5 Strategies to Teach an Autistic Child to Read

Posted on April 13 2015

5 Strategies to Teach an Autistic Child to Read

Children with autism often times learn in different ways than other children. Here are a few strategies you can implement to help autistic children read:

Use their special interests to capture their attention
Regulate their sensory input to help them focus on the task at hand
Choose the right reading materials for their needs
Incorporate technology into your approach
Recognize their unique needs and approach to reading and learning

Improving Reading Comprehension in Autistic Children

Due to difficulties in communication, teachers have difficulty determining whether a child with autism has a handle on reading comprehension. Here are some strategies to try to unlock comprehension:

Give plenty of time for the child to answer the question
Present the question in both written and verbal form
Allow the child to circle the correct answer or write/draw the correct answer
Presenting the questions in funny voices or with puppets can also help

Learning Tools for Autism

Consider implementing one (or both!) of these learning tools for autistic children into your teaching and learning strategies:

The Toobaloo Whisper Phone

This reading phone for kids is fun to use and allows the child to experience direct auditory feedback when they read aloud. This can aid in reading comprehension and reading fluency.

Eye Lighter Colored Overlays Tool

The Eye Lighter is an overlay tool that children can place over text to highlight one line at a time. This can help a child with autism focus on reading material without getting overwhelmed by the entirety of the text.