Drawing a Blank : Improving Comprehension for Autistic Readers

A lot of kids with autism have problems with reading comprehension. This book provides practical, easy-to-teach methods for improving both vocabulary and comprehension. Some of the tools include teaching synonyms, looking up pictures on the internet to teach nouns, and using lists of words with different shades of emotional meaning such as naughty, bad, and evil. I highly recommend this book for use with all individuals who have problems with reading comprehension. — Temple Grandin, Ph.D., author of Thinking in Pictures and The Way I See It series

Help Autistic Individuals Improve Reading Comprehension

Although they may be excellent readers, those with autism often need support for comprehension. Comprehension difficulties are subtle, qualitative, and difficult to tease out. As a result, reading comprehension problems are often overlooked or unaddressed. Many students struggle in silence.

This is where Drawing a Blank comes in. Even the most competent educational professionals in general education and special education have limited training and experience helping autistic readers. Using a clearly stated and well-organized approach, Drawing a Blank provides educational professionals and parents with the tools to improve comprehension for good readers who have comprehension difficulties.

This book explains where and why comprehension failure occurs and offers evidence-based and promising practices to use, based on a thorough assessment of a student's needs. The information can also be helpful for readers who struggle with both decoding and comprehension.

This second edition describes new evidence-based interventions and 15 new research summaries on how to implement them.

Emily Iland, M.A. is an award-winning author, consultant, researcher, advocate and leader in the autism field. She is the mother of a young man with ASD and brings personal experience and insight to her professional roles including as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Special Education at California State University, Northridge. She presents a variety of topics at conferences in both English and Spanish, all over the U.S. and abroad. She is known for the clear way she presents complex information! Emily has been actively involved with the autism community for nearly three decades as an educator and innovator. Areas of special focus include reading comprehension, skills for safety & Independence, autism & law enforcement, transition to adulthood, parent training, and community integration.