My autistic daughter does not understand what she reads. What do I do about this?

Question

Hi,

My daughter is about to turn 9 and she can read many words in her whispery, disjointed little voice. What I realized today is that she attaches very little meaning to what she reads. I mean, she can read "dog," "cat," "juice" and know what they are, but she cannot process compound ideas. She's been playing a video game that's based in physics and you have to use shapes to move a small pink circle over to a flag to complete the level. Level 1 says to hold down the left mouse key within a circle they draw on the page until the circle is large enough and she has no idea what that means. I have shown her. I have repeated the instructions. But she flat out does not get it. What is the value of reading if the meaning of what you read is utterly lost on you? What should I be doing or what should her teachers be doing to get through to her?

Answer 1

The best way to help your daughter is heaps of patience. Have you tried using pictures and symbols to help her. Social stories are very beneficial to children with autism because very often they relate to the pictures much easier than the words. My autistic daughter reads very well but when you ask her to explain about what she has just read she really struggles. Rather than giving her oral instructions try giving her simple pictures to help her complete tasks. Good luck.

Answer 2

I know who might have your answers:  www.pecanbread.com

It's a website for parents of autistic kids who are managing their kids' autism with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  I'm a 47 year old woman with Celiac Disease and 3 other stomach conditions, and I'm on the SCD myself to manage the tummy issues.  There is a tremendous amount of research showing how this diet can help kids with Autism.  If nothing else though, you'll find a support group of parents who just might have the answer you're looking for.  Good luck.

Answer 3

Suggest a multi-sensory approach practiced at home and school.  We use orton gillingham but they are all good.  

http://www.orton-gillingham.com

click online catalog, reading phonics and spelling then the explode the code workbooks which are 7.15.

Answer 4

This is a fairly common issue for those on the spectrum. Language that names objects, people, shapes, numbers etc is concrete, therefore it makes sense to them. Language that describes concepts, emotions and other abstractions is not concrete so it lacks meaning for them.

With the instructions you referred to, try physically guiding her through the process using hand-over-hand support. As you guide her read the instruction for the action you are helping her perform. Repetition of this will help to imprint both the action and the words associated with it. You should gradually be able to reduce the amount of physical guidance to gestural prompts and then to just verbal prompts.  

Answer 5

I suggest reading the book Learning with a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: Visual Language Strategies for Individuals with ASD by Ellyn Arwood and Carole Kaulitz.  It is very good.

I would almost start over with teaching her language and pairing meaning with language.  Since she can read words go around your house and label everything!!  Put words to identify the concrete object.  Doors, drawers, toothpaste, tv, fridge.  Start there with introducing her to things and pairing the visual with the word.  You might also try drawing things out.  Talk about a fork, write the word fork, draw a picture of a fork and show her a fork.  She probably won't be able to follow the instructions on the computer until she learns these first critical steps.

Get the book and good luck to you!

Answer 6

Children with autism have different neural pathways..or at the very least, use them differently..then most of us.  Many people on the spectrum do not "think" the way you or I may. When we think about an idea or subject, most often we "hear" it within our minds.  Many people on the spectrum are visual thinkers...they use images in place of the words.  Some are even numerical (words become a series of numbers) or color based thinkers.  It is hard to understand.  Additionally, because of the sensory issues, many kids on the spectrum do not respond to traditional, auditory input..or at least, not without a lot of practice and effort.  Your daughter recognizes simple, single word ideas but not complex processes.  This is not so unusual.  If you think about it, the seemingly simple instruction mentioned above...hold the left mouse key down until the circle is large enough then move it to the flag..actually involves several, distinct steps.  Hold..left key..down..wait...watch..decide..move..c... flag.  When you break each action down to it's core actions, you can see where it may be too complicated, at least for now.  Rather than do an activity that has so many steps, try finding something that a single action will produce a positive reinforcement.  Word recognition games may be a good place to start since she does read.  Have images that go with words she knows and ask her to point to the one you say.  When she does that consistently, add in another step.."point to the dog and then the cat".  Initially, set out only the pictures you are using..too many images may confuse her...and guide her hand as you say the directions.  Praise her when she does the task (or if you are using any reinforcers, apply them here).  Keep going until she can do it all alone.  Gradually you can increase the steps and complexity of the process, but be patient.  This can take a lot of time and practice.  Until then, when you ask her to do something, stop and think it down into each individual action needed to complete the task.  Give her a single action at a time and help her stay on track.  If you do this consistently, in time you will see her abilities improve.

Answer 7

Try recording it then allowing her to listen in headphones or even a video. My son is also autistic and can learn from music and videos he reads but cannot reply what he read about.

Answer 8

This isnt uncommon in autism. The use of vocabulary and learning words are two different things and can be confusing. Often if a child cant see the point in the action eg: they can see its not real, not sure how it works etc etc then they will not do it. Sometimes it will take a while for a new instruction to get into their head! You may have to do it for her a few times so she can see the cause and effect and the reason behind it.

It will be worth speaking to her teachersabout it and if you still have a specilist then mention it as they should be able to give you more advice and activities to try as support.

In the meantime keep up different activities at home such as playing together, reading to her, singing together etc. The more she uses and language and see's it being used the better she will be at it!