One of the "pitfalls" I have experienced while working students with Autism Spectrum Disorders placed in fully inclusive classrooms with supports is the difficulty this population seems to encounter with reading comprehension acquisition through the balanced literacy approach
In more cases then not, I have seen students fall increasingly behind as they progress through elementary school in their ability to re-tell, inference, make predictions, make connections, and summarize instructional level text. This lack of progress does not seem connected to lack of accommodations, modifications, and specialized instruction. My problem is with such a spectrum of students, where does one begin with target intervention strategies?
With my students, I have found computer based activites to be a successful assessment tool, but continue to struggle to find effective "teaching technologies."
Here are some methods we have utilized in our school: Read Naturally, Reading A-Z, RAZ kids, use of the "story braid", use of comic books, illustrating the story in a story strip, power point, accessible books online....
What has worked for you?
