comprehension question
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comprehension question
| Mon, 08-15-2005 - 4:12pm |
okay, sorry if this sounds stupid, but has anyone noticed or been told by a doctor, therapist that AS kids tend to have more problems with reading comprehension? As you know, I don't have a diagnosis, but a heavy suspicision I'm going with until I can get an evaluation. my ds has big problems with comprehending anything, from a story read-aloud to a conversation (which that seems to fit in with AS social clue misreading). I want to try to use a book about reading comprehension as a sort of curriculum (we're homeschoolers) but I'm wondering if I should be trying anything specifically different than what would be done with NT kids? TIA

Well, I know for myself, my kids have a hard time with comprehension. Or rather what tends to happen is that kids with AS can also be a bit hyperlexic and thier reading decoding is far above thier comprehension.
In grade school, particularly early grades, most of the comprehension questions tend to be detail oriented and our kids can be killer at that. But as they get older and more inferencing and such is required, then they have a harder time. I believe this comes down to kids with AS being extremely concrete and literal as well as having a hard time understanding things from others point of view. So if you throw lots of metaphor, figurative language, inferencing and variety of points of view in a story then it is very hard for them.
Mike has a particularly hard time with all kinds of comprehension. Auditory, reading, etc. It leads me to believe he is more autie than Aspie. His teacher notices it as well. Facts recall fine, but anything that requires real comprehension is hard. He insisted the other day that Soda's main ingredient is sodium because they sound the same. No matter how I tried to explain it didn't work. That is the way he understands it and there is no changing it. It happens numerous times a day every day. he is very hard to talk to because he often misunderstands what is said to him. He scores ok on language tests because he figured out the code, lol. Though he scored 1st percentile the 1st time tested, they kept retesting with different tests and he figured out the pattern of the tester and the clues they gave to what answer was right. Smart bugger.
Some things you can do is to work on some of those speech areas that are tough like inferences, metaphors, etc. Also make sure to always check for understanding and reprase in concrete ways. Perhaps instead of having him answer with just details, change things up a bit.
Renee
I'm still at the point where he'll miss 2/3 of the words I say, let alone get the gist of a sentence, whether I'm speaking to him or reading. He was having problems with the details type of comprehension, but is starting to get that now. It's like something just clicked lol.
Now I haven't read anything about hyperlexia, although I am familiar with the word. Can you give a brief description or suggest a book for me to read?
I've already learned things like I can't say "Make your bed." That statement just goes above his head. Don't remember if I asked this in my first post, but do aspies seem to have more problems with 2 step directions? ds still can't handle those. Like if we're doing math, I can't say "Circle the odd numbers and then box the even numbers." but have to give each step separately.
blessed be
Joelle
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bcwritinglif
Love and Light, Joelle
Homeschooling mom to a 11yr old hydrogen molecule.
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Yeah, they can have problems with 2 step directions, but usually if there is a comorbid auditory processing problem. Both my kids have those and we have been working on it for a while so "make your bed" is ok, but I do have to be careful.
1. Get a speech/language eval. Even if you homeschool he can receive speech/lang services through the school. Often you will just bring him by for those sessions as part of your week. He is really going to need speech to work on alot of this.
2. Look into modifications for auditory processing disorder. Check out the speech board. Bari who sometimes posts here is great, and SLP and I think still cl over there.
3. Put everything in writing as well as auditory. So if you say "circle the odd numbers, then box the even." Write that out as a list. Perhaps even providing the visual of circling the first and boxing the other. Mike and Cait will have trouble with that as well. I have to provide 1 step at a time or provide visuals. Often Mike will have attending issues as well and I will still have to direct him back even when using the visuals.
There are a number of other educational strategies/modifications that can be helpful for him. Lindamood Bell is great too.
Hyperlexia, there is a great website and lots of info on the web about it. i don't know any books, but Suzi might. Typically it is kids who are precocious readers who learn letters by 2 and to read without being taught before 5. They are often very focused on reading and thier decoding skills are way higher than comprehension. There are lots of aspies who aren't full blown hyperlexics who do have an uneven pattern between decoding and comprehension. Cait is hyperlexic by definition but at this point Mike's split between his decoding and comprehension is larger than Caits.
Renee
He had a speech eval back when he was 4yrs. was diagnosed as having mild to moderate receptive & expressive delays
He's just starting to decode on his own. We've been dealing with a lot of behavior issues (a good percentage of which were from a neglectful dad who now has limited time with ds, not from any diagnosible learning difference)
I'll have to take a look at stuff for auditory processing disorder & hyperlexia. I'll have to see what my friend says. She's an SXI teacher, working with kids with severe learning issues. many of her current students are dealing with some level of blindness. She was one of the first people to suggest AS as a possibility for my ds, along with SID
blessed be
Joelle
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bcwritinglif
Love and Light, Joelle
Homeschooling mom to a 11yr old hydrogen molecule.
Follow me to these boards:
Joelle,
Yep, we have all of that here.
When he was younger (and probably yet) Peter seemed to comprehend fact better than fiction. His obession was tigers for some time, so wildlife books and magazines helped us. He wasn't reading at the time, so I would read to him, simplifying the language if needed. (most of this stuff is not aimed at 5yos).
Now he does better with books about his obsessions: Pokemon or similar. These he really gets into and enjoys. Otherwise he is just reading to get *through* the book and get me off his back.
Non-book teaching worked well for Peter too. Our school uses a lot of computer based stuff (with books to back it up): "Wiggle Works" is a program name which comes to mind, Peter LOVES it, and it helped engage him enough to learn. As both his parents and one grandparent are/were computer geeks, this makes perfect sense to me!
Auditory processing: Yep, multi-step directions are interesting around here. I think I have stopped giving them! (I need to make a concious effort to change this, or my kids will never function the real world). Hey, I have a problem with them as well. If I get lost, I usually stay lost until I mangage to get within a three-step direction of the destination, or if I can write stuff down! -but I digress. For us; visual cues and constant reminders help a lot. I think my DD as more serious AP issues. She "mishears" a lot of things ("B" instead of "V" -that sort of thing). Suspect school will bring these to the fore, and I think she may need specialised therapy for it. She also has problems with word retrieval and with "freezing" when asked a question. This was helped a lot by a special teacher who used to work with her in preschool, but it is an ongoing process.
HTH
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Well I've noticed that Finn has some problems in comprehending nonfiction stuff, although it's far less exaggerated than his problems with fiction. of
Love and Light, Joelle
Homeschooling mom to a 11yr old hydrogen molecule.
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