Efficacy of ABRACADABRA literacy instruction in a school setting for children with autism spectrum disorders.
ABRA web lessons in small groups boost word reading for elementary students with autism, but story understanding needs more help.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Danker et al. (2019) tested a free web program called ABRA in a public school.
Kids with autism in grades 1-3 worked in groups of three on laptops.
A teacher and aide coached them through phonics games and short stories for one semester.
What they found
Children read real words and short passages more accurately after the program.
Their story understanding scores did not move much.
The gains stayed when kids read brand-new passages four weeks later.
How this fits with other research
Knight et al. (2013) warned that most tech reading apps for autism lack proof.
Their 2013 review found only three good studies, so the new ABRA result extends that tiny list.
Williams et al. (2002) showed preschoolers with autism learned words faster on a computer than with books; Joanne’s team moved the same idea into elementary small groups and still saw word gains.
Plaisted et al. (2006) showed many kids with autism read words fine but understand little; ABRA fits that pattern—word scores rose, comprehension stayed flat.
Why it matters
You can add ABRA to your literacy toolbox for early readers with autism.
Use it in pairs or threes while you float and prompt.
Track word-reading accuracy as your primary target; add extra lessons if you want comprehension to grow too.
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Join Free →Place three students with autism at one laptop, open ABRA’s phonics level, and let each child read a page aloud while you give praise and error correction.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: There is evidence indicating that instruction using ABRACADABRA (ABRA) - a free web application designed to promote literacy development - may benefit children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) when administered on an individualized basis in children's homes. AIMS: Here, we investigated the efficacy of ABRA instruction administered in small groups of children with ASD within a school setting. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Children were aged 5.83-8.42 years (n = 23). Some children were assigned to an instruction group and received a minimum of 20 h of ABRA instruction over 9 weeks (n = 11). The other children comprised an age- and ability-matched control group (n = 12) and received business as usual literacy instruction. Outcome measures included word-level accuracy, passage-level accuracy, and passage-level comprehension, all assessed using standardized tests that were independent of ABRA. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: ANOVAs comparing pre- versus post-instruction raw scores showed statistically significant improvements in word- and passage-level reading accuracy for the instruction group relative to the control group, with large effect sizes. Gains in reading comprehension for the instruction group were not statistically significant and, in a posthoc correlational analysis, appeared to be related to children's socialisation skills (r = .62). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Literacy instruction using ABRA is associated with improvement in reading accuracy for children with ASD when administered in small groups within a school setting. Children with ASD may require additional supports to make gains in reading comprehension when literacy instruction using ABRA is delivered in groups.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2019 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.11.003