Tag Archives: hyperlexia

Writing rules for a kindergartner with autism

By Richard Finegan Just when I thought I knew what I was doing after years as a paraprofessional working one-on-one with children with autism, life teaches me a hard lesson:  it is a different world in kindergarten! I mean, kindergartners are barely socialized!  And I’m not talking about the ones with autism.  They have to [...]

What were they thinking? Teach vocabulary!

Those of us attempting to help struggling readers on the spectrum to comprehend what they read in narrative, in text, are limited by the breadth of the child’s working vocabulary. Anything we can do to expand that working vocabulary pushes us closer to a grade-appropriate level of reading comprehension.

FAQs about anaphoric cuing and reading comprehension

Q: What, briefly, is anaphoric cuing?
A: Anaphoric cuing involves teaching the child to identify the anaphora and to pause to relate them to their reference words while reading. In this way, the student begins to connect the parts of the text to one another.

So he resists reading: What does he like?

When we have students with reading comprehension problems, perhaps with hyperlexia, who have difficulty making meaning of what they read, it helps greatly if they care that they don’t get it. Do they want to know about these characters and what is happening to them?

Hello, World 2! Leave us a comment and tell us why you visited

  Our very first post, on August 15, 2009 (just four months ago), was titled “Hello World!”  At the time, with no one even knowing we existed who wasn’t a blood relative, it seemed a little pretentious. So no one is as surprised as we are today to notice that in the past 10 days [...]

Anaphoric cuing: Asking clarifying questions

Comprehension problems are not unique to kids on the autism spectrum, and some practical hints on how to use anaphoric cuing can be gleaned from the literature on reading comprehension generally.

Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?

By Sara Finegan Bobby approached my kidney-shaped conference table hesitantly, walking on tiptoe around the nearby rocking chair.  He was carrying a copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  I greeted him; he did not meet my eyes.  This was the first day of the second week of school, and we had fashioned name [...]

Autism and hyperlexia, part 2: Helping Bobby read

By Sara Finegan When I met him, Bobby was a fourth grader with autism, struggling to make meaning of the words he so easily read aloud (decoded).  He had hyperlexia, a common condition with children on the autism spectrum, in which they seem to read well but comprehend little.  Research suggested to me that something [...]