Talk held at the IOE explores supporting the literacy of children with autism

The ABRACADABRA set of computer games allow teachers to work on the 'Big Five’ of literacy skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading fluency, and reading comprehension skills.

Children with autism are considered at risk of difficulties mastering several of the ‘big five’. The programme’s efficacy was assessed in two studies with this population of students. 

Joanne Arciuli presented two studies, led by Dr Ben Bailey and herself at The University of Sydney, Australia. The first study assessed a 13-week programme, during which a researcher delivered one-to-one literacy sessions using the ABRACADABRA games. The second study was a teacher-led 9-week intervention in a specialist school, where ABRACADABRA was delivered in small groups. Together, the studies show promising results for reading accuracy and reading comprehension skills.

The talk was attended by researchers and practitioners. It stimulated questions on how the programme can adapt for a wider range of students with complex needs, transferring skills to paper reading, and supporting teachers in using such tools in their lesson planning. 

Links

• Centre for Language, Literacy and Numeracy: Research & Practice
• Department of Psychology and Human Development
• About ABRACADABRA
• View Professor Joanne Arciuli’s profile