Effects of an adapted story grammar intervention on the listening comprehension of children with autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often develop the word reading skills necessary to read text but struggle with reading comprehension. Comprehension skills are often under addressed in early elementary settings leaving children with ASD at a disadvantage once they are expected to read for meaning. This study investigated the impact of an adapted story grammar intervention on the listening comprehension of five children with ASD in kindergarten through second grade. The intervention embedded evidence-based practices shown to support the learning of children with ASD during story grammar instruction. All participating children demonstrated increased correct responding to fact and inference questions following intervention. Data suggest that all participants required visuals to participate in and learn from the intervention. Social validity data indicate the classroom teacher perceived the intervention as helpful and feasible. Implications for instruction and future research are discussed.