Q: Is it “anaphoric cuing” or “anaphoric cueing”?
A: Yes. 

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Q: What are anaphora?
A: Anaphora are words, often pronouns, which refer back to reference words previously used in the text. For example: “Dan opened his book, put his head down on it, and fell asleep.” In this case, “his” and “it” are the anaphora and “Dan” and “book”  are the reference words.

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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. The active engagement required to relate words to one another supports the child’s connection to the text and reduces his or her habit of passive decoding.

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Q: Who first identified anaphoric cuing as an effective intervention for teaching reading comprehension to children on the autism spectrum?
A: Researchers Irene O’Connor and Perry Klein, both of the University of Western Ontario (Canada),worked with 20 adolescent students with hyperlexia to explore the success of cloze questions, pre-reading questions, and anaphoric cuing. They found anaphoric cuing to be the most effective teaching strategy for improving reading comprehension with these students.
         [O’Connor, I.M. & Klein, P.D. (2004). Exploration of strategies for facilitating the reading comprehension of high-functioning students with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2): 115 -127]

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Q: What is meant by hyperlexia?
A: Hyperlexia is a reading disorder characterized by a precocious ability to decode words, usually two or more levels above the child’s age or grade, combined with significantly impaired comprehension of the same words. Many children on the autism spectrum have this difficulty, even though they may not be diagnosed with hyperlexia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia )

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Q: Has O’Connor and Klein’s study been “proven” in the classroom?
A: This blog’s primary author, Sara Finegan, has had success with the technique (http://readerswithautism.com/2009/09/autism-and-hyperlexia-part-1-anaphoric-cuing/ and http://readerswithautism.com/2009/09/autism-and-hyperlexia-part-2-helping-bobby-read/ ) and would like to hear from other teachers or parents about their experience with anaphoric cuing or any other teaching strategy that has worked to improve reading comprehension by students on the autism spectrum.

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Q: How did Sara learn to do this?
A: As her first posts show, Sara and her student, Bobby, worked it out for themselves.  The process is not complicated. Paraeducators (paraprofessionals, classroom aides) can help to implement it. (http://readerswithautism.com/2009/12/anaphoric-cuing-asking-clarifying-questions/ and http://readerswithautism.com/2009/09/role-of-the-classroom-aide-to-help-the-child-toward-independence/ )

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Q: Does the technique work with students trying to improve reading comprehension in another language besides English?
A: We don’t know for sure, but would assume that in any language that uses pronouns or other anaphora regularly in text, large numbers of children on the autism spectrum have difficulty with comprehension. This technique could be tried to see if it helps and PLEASE let us know what your results are.

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Q:  I’m a teacher (or parent) willing to try anaphoric cuing but I have questions.  Can I contact you?

A:  Certainly.  We want you to Post a Comment to any one of our articles, including this one (see below), or you may Contact Us ( http://readerswithautism.com/contact-us/ ) by email.  We will respond to any communication from an educator or a parent trying to help a struggling reader.

Our Goal:  Providing help for struggling readers on the autism spectrum.

Related posts:

1. Anaphoric cuing: Asking clarifying questions
2. Hearing the story in your head: The role of expressive reading
3. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?

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 called anaphoric cuing was the key to helping Bobby.  The earlier post “Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?” discusses what anaphoric cuing is and how I came to discover it as a possible intervention.   In this post, I will discuss exactly what I did with and for Bobby.

Weekly routine

Bobby was given one-on-one attention and instruction for 20 minute sessions, three days a week.  This took place at a kidney-shaped table in the corner of the classroom, shielded from the activity of other students. 

  There were three stages to the process: 

• Initial implementation of anaphoric cuing,
• release of responsibility, and
• gradual development of independence. 

Initial implementation of anaphoric cuing

During the first several months, Bobby met with me three mornings per week.  Each session began with a conversation about the previous day’s work, with the following questions:  (1) What did you read yesterday?  (2)What do you remember about what you read? 

Following that introductory conversation, I presented Bobby with his book and his comprehension worksheet from the previous day.  The worksheet asked him questions about the anaphora from the previous day’s text, such as: 

• Who is “he”? 
• Where is “there”? 
• When was “then”? 
• What is “it”?

Here is an example:

Pages 10 and 11:

1. Who is May?

2. What does May think about the fact that Marvin likes Rosie?

Page 12:

1. Why does Marvin think Rosie is so mean?

2. What does May think of Marvin’s theory?

Page 14:

1. Why does Mr. Brock want to sell his farm?

2. Why did May think that selling Rosie was a good idea?

If he had answered all questions correctly, he was given a new assignment.  If there were questions to be corrected, he did so under my supervision.  Prior to starting a new reading section, I asked Bobby to restate the procedure for reading: 

“First, I read a page.  Then I stop and think about it.  Then I answer the questions for that page.  I don’t turn the page of the book until I have answered all the questions for that page.” 

(I did mention, didn’t I, how compliant Bobby was?)  Only then did I let him begin reading that day’s text.

 During the next 15 minutes, I observed Bobby’s reading behaviors and completed a checklist.  (See Exhibit 1: Retell Checklist, below) If he was off-task or not following the stated procedures, (i.e. reading ahead before answering questions) he was gently redirected by the question “Bobby, what are you supposed to be doing now?”

 At the end of each session, I evaluated his worksheet and tabulated the results.  At the end of each week, the checklists were compiled and the data recorded.

Release of Responsibility 

Bobby's Bookmark

Once Bobby had progressed up several levels of narrative fiction text and built his stamina to 20 minutes at a time, I released some of the responsibility for addressing anaphora to him.  Bobby was taught what anaphora are, and the types of words they might be. (For example, he, them, it, there, that, then.)

I made for him a laminated bookmark listing many of the words to look for.

  He was instructed to pause before reading each paragraph and to scan and underline any anaphora he saw.  He was then told to to stop as he read at every underlined anaphora and identify the reference word (the word to which the anaphora refer). 

His reading comprehension worksheets were redesigned to focus on a summary or restatement of each paragraph using different words.

Gradual development of independence

 When Bobby moved up three grade levels to books at the fourth grade level, I decided to nudge him into a new phase of independence and responsibility for his own work.    The comprehension worksheets were removed entirely and he was asked to create his own questions to prompt identification of anaphora and reference words.   

When he exhibited some reluctance to assume this responsibility, I taught him the types of question words he might use for each anaphor:  pronouns generally lead to “who” inquiries; whereas “there” might lead to a “where” question. 

Once he had practice in identifying the types of questions he might ask based on the nature of the anaphora, he was encouraged to work more independently. Supervision was limited to observation of his reading behaviors and once weekly conferences when I asked him to retell what he’d been reading. 

Evaluation of process

 The process I followed involved ongoing and consistent collection of data, which was used not only to monitor levels of improvement in reading comprehension, but to identify problems and design solutions. 

For example, observations led me to conclude that Bobby needed to build reading stamina before he could proceed into more complex types of narrative fiction text, and accommodations were made that allowed him to gradually increase the amount of text read in each session. 

Tip:  Constant and careful observation and recording of various reading behaviors is necessary if the teacher is going to customize reading instruction in anaphoric cuing, adapt to the resulting improvement in comprehension, and resolve related issues which invariably arise.  No two students are alike. 

 One-on-one instruction and guided practice proved to be a key to the consistency of Bobby’s progress.  Direct instruction was provided in small chunks in a step-by-step basis over time.  All instruction was assessment-based, building on observations from the previous session.  

The result was Bobby’s gradual movement from dependence on comprehension checklists and worksheets to independent habits of reading.

You can do this!

 This particular classroom intervention can be performed by any teacher or paraprofessional with minimal training.  Each part of the daily work session routine is simple to implement and the student will quickly learn what to do and expect.  Gradual release of responsibility for thinking and working occurs after the child has become comfortable with anaphoric cuing.  

If a paraprofessional performs the daily conference tasks with the student, the teacher must regularly review the results to gage when to move to a new phase or how to resolve issues that arise. 

Because the involvement of instructional staff is limited in anaphoric cuing, the child quickly understands that the staff is not going to answer questions or do the work for him or her.  This teaches independence and responsibility for the thinking without much struggle.

But back to Bobby…

 The anaphoric cuing method used with Bobby was an evolving process of ongoing assessments to consider how to promote independent reading behaviors.  In the middle phase, Bobby was required to slow his reading and limit reading stints to but a few sentences at a time.  He was encouraged to identify reference words and retell each passage using those reference words to cement and demonstrate his understanding. 

Later, Bobby was asked to assume more responsibility, first to identify the anaphora in text; then to ask himself questions that connected the anaphora to the reference words.  Both standardized and my informal assessments (for example, Exhibit 2: Bobby and the Doughnut Store, below) revealed striking improvements in Bobby’s ability to read and comprehend text.

Epilogue

One cold and rainy day in January of 2008, I looked across my classroom and saw Bobby, now a sixth grader,  building a fort out of pillows.    He was once again holding a copy of  Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban in one hand while elbowing pillows into place with the other. 

I watched as he nested into his fort, opened his book, and began to read.  Two years before, while he could fluently read this book aloud, he comprehended almost none of it.  After awhile, I went over to him.

“What’s happening in the book?” I asked. 

“Oh!  I think Harry Potter is different from other kids,” said Bobby.

“How so?”  I asked.

“ Oh!  He hates vacations and he likes homework,” said Bobby.  “Also, he’s a wizard.  Wizards aren’t like normal people.  Oh!  And he does his homework with a feather pen.  I do mine with pencil.”

Exhibit 2: Bobby and the Doughnut Store

Exhibit 1: Retell Checklist

 

Related posts:

1. Anaphoric cuing: Asking clarifying questions
2. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?
3. Role of the classroom aide: To help the child toward independence

This blog is a collaborative effort between my wife Sara and me.  She does most of the writing.  I do all of the editing, formatting, illustrating (mostly clip art), layout, etc.  Since neither of us had ever blogged or had a website before, it has been a new and rewarding experience.

I am a Special Education Tech in a large Southern California school district where I have worked for several  years, usually assigned in general education classrooms working one-on-one with students on the autism spectrum.  My assignments have included one elementary, two middle, and two high schools and even the school to which  they remove students  for zero-tolerance violations.

I have a degree in journalism, a law degree, and am only a few hours short of being certified as a mild-moderate special education teacher.   So why am I working as a para-educator/classroom aide?

Because I like being able to focus on the students.  Only on the students.  Not grading 150 of yesterday’s five-paragraph essays, or preparing tomorrow’s lessons, and especially not tolerating all that frustrating, annoying administrative stuff that teachers are expected to deal with.  (As an hourly classified employee, I rarely even have to attend staff meetings!)

The role of para-educator

Helping the teachers, of course, is part of our job description but we are not there for the teacher’s benefit (to make copies, or grade homework, or mop the floor, though I’ve done all those things).  We are there only because one or more of the kids in that class has an IEP that says they need extra classroom support.

Don’t be shy about telling the teacher when and why you can’t do something they ask you to do if you truly feel  it intereferes with something one of your students needs from you.

So what is the role of the special education classroom aide in a general education classroom?

To help the child with an IEP become more independent.

When a child no longer needs me, I have succeeded.  When a child continues to depend on me for something other children do without assistance, I have failed.  I have asked in the past not to continue  with a particular student because I thought they had progressed as far as they needed to go with me.

Tip: I rarely sit next to “my” student.  Though I may be in a particular class only because Brandon, or Susie, or Juan is there, I do not want the other kids to know that unless it seems necessary that they know that.  I watch my student from a distance, take notes, move in with advice or assistance and move back out again.  Meanwhile, I’m helping other students all around the classroom.  No student in the classes where I am assigned feels any stigma because I step over and talk to or assist them.  Most of them couldn’t tell you why I’m there.

Children on the autism spectrum can be great to work with as an aide.

I worked with a sixth grader who was fascinated by Alfred Hitchcock (they often have intense interests) and wrote an essay about the filmmaker discussing several of his movies.  An eighth-grade student on the spectrum was a math whiz who read ahead in his algebra book for fun (and also composed on the piano).  A ninth-grader who rarely spoke required almost no help in completing earth science worksheets, finding answers from the textbook.

Yet all of these students, capable as they were in certain areas, had difficulty following even simple plots when reading fiction.  I don’t know that they had hyperlexia, but I would think it highly likely.  Often this particular reading deficit is not specifically identified.

What can you do to help a child who understands the vocabulary but still can’t follow the story?

Well, you can read Sara’s two posts on this blog about Autism and Hyperlexia.   And whether or not your teachers know about or focus on anaphoric cuing, you can use what you learn about it to help any student comprehend narratives, particularly fiction.

Simply put, anaphora are words that refer to other words.  Most of us know almost instinctively who “his” refers to when we read:

“Bob slung the backpack over his shoulder and followed Julio.”

A child with autism will often be unsure who is carrying the backpack.

So first, we have to identify the anaphora that may confuse a child.  These include more than just the obvious pronouns :

• I
• we
• us
• ours
• you
• yours
• he
• his
• she
• hers
• they
• theirs
• them
• it
• its

but also such words as:

• there
• then
• can
• do

When the child encounters these words in reading, we can ask (and teach them to ask themselves)

• Where is “there”?
• When was “then”?
• What is “it”?
• Who is “he”?
• Whose is “theirs”?
• “Can” what?
• “Do” what?

Reading connections that most of us make almost automatically the child with autism may need coaching and repeated practice to learn how to make accurately and regularly.

If you, the para-educator, can help a struggling reader learn this seemingly simple reading strategy, you may just open the door to a lifetime of reading enjoyment.  It is worth the effort.

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PS: I love this slogan “When children can not learn…It’s time to change the way we TEACH” They offer more than 40 products with this alone, and have dozens more autism-related designs.  We make not a dime off this endorsement, by the way.    http://shop.cafepress.com/design/17338377

Our Goal:  Providing help for struggling readers on the autism spectrum.

Related posts:

1. FAQs about anaphoric cuing and reading comprehension
2. Hearing the story in your head: The role of expressive reading
3. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?

While the issues rarely arise in reading class…Children on the autism spectrum often need a facilitator when working with a partner or  in a group.  “Teamwork”  is a difficulty for many of these students.

...is difficult for many with autism

Working in groups may feel unnatural and uncomfortable for a child with autism.  They may…

• Call out other members of the group who are not following directions
• Be distressed when others are not playing by or violate “the rules”
• Antagonize other members of the group by their seemingly hostile or unfriendly attitude
• Imagine that others in the group are harassing or picking on them (when they aren’t)
• Actually be harassed or picked on by other members of the group
• Completely tune out the group and work on the project independently
• Be uncooperative when the group elects to do something differently than they would choose to do it
• Seek an intervention by the teacher or aide to compel the group to do things their way rather than trying to negotiate a compromise or make a concession to the group
• Refuse altogether to work on the project

The teacher rarely has the luxury of spending much time monitoring any  particular partnership or group to be the moderator, make the  suggestions, resolve the disputes, calm the frayed nerves, etc.  This is where the classroom or one-on-one aide  can step in to facilitate.

As I’ve said before, I very rarely sit elbow to elbow with a child with autism to which I am assigned.  I will, however, stay within earshot when group or partner work is taking place.  When cooperation is occurring, I step far back and let it happen.  When it isn’t, I give them a few minutes to see if they will resolve the issue.  If not, then I will step in, make a suggestion, and step out again.

This won’t always work, but you must give the child with autism a chance to learn cooperation skills.  You don’t help the child who has social interation difficulties by imposing a resolution on every partner or group dispute in which you find them.

When the activity is over, you should make time to debrief with the student:

• How did that go?
• Were you able to resolve the issue about ___?
• How?
• Will you try that solution again the next time you work in a group?
• Can you think of a way to avoid that kind of disagreement?

One related tip: Many kids with autism will NOT choose a partner or a group they are not assigned to.  When asked to form groups of a particular size, or to choose a partner, they will stand up and wander around aimlessly until an adult asks if they have a partner or have joined a group and then assign them to it.

My impulse (as an advocate for my students with autism) is always to assign groups or partners.  But this, of course, is not helping the child learn to create social cooperative groups.  And I have found that there is a correlation between how confident a child is about the activity and his or her willingness to initiate a partnership.

On a new activity, the child may need help.  On an activity the child understands well, stand back and see if a partnership or group forms naturally before stepping up and helping him or her join a group.

We would love to hear from other paraprofessionals willing to share what does and doesn’t work when working with a child with autism. There is room below for your Comments.

Related posts:

1. Why I object to the term shadow
2. FAQs about anaphoric cuing and reading comprehension
3. The child in the IEP: Can we really see him as described?