Beyond Tier Three: Individualized Levels of Support During Headsprout® Early Reading Instruction for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Headsprout Early Reading plus on-the-spot individualized tiers keeps every autistic child advancing in class.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Six elementary students with autism used Headsprout Early Reading in class. The team added extra support tiers beyond the usual three. They tracked each child's progress lesson by lesson.
What they found
Every child moved forward and their reading skills grew. The extra supports kept kids from getting stuck or quitting.
How this fits with other research
Nally et al. (2021) also saw gains when parents ran Headsprout at home with brief coaching. The new study shows the same program works in school when staff add tailored help.
Storey et al. (2020) tested Headsprout in classrooms with literacy-delayed pupils and saw big reading jumps. The autism study mirrors those gains, but only after layering on individualized supports.
Bailey et al. (2022) tried a different online reading program plus shared book reading for autistic children and found no clear benefit. Headsprout with extra tiers succeeded where lighter support failed.
Why it matters
If you run Headsprout in class, plan for extra support right from the start. Watch where each child stalls and add prompts, models, or breaks on the spot. The study shows this keeps every learner moving and turns a generic program into an autism-friendly tool.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We previously conducted a series of conceptual replications to parse out which-and to what degree-adaptations and individualized supports were needed for children to access and learn early reading skills using Headsprout®. Here we developed a systematic decision-making process for providing levels of support to individuals with autism who require additional instruction in order to access and/or advance through Headsprout®. Using a series of single-case AB, ABC, and multiple-baseline designs we examined strategies from our previous research and additional strategies iteratively developed during the study on six students with autism, all of whom demonstrated progression through Headsprout® and increased reading skills. We provide practical implications for teachers and suggestions to research these supports with other computer-based programs.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05072-y