Procedural and Conceptual Print-Related Achievements in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

A comparative analysis between emergent procedural and conceptual print-related achievements was conducted for 32 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) aged 4 to 8 years. To minimize the influence of linguistic competence on the assessment, the ASD print-related profile was compared with that of a language-matched sample of typically developing peers. Two factors associated with young children’s print-related achievements, their print motivation and home-based experiences, were illustrated for the matched participants. We found that children with ASD earned significantly higher scores on a parentally reported composite measure of emergent procedural (e.g., letter name identification) than conceptual (e.g., pretend reading) print-related accomplishments. The children with ASD were more often reported by their parents as motivated by letters but less likely to request or enjoy shared reading than their language-matched peers. Findings provide a preliminary profile of emergent print-related accomplishments that may be considered in educational planning for children with ASD.