Brief Report: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of RECALL (Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning) for Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Lo et al. (2021) asked parents to read picture books with their preschoolers who have autism.

Parents followed a simple script: prompt, wait, praise. They did this for six weeks at home.

The team then checked if kids understood stories better and joined reading time more often.

Kids in the RECALL group scored higher on story questions and emotion naming.

They also sat longer and talked more during book time than kids who got no extra coaching.

Parent-delivered dialogic reading with clear prompts worked.

Hou et al. (2025) ran a similar RCT but left out the parent prompts. Their kids still gained language and engagement, showing the core dialogic method is solid.

Shams et al. (2025) stretched the idea further. They mixed story reading with songs and rhymes across the whole day and saw bigger vocabulary jumps.

Dababnah et al. (2025) looked at digital books. They showed that a quick verbal cue like "Look at the word!" pulls autistic preschoolers’ eyes to print. Together these studies say: keep the prompts, but you can deliver them in print, digital, or blended lessons.

You can teach parents the RECALL script in one short meeting. Hand them the prompt cards, model once, and send them home. Expect clearer answers to "How does the boy feel?" and longer book time without fuss.