Lexical and Goal Inference Making in a Cooperative Story Mapping for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Peers

Lexical and Goal Inference Making in a Cooperative Story Mapping for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Peers

Three elementary school students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and their peers in cooperative learning groups participated in lexical and goal inference making in a cooperative story mapping intervention. A multiple-baseline design across participants was implemented to assess the intervention effect on reading comprehension skills of students with ASDs. Generalization of learned skills and social validity of the participants were also examined. Students with ASDs as well as peers increased their reading comprehension scores, especially on inferential questions. This study contributes to the existing literature on effective reading instruction strategies for students with ASDs in an inclusive educational setting.