Literacy Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Summary
Literacy development in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is marked by a distinctive profile of strengths and challenges that diverges from typical trajectories. While many individuals on the spectrum demonstrate intact or even advanced word-decoding abilities, they frequently encounter difficulties in higher-order comprehension, inferential reasoning and pragmatic interpretation of text. Variability in language skills, cognitive styles and sensory processing contributes to heterogeneous outcomes, ranging from hyperlexia in minimally verbal children to subtle comprehension deficits in those with average or above-average intelligence. Effective literacy acquisition hinges on early identification of individual profiles, assessment of emergent literacy skills and tailored instructional approaches that leverage visuospatial strengths and support language processing. Recent advances underscore the importance of integrative frameworks combining phonological training, comprehension strategy instruction and assistive technologies to enhance reading engagement and academic achievement. Globally, there is growing recognition of the need for evidence-based interventions that accommodate sensory sensitivities and communicative preferences, ensuring that educational systems can foster meaningful access to text and promote lifelong learning for individuals with ASD.
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Literacy Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in literacy development in autism spectrum disorders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Emergent literacy: Early skills and knowledge that precede and develop into conventional reading and writing abilities.
Phonological awareness: The capacity to recognise, manipulate and reflect on the sound structure of spoken language, foundational for decoding.
Decoding: The process of translating printed text into spoken words using letter–sound correspondence.
Weak central coherence: A cognitive style characterised by a focus on local details rather than global context, affecting comprehension.
Multi-tiered system of support (MTSS): A framework that provides graduated levels of instructional intensity based on student performance data.
References
- Outcomes of Equity-Based Multi-Tiered System of Support and Instructional Decision-Making for Autistic Students. Education Sciences (2024).
- Emergent Literacy Assessment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Have Limited Verbal Communication Skills: A Tutorial.. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools (2021).
- Reading and Writing Skills in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Disability. Frontiers in Psychology (2021).
- Improving Reading in Adolescents and Adults With High-Functioning Autism Through an Assistive Technology Tool: A Cross-Over Multinational Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry (2019).
- Habilidades de leitura em crianças com diagnóstico de hiperlexia: relato de caso. CoDAS (2013).
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