Does your child with ASD read with expression?

[dontknowwhat2callmyself]

DD 7yrs old has always loved books - likes to be read to and likes to read. She has great expression when she reads she can read character parts with the best expression - I have always loved listening to her read. I just wondered how common it was for children with ASD?

Once again we are not alone

Its surprising isnt it how many people say Oh yes my child does that and yet the proffs say On no children with Asd/As cant do that

I meant to say Dd3 taught herself to read no one really ever worked out how she did it, she just went from not reading to reading virtually over night. Her reading hasnt really changed much since though, she still makes the same errors and has pretty similar comprehension skills.

My DS suspected autism/SPD reads very well and always with expression. He's still to learn how to use ! and ? but everyone at school and friends, family etc are amazed at how good and expressive he is. Many people, ourselves included, think he will end up acting as his ability to recite is also fantastic

OMG I am so glad this Q has come up!!!! Flummoxed me for a long time, this!

dd2 in Y4 (disclaimer: undiagnosed also) learned to read with ease. From reception she was incredibly expressive in her reading. Friends would comment on how beautifully she reads. Still does read beautifully. But, comprehension stalled since beginning of Y2, now lagging behind (having 1:1 TA time at school to address this, has weekly private SALT). The phrases seem to register superficially, but the meaning of them doesn't connect up to generate understanding or inference. UNLESS it's a story about something she can relate to (same as expressive language and conversational skills, hit-and-miss unless it registers on her radar of interest). The difference between expression/comprehension is very confusing to me!!!

Handy inference is the bane of my life !! Dd3 seriously cannot do it her school are obsessed with it and she sooo doesnt get it. To her the words in the book are just that, black marks on a page and while she enjoys the stories understanding the thoughts and feelings of the characters is totally beyond her.

Her new IEP has her doing SALT with an Asd specialist SALT once a week to support her learning and 1 to 1 TA time too.

I am glad she is getting the input but am wondering if she is even actually capable of learning this skill If she isnt then wouldnt all that input be better for something else?!?

Just a thought

Well yes, am pondering that too. We have had about 8 private SALT sessions working on vocab and sentence level skills. This is where SALT feels she is ie not yet ready for a paragraph full of text despite reading at NC level 3a.
Up til now I have been skeptical about the effectiveness about this, but we seemed to have had a breakthrough and I can now understand how it works. In my head it goes like this: dd2 gets used to using visual cue cards (colour coded) to extend her written sentences, practice, practice, practice.... getting her to become familiar with making the connections between concepts (dd2 actually has great imagination and vocab). This cognitive skill (generalising with the written word ) will then help her understand what she reads on a deeper level. I think this is private SALT master plan. I think...,,,

How does your ASD SALT approach it Ineedmore?

I have no idea handy I only found out they were going to try it on Friday and I have a meeting with the SENCO this friday to discuss it.

I do wonder if practice might be the key for Dd3, she learns very fast and has an amazing memory so who knows. I will never say never

I will let you know when I know

Aah. Expression with pretend comprehension is common. Not just our house then. Thank you everyone.

Shame we can't disseminate this to professionals

DS is 8. He taught himself to read very early on, how early I'm not sure as we read loads to him and we thought he was just remembering the words.... That is until, aged nearly 3, he spotted me writing an email. In it I said he was being a pain in the bum... He asked me why I thought he was a pain in the bum as he was nowhere near my bottom!
He reads with fantastic expression. He also writes wonderfully BUT it is mimicry rather than his own creation - he'll write a story that is basically one he read with a few tweaks.
Comprehension wise he is very good a picking out the literal stuff but inference? Nah, forget it. He gets very cross if he is asked why a character might behave a certain way and usually answers with something along the lines of the author writing it that way...
He sees no point in analyising how a character behaves, they just do! (And I think he has a point!!)

My youngest does but he cant tell you what the story is about or analyse it in any way, whereas my eldest reads very hesitantly and in a monotone but better comprehends what he is reading.

OMG SALT breakthrough of massive proportions, SALT has managed to get dd2 to leap from sentence to narrative-level expressive skills by some stroke of genius (actually involving a ridiculously simple method). I am sure this is going to improve dd2's reading comprehension. SALT is aware we have LFT and we are using LFT in different ways. It is so exciting!

Sometimes I think SALT to me looks like witchcraft!! God that sounds bonkers. TBH I think it's the fact that our SALT is just a huge talent and manages to continually demand engagement and high expectations combined with a completely positive/understanding vibe. And the fact that she bloody knows what she's doing, I can never see it until it suddenly works!!!! She gives me huge hope, and is worth every penny

well done minihandy (and for the genius SLT)