1. Skills That Go Beyond the Single Word Level Inferencing/prediction Cohesion Main idea Summarizing Drawing conclusions

2. Assumption for Inferencing Assumes one can understand the notion of inferring or “reading between the lines” Assumes one knows that authors (or speakers) compose text based on their experiences Understands that authors sometimes don’t give all the details Understands that his or her job is to figure out the meaning despite the fact that some information is missing

3. Performing Inferencing Note the clues in the text Access their own experience relative to the clues Make predictions based on their experiences and the author’s clues ***Ask for help if it doesn’t make sense – called “coherence” (children with ASD can code experiences differently)* Duffy, G. 2003. Explaining Reading. New York: Guilford Press

4. Teach Student to Be Strategic- Explore Options & Analyze the Information

5. Inference Will Need to be Scaffolded and Taught Help the child understand that authors or speakers don’t always tell us everything- we have to use our minds to figure out what happened. Scaffold what is not understood so the child is not lost or frustrated See handout on ten types of inferences

6. Assessment/ Intervention for Cohesion

7. Decipher Main Idea (Most Important) in the Paragraph, Chapter or Book:

8. Assessment/Intervention Getting the Main Idea

9. Helping Teach Main Idea Prerequisites: –Reader must understand that author has a purpose in writing or a message that he wishes to share –Reader must understand that everything in the text is not equally important

10. Helping Teach Main Idea Main idea= what the author thinks is important? Why this is difficult for person with ASD: –Author may not state main idea directly- it must be inferred –Reader must think about multiple pieces of information (details) and use prior knowledge to infer what is important –Main idea supposition may change as one reads more of the article or piece

11. Helping Teach Main Idea Model, then provide support that lessens over lessons. Attempt to put one’s self in author’s place (Assumes you’ve talked about the author) Look for words or phrases that suggest what is important (details)= clues Use past experience and the clues to determine what is valued in text Guess what might have been the main idea from thinking about the author and the clues Duffy, G. 2003. Explaining Reading. New York: Guilford Press

12. Summarizing

13. Summarizing = Brief Retelling of the Text Recognizing text structure can be helpful –Story –Nonfiction- cause and effect –Nonfiction- compare and contrast Must know concept of beginning, middle and end Must understand that some information is more important than others and be able to decide this

14. Summarizing = Brief Retelling of the Text Problem- lots of detail available Be familiar with what is to be summarized Use Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions to help select most information from the beginning, middle and end (or resolution) Summarize with a graphic organizer, if needed, before writing summary statements Duffy, G. 2003. Explaining Reading. New York: Guilford Press

15. Assessment/Intervention Drawing Conclusions

16. Drawing Conclusions Involves an inference if it is not stated explicitly in the text what the author would like readers to believe. Offer possibilities and discuss Select best option.

17. What Did Adults with ASD Say? Most read for information Some had no interest in fiction Figuring out plots, keeping track of characters in fiction was a challenge Reading something of interest was paramount

18. What Did Adults with ASD Say? Some thought their job was to memorize but didn’t realize need to relate or apply content Everyone thought they needed more one on one or small group help Some thought formal grammar instruction was helpful Graphic organizers might have helped some- if the teacher made them

19. Planning for Instruction