Word Study Intervention for Students with ASD - A Multiple Baseline Study of Data-Based Individualization

Oct 15, 2026

A multiple baseline across participants evaluated a data-based individualization word study intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder and low word reading skills. An experienced interventionist delivered 1:1 instruction in 30-minute sessions five times per week, averaging 10 sessions per participant. Effects were estimated for directly taught words and spelling-similar words using visual analysis and mean-difference calculations across baseline and intervention phases. Results showed immediate, consistent improvements in word reading outcomes across all participants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background: Reader profiles and prior interventions

Comprehension-focused interventions

Need for decoding and word-reading supports

Code-based reading intervention research

Synthesis findings and limited evidence

Individual study outcomes

Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2018, 53(3), 287 –298 © Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Word Study Intervention for Students with ASD: A Multiple Baseline Study of Data-Based Individualization Michael Solı´s University of California Riverside Farah El Zein Brescia University College Marie Black, Alexandra Miller, William J. Therrien, and Marcia Invernizzi University of Virginia Abstract: This multiple baseline across participants study examined the efﬁcacy of a data-based individualization word study intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder (N 􀀂 5) and low word reading skills. An experienced interventionist provided 1:1 word reading instruction in 30 -minute sessions ﬁve times per week for an average of 10 sessions per participant. Intervention effects for directly taught words and words with similar spelling patterns were estimated using visual analysis and calculation of mean differences across baseline and intervention phases. Results indicate immediate and consistent improvements in word reading outcomes across all participants. Recent reports suggest that as many as one in three students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reader proﬁles of low decoding skills and comprehension (Nation, Clarke, Wright, & Williams, 2006; Wei, Christiano, Yu, Wagner & Spiker, 2014) . Nation et al. (2006) reported 42% of students with ASD in their sample as having low decoding skills in addition to low reading comprehension. More recently, Wei et al. (2014) reported a similar ﬁnding of 32% of students with ASD having low decoding. Despite this being the case, reading interventions for students with ASDover the last 10 years have primarily focused on reading comprehension (Chiang & Lin, 2007; El Zein, Solis, Vaughn, & McCulley, 2014; Whalon, Al Otaiba, & Delano, 2009) . The overwhelming focus on comprehension The authors would like to thank Hannah Mathews for her hard work on materials development and data collection. This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R324A160299 to the University of California Riverside. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael Solis, Graduate School of Education, University of California Riverside, Riverside, [CA 92521. E-mail: michael.solis@ucr.edu](CA 92521. E-mail: michael.solis@ucr.edu) instruction is not surprising considering the inﬂuential reader proﬁle studies conducted over several decades which described average or above average decoding skills with low comprehension for students with ASD (Frith & Snowling, 1983; Goldberg, 1987; Minshew, Goldstein, Taylor, & Siegel, 1994; O’Connor & Hermelin, 1994; Pattie & Lupinetti, 1993) . While there does appear to be agreement among many researchers on the pervasive difﬁculties students with ASD experience with reading comprehension (Fluery et al., 2014), it is also important to note the needs of students with ASD that do not ﬁt this typical proﬁle. Beyond comprehension needs, it is also important to investigate other challenges faced by students with ASD with less typical reader proﬁles such as those who face challenges with decoding and word reading. Code-Based Reading Intervention Research for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Whalon and colleagues (2009) conducted a synthesis of reading interventions for students with ASD that identiﬁed eleven studies providing instruction in decoding, ﬂuency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Of these 11 studies, only three pre/posttest design and one singlecase design study investigated code-based in- Word Study Intervention and ASD / 287 terventions (Basil & Reyes, 2003; ColemanMartin, Heller, Chihak, & Irvine, 2005; Heimann, Nelson, Tjus, & Gilberg, 1995; Tjus, Heimann, & Nelson, 1998) . Three of

FAQs

What does the study evaluate for students with ASD?

It evaluates the efficacy of a data-based individualization word study intervention targeting word reading outcomes, including directly taught words and words with similar spelling patterns.

How was the intervention delivered and for how long?

An experienced interventionist provided 1:1 word reading instruction in 30-minute sessions five times per week, averaging about 10 sessions per participant.

How were intervention effects measured?

Effects were estimated using visual analysis and calculations of mean differences across baseline and intervention phases, separately for directly taught words and spelling-similar words.

Oct 15, 2026

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