Skip to main content

Shared Book Reading with Preschoolers with Autism

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Definition

Shared book reading, also referred to as “interactive book reading,” includes a variety of strategies that adults use when reading to children. Shared reading activities are commonly conducted in small groups or in 1:1 arrangement. During shared reading, adults use a variety of strategies to actively engage young children in the act of reading and storytelling to promote children’s language and early literacy skills. Systematic reviews of the evidence base on shared reading interventions reveal potentially positive effects on phonological processing and early reading/writing skills with mixed effects on comprehension and language development (US Department of Education). The majority of studies included in the evidence base for shared reading interventions involve typically developing children and children from at-risk populations. Within the past decade, researchers have extended the application of shared reading interventions to children with disabilities, specifically...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References and Reading

  • Adamson, L. B., Bakeman, R., & Deckner, D. F. (2004). The development of symbol-infused joint engagement. Child Development, 75(4), 1171–1187. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3696533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bean, A., Perez, B., Dynia, J. M., Justice, L. M., & Kaderavek, J. (2019). Book-reading engagement in children with autism and language impairment: Associations with emergent-literacy skills. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Manuscript under review.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, S. A., Mcnaughton, D., & Chapin, S. E. (2019). Effects of shared reading on the early language and literacy skills of children with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 34(4), 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357619838276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bredekamp, S. (1986). The reliability and validity of the early childhood classroom observation scale for accrediting early childhood programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1(2), 103–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, M., Nagell, K., Tomasello, M., Butterworth, G., & Moore, C. (1998). Social cognition, joint attention, and communicative competence from 9 to 15 months of age. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 63, i–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carta, J. J., Greenwood, C. R., Atwater, J., Goldstein, H., Kaminksi, R. A., & McConnell, S. R. (2015). Identifying preschool children for higher tiers of language and early literacy instruction within a response to intervention framework. Journal of Early Intervention, 36(4), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815115579937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clay, M. (1975). What did I write? Auckland: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, M. M., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2014). Characterization and prediction of early reading abilities in children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(4), 828–845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1936-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G., Toth, K., Abbott, R., Osterling, J., Munson, J., Estes, A., & Liaw, J. (2004). Early social attention impairments in autism: Social orienting, joint attention, and attention to distress. Developmental Psychology, 40(2), 271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dynia, J. M., Lawton, K., Logan, J. A., & Justice, L. M. (2014). Comparing emergent-literacy skills and home-literacy environment of children with autism and their peers. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 34(3), 142–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121414536784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleury, V. P., & Hugh, M. L. (2018). Exploring engagement in shared reading activities between children with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(10), 3596–3607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3632-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleury, V. P., & Lease, E. M. (2018). Early indication of Reading difficulty: A descriptive analysis of emergent literacy skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 34, 142–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121417751626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleury, V. P., & Schwartz, I. S. (2017). A modified dialogic reading intervention for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 37(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121416637597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleury, V. P., Miramontez, S. H., Hudson, R. F., & Schwartz, I. S. (2014). Promoting active participation in book reading for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: A preliminary study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 30(3), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265659013514069.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grygas Coogle, C., Floyd, K. K., & Rahn, N. L. (2018). Dialogic reading and adapted dialogic reading with preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Early Intervention, 40(4), 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815118797887.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, S. B. (1982). What no bedtime story means: Narrative skills at home and school. Language in Society, 11(1), 49–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, R. F., Sanders, E. A., Greenway, R., Xie, S., Smith, M., Gasamis, C, … Hackett, J. (2017). Effects of emergent literacy interventions for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Exceptional Children, 84(1), 55–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917705855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huemer, S. V., & Mann, V. (2010). A comprehensive profile of decoding and comprehension in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(4), 485–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Justice, L. M., & Sofka, A. E. (2010). Engaging children with print: Building early literacy skills through quality read-alouds. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kluth, P., & Chandler-Olcott, K. (2008). A land we can share: Teaching literacy to students with autism. Baltimore: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanter, E., Watson, L. R., Erickson, K. A., & Freeman, D. (2012). Emergent literacy in children with autism: An exploration of developmental and contextual dynamic processes. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 43(3), 308–324. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2012/10-0083).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leekam, S. (2007). Language comprehension difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorders. In K. Cain & J. Oakhill (Eds.), Children’s Comprehension Problems in Oral and Written Language: A Cognitive Perspective, (pp. 104–127). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R., & Norbury, C. F. (2018). The home literacy environment of school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(1), 197–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayes, S., & Calhoun, S. (2003). Analysis of WISC-III, Stanford-Binet: IV, and academic achievement scores in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 329–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., Clarke, P., Wright, B., & Williams, C. (2006). Patterns of reading ability in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 911–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0130-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Iosif, A. M., Baguio, F., Cook, I. C., Hill, M. M., Hutman, T., … Young, G. S. (2010). A prospective study of the emergence of early behavioral signs of autism. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(3), 256–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, S. (2006). Evidence-based interventions for language development in young children with autism. In Social and communication development in autism spectrum disorders: Early identification, diagnosis, and intervention. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S., & Dobrich, W. (1994). On the efficacy of reading to preschoolers. Developmental Review, 14(3), 245–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segel, E., & Friedberg, J. B. (1991). “Is today Liberry day?” Community support for family literacy. Language Arts, 68(8), 654–657.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. W. & Dickenson, D. (2002). Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Toolkit, Research Edition. Newton: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, J. E. (2011). Sight word instruction for students with autism: An evaluation of the evidence base. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(10), 1411–1422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tager-Flusberg, H., & Joseph, R. M. (2003). Identifying neurocognitive phenotypes in autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 358(1430), 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1198.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tager-Flusberg, H., Paul, R., & Lord, C. (2005). Language and communication in autism. Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, 1, 335–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teale, W., & Sulzby, E. (1986). Emergent literacy: Writing and reading. Norwood: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. L., Plavnick, J. B., & Skibbe, L. E. (2018). Eye-tracking analysis of attention to an electronic storybook for minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder. The Journal of Special Education, 53(1), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466918796504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogler-Elias, D. (2009). A parent-implemented shared storybook reading intervention for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305094109). Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/305094109?accountid=9783

  • Watson L. R., Andrews, M. D., & Orovitz, J. (1996). Emergent literacy in children with autism versus typical development. Unpublished paper presented at the meeting of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Seattle.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, X., Blackorby, J., & Schiller, E. (2011). Growth in reading achievement of students with disabilities, ages 7 to 17. Exceptional Children, 78, 89–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerveld, M. F., Trembath, D., Shellshear, L., & Paynter, J. (2016). A systematic review of the literature on emergent literacy skills of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. The Journal of Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466915613593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerveld, M. F., Paynter, J., Trembath, D., Webster, A. A., Hodge, A. M., & Roberts, J. (2017). The emergent literacy skills of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(2), 424–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2964-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whalon, K., Delano, M., & Hanline, M. F. (2013). A rationale and strategy for adapting dialogic reading for children with autism spectrum disorder: Recall. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 57(2), 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2012.672347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whalon, K., Martinez, J. R., Shannon, D., Butcher, C., & Hanline, M. F. (2015). The impact of reading to engage children with autism in language and learning (RECALL). Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 35(2), 102–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121414565515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whalon, K., Hanline, M. F., & Davis, J. (2016). Parent implementation of RECALL: A systematic case study. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 51(2), 211–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development, 69(3), 848–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. (1953). What does research tell us about readiness for beginning reading? The Reading Teacher, 6, 34–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer, K. (2013). Efficacy of caregiver training to establish joint attention of children with autism. Gainesville: University of Florida.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaclyn Dynia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Dynia, J., Fleury, V. (2020). Shared Book Reading with Preschoolers with Autism. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102514-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102514-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics