Increasing Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension During Adapted Shared Reading: An Intervention for Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Laçin (2024) tested adapted shared reading with three preschoolers who have autism. The adult read picture books while adding visual supports and gentle prompts. They met in small groups at the daycare each day for two weeks.

The team tracked new words each child could say and show, plus how well kids followed simple story questions. They used a multiple-baseline design so each child started the book routine at a different time.

All three toddlers learned more target words and answered more questions by the end. Gains showed up slowly but kept rising across days. Kids also used the new words when reading fresh books they had never seen before.

Kim et al. (2018) ran a near-copy study with older kids and got the same lift in story understanding. The 2024 preschool data now show the idea works at an even younger age.

Dong et al. (2025) asked parents to do the reading at home and compared two prompt styles. Their inferential questions helped listening comprehension the most, matching Emre’s finding that gentle prompts matter.

Koegel et al. (1992) warned that table-top drills can spark problem behavior. Emre’s play-like book routine gives a natural fix: kids stayed calm while language grew.

You can slip this package into circle time tomorrow. Pick a short picture book, add Velcro pictures or small toys that match the page, and ask one concrete question per spread. Track the child’s new labels for one week. If the line goes up, keep the routine and slowly fade the toys to bare pages. No extra table, no flashcards, just story fun that doubles as therapy.