Tag Archives: autism spectrum

Don’t stop advocating for the child with autism!

By Sara Finegan A word to parents and teachers– Ok, two words:  (1) don’t  (2) stop. In the world of readers with autism, the worst conversation is the one that goes like this: Parent:  John is really having a tough time with the reading homework. Teacher:  Yes, he is far below grade level. Parent:  He doesn’t [...]

Fiction with a purpose (but one at a time)

By Sara Finegan You might have noticed that most (but not all) readers with autism prefer non-fiction to fiction.  With the exception of Bobby, all of my students on the spectrum have gravitated toward the fact-based section of our classroom library.  Many of them become mini-encyclopedias themselves as they develop particular areas of expertise due [...]

Why I do not use the term“autistic”

By Sara Finegan You’ll notice that I always refer to my students with autism as “students with autism” or “readers with autism.”  I don’t use the word “autistic.” It’s my personal preference and also, I think, is a best practice we educators should adopt, referring to the person first, and then the disability. If we place [...]

A word to college professors

Much to our surprise, this blog is already showing up on web quests, course links, and syllabi in teaching credential programs.    Who knew!!!!! If you are teaching a college or university course, and would like to arrange a question-and-answer session between your class and me or Richard, hit the “contact us” button.  You’ll be directed [...]

For parent and autism organizations

We are delighted to be invited to speak or conduct workshops relating to our blog topics.  If you are organizing a conference, meeting, or group session, feel free to contact us with dates and times.  In general, we tend to stay in Southern California during most of the school year.  However, Sara is in the [...]

Finding the words: Helping a child with autism talk about reading

By Sara Finegan Weak reading comprehension for children with autism is a dysfunctional cycle that can be broken if we work at it over time.  The cycle is this: Autism involves expressive and receptive language deficits. Kids with receptive language disorders have difficulty understanding what words mean.   Kids with expressive language disorders have difficulty using [...]

Say what? Asking questions as one reads

By Sara Finegan Sam, a sixth-grader, didn’t like to read anything except picture books. His independent reading level was at the fourth grade for non-fiction (he loved science and nature text) and at the low third grade in fiction. The more I conferred with him about his reading, the more it became clear that Sam’s [...]

Inferences: “He’s wearing a jacket so it must be his birthday”

By Sara Finegan Students on the autism spectrum don’t tend to make inferences deliberately.  It’s not that they never make them; they just aren’t aware of it and it needs to be brought to their attention before we can teach them to transfer the skill from their own lives to the written word.  It’s important [...]

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