across students. Results and their implications are discussed.

Using Explicit Instruction to Teach Science Descriptors to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…This specific population is different from previous studies examining the efficacy of explicit instruction on skills for students with ASD (oral language skills; Gantz and Flores 2009). Additionally, it is possible that students in the current study may have required more intensive and structured support to learn than the students in the Flores and Gantz (2007) and Gantz and Flores (2009) studies. In both contributing studies participants were older (e.g., fifth grade) in comparison to participants in the current study (e.g., Kindergarten-first grade) and authors reported participants' IQs well above those who participated in current study.…”

“…Explicit instruction is effective for teaching students with high incidence disabilities a variety of skills (Engleman and Carnine 1991;Kame'enui and Simmons 1990;Repp et al 1996;VanLaarhoven et al 2003). In addition, prior studies have shown that students with ASD benefit from explicit instruction in the areas of reading and language (e.g., Flores and Gantz 2007;Gantz and Flores 2009). The current study contributes to the literature in a number of ways.…”

“…Flores and Gantz (2007) used a multiple probe across behaviors design to examine the effectiveness of explicit instruction on reading comprehension skills for four elementary aged students with ASD. In the other example, Gantz and Flores (2009) using a changing criterion design to examine the effectiveness of explicit instruction on the oral language J Autism Dev Disord (2012) 42:378-389 379 skills (e.g., naming objects) for three elementary aged students with ASD.…”

The Effectiveness of Direct Instruction for Teaching Language to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Identifying Materials

“…Specifically, DI has positively affected reading decoding (Fredrick et al 2002;Shippen et al 2005) and reading comprehension (Carlson and Francis 2002;Flores and Ganz 2007). DI has improved reading skills in children from elementary (Carlson and Francis 2002;Humphries et al 2005) to middle school (Grossen 2004;Shippen et al 2005).…”

“…DI has improved reading skills in children from elementary (Carlson and Francis 2002;Humphries et al 2005) to middle school (Grossen 2004;Shippen et al 2005). Additionally, DI has been used successfully with children with a variety of abilities, including autism (Flores and Ganz 2007), epilepsy (Humphries et al 2005), learning disabilities and cognitive impairments (Carlson and Francis 2002), those with limited English proficiency (Carlson and Francis 2002), and students at risk (Carlson and Francis 2002;Grossen 2004).…”