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A Meta-Analysis of the Reading Comprehension Skills of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 43, pages 932–955 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

This meta-analysis examined 36 studies comparing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and control groups in reading comprehension. Three moderators (semantic knowledge, decoding skill, PIQ) and two text types (high vs. low social knowledge) were examined as predictors of reading comprehension in ASD. The overall standardized mean difference for reading comprehension was g = −0.7 SD. The strongest individual predictors of reading comprehension were semantic knowledge (explaining 57 % of variance) and decoding skill (explaining 55 % of variance). Individuals with ASD were significantly worse at comprehending highly social than less social texts. Having ASD alone does not predict reading comprehension deficits. Instead, individual skills, especially language ability, must be considered before one can accurately predict whether a given individual with ASD will experience difficulties in reading comprehension.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Lisa Archibald and Dr. Perry Klein for their insightful comments on an earlier draft, and to Jessica Boehm and Charity McCarthy for their assistance on this project.

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Affiliations

  1. Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Elborn College, Western University, London, N6G 1H1, ON, Canada

    Heather M. Brown

  2. Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, N6G 1H1, ON, Canada

    Janis Oram-Cardy

  3. School of Health Studies, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada

    Andrew Johnson

Authors
  1. Heather M. Brown
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  2. Janis Oram-Cardy
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  3. Andrew Johnson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather M. Brown.

Additional information

This paper was submitted in partial fulfillment of the first author’s Ph.D. degree at Western University. Data from this paper were presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Toronto, Ontario in May 2012.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 4.

Table 4 List of tests used in the studies that were included in meta-analysis
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Appendix 2

See Table 5.

Table 5 Demographic characteristics of participants in each study included in meta-analysis
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Brown, H.M., Oram-Cardy, J. & Johnson, A. A Meta-Analysis of the Reading Comprehension Skills of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 932–955 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1638-1

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Keywords

  • Autism spectrum disorders
  • Reading comprehension
  • Decoding
  • Semantic knowledge
  • Meta-analysis