Intervention Program for the Development of Written Speech of a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Enhancing Their Expressive and Structural Ability ()
1. Introduction
As teachers, we come in contact daily with the real problems that arise during school life, which are closely related to their teaching efficacy [1]. With regard to learning, the interest is in the field of reading where we think that the state of its mechanism is an important factor as it is the main means of learning and acquiring information.
Our experience indicates that an increasing proportion of students is having difficulty in this area and it is very common that teachers refer students to the relevant departments for this reason. There are some specific reading behaviors that each teacher may recognize as problems for students with autistic spectrum disorders who have difficulties in reading, thinking, critical thinking, enhancing the child’s syntactic and grammatical level [2].
Finding strategies for dealing with children with autism spectrum disorders will equip me with further skills and abilities to enable me to cope well with the situations of children I will face in the future as a teacher in a classroom.
The purpose of this research proposal is to study the effectiveness of interventions to develop written literacy by enhancing the expressive and editorial capacity of the child with ADHD and promotes academic self-regulation [3]. In particular, the ability to develop skills such as learning to write good and structured reports, brainstorming, refining critical thinking, enriching his vocabulary and applying grammatical and syntactic rules within his own texts will be studied.
In particular, the present study will use the method of semi-structured interviewing with one of the child’s parents to fully outline their profile. In addition, an interview will be conducted with the child’s educator and the special educator who educates the child outside the school context in order to obtain information on the effectiveness of intervention-improving children’s performance in their written discourse convenience, which belongs to the research methods of indefinable probability of choice. A kind of voluntary sample is used, as those who are readily accessible and willing to participate are involved. The selection of the researcher is very small and because of this limitation, the utility and representativeness of such a sample are questionable. However, this sampling technique is well known because of the convenience of collecting candidate respondents. In using this method, the argument of representativeness of the sample and generalization of results is reversed and it is considered that the results of the survey can be generalized to populations that have characteristics similar to those of the sample.
Concerning the validity of a criterion, a criterion is taken into account to prove that a measuring tool measures the concept variable, it intends to measure. The criterion is usually a second measurement tool that estimates the same variable.
At the start (1st week) and at the end of the intervention program (4th week), two children with autism spectrum disorders who are being treated in this study will be given a performance criterion (a set of informal tests) in order to obtain reliable findings of the effectiveness of the intervention. The criterion’s activities have been fully derived from the Language Workbook for the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school.
Exercises covering their deficits based on the pre-test were used on intervention material of the children who participated in the study. Part of the exercises used was taken from a book in Upbility editions entitled “Developing Written Speech - Intervention Strategies - Based on Elementary Elementary”. The other exercises were the development of freelance writing as a way of enhancing their expressive and editorial skills. The intervention material and intervention program lasted 4 weeks from 10 February 2019 to 10 March 2019.
At the beginning of the intervention, there were difficulties in understanding the texts after the pre-test results. The difficulties that the children presented on a different scale, of course, concerned the actual meaning of the words and the concept of literacy. Their latest deficit is also due to the deficits of the DSA they have been diagnosed with.
During the first week the special educator dealt with the section about my friends and girlfriends. In this section as an activity is the understanding and use of the letter. The letter as a kind of text is something that is taught in the curriculum of the last two grades of elementary school where the two children who attend the intervention respectively study. The letter as a text is structured differently from a book excerpt or recording of an event. From the beginning the text refers to a person or company analogous to what the student is asked to write as a subject. Children had difficulty understanding the letter as a text to a friend. Their questions stemmed from the fact that they themselves had not used this type of communication except as a letter to Santa Claus, as they typically said. Therefore, the first part of the intervention concerned learning the type of letter. For example, when they can write a letter, how they write a letter, and who can send a letter, that is, the procedure they follow.
In the second part of the activity, the special educator reads the exercise letter as there is a choice in telling the activity for the child to either read the text itself or hear someone else read it. Then the special educator through various oral questions proceeded to the understanding of the text but also to the unknown words that the children had, different meanings of corresponding deficiencies vocabulary, however. Then, at the end of the text, a syntactic rule is given about the structure of a letter and what the student should notice. After analyzing this rule in such a way that no questions were asked, the special educator proceeded to the next activity. The next activity relates to the written word of each child involved in the intervention. Speaking of exercise is about developing within 10 lines of text above. In this exercise the image of each child was quite different. L., the child of the sixth grade, had several difficulties developing his written speech and at the beginning of the activity denied that he would not succeed and subsequently canceled. Then, with the special educator’s encouragement and guidance, she completed the activity where she finally mentioned it, according to the special educator’s notes that in the end it was not so difficult. G., a fifth-grade student, was not particularly difficult, but his vocabulary was poor and incomplete compared to the class he was studying. With the guidance of a special educator and without any difficulty he completed the activity.
Following the activities on how to write a letter, the next activity is writing a letter to a friend. This activity required the repetition of the structure of a letter as mentioned above as each child’s oral questions led to the conclusion of the need to repeat the theory based on and children’s learning gaps. Children with learning disabilities or learning disabilities usually have poor memory, and frequent repetition leads to the acquisition of the learning unit that the special educator can work with. Then the act is followed by the repetition.
L., starting to write the letter, placed the address to his friend in the upper right where the rule sets the date of writing and the place. Asked by a special educator if he is sure he answered yes, because on the left-hand side of the sheet—where his friend normally goes in—the paragraph begins with what he himself wants to write. Following the exercise L. was impatient because he knew what he wanted to write and told the special educator that no help was needed. He wrote a 6-line text where the 3 lines are a continuous sentence. His vocabulary is incomplete for the sixth grade elementary school student and he did not write the exclamation mark with his signature at the bottom right of the page. When he was finished he was asked if he would like to see it again or ask something and replied that he did not think he had written his letter very well. Then, due to his refusal to do any previous written exercise, the special educator he preferred to make his remarks orally and on the text taught in the first activity and his own, what mistakes and differences the student himself observes so as not to be frustrated again but to continue with the intervention program.
Before writing the letter, G. only asked about the name of his girlfriend since as he told the special educator he does not have a friend who wants to write to him and therefore prefers not to put a name. The student himself also has difficulties in his socialization due to his diagnosis of SAD, which he expressed more strongly than L. where he has received the same diagnosis. The special educator told the student not to worry further about his girlfriend and told him that he could leave it blank until he placed “Dear ...” in the correct position on the page. G. then told the special educator that no further help was needed. The student correctly placed the place, the date, the address and the exclamation mark. His text consisted of seven lines asking questions about his girlfriend’s subject but also giving her suggestions on what he could do.
In the second week the special educator dealt with the textbook mentioned above in a new section related to the environment. As a first activity he had the family of environmental words in a separate color, so that the children could learn how the words related to the environment were always spelled this way. In word processing as a first step the words were verbally analyzed and separated into substantive-adjective verbs. The second step described the meanings of these words. After being understood as words and their meanings then the special educator proceeded to the next step of the activity where these words were to enter the gaps of the sentences. At this point, each child’s image was differentiated. G. understood the exercise and followed the instructions with almost no help from the special educator until he could remember the meaning of the words he used. By contrast, L. needed help with both the drop and the number of words he left blank. The second activity focused on the words that begin with “eco” and their processing. At this point children were asked to divide the words into two groups. One group focused on science investigating the relationships of living organisms with the environment and the other group focused on the physical unity of species of organisms that live in an area and environment. After each child edited the words through a verbal discussion, which of the two groups was given time to find their meanings in the dictionary. After finding each word, each one proceeded child in writing sentences with words processed earlier. The sentences were not particularly difficult for the children, but they were found to be simple (subject-verb-object) with very simple vocabulary and avoiding compound words.
During the third week, a text from the section on the environment mentioned above was used as it took more time for the special educator in this part of the intervention. The activity concerned a narrative where each child had to color differently the verbs that were in Extension with a different one that was in Indefinite but also identify and underline the adverbs. The activity was divided into three parts. At first, the narrative was analyzed as a kind of text and who can come across it. Then the verb times were repeated and finally the adverbs were learned. After the above knowledge was acquired and any learning gaps were covered, the text was processed. For both children it was preferred by the special educator to read the text on their own so that they could practice their reading skills. At this point there was a difference in how each child read. G. read every word that was finished while L. read spelled words and sometimes repeated a word that was unknown and then asked the special educator its meaning. Both children had a hard time as to the actual substance of the text as the text had many fantastic elements.
During the fourth week, a game-themed section was used through the upbility grmanual. In the first activity they identified the words “play” family and then put the words in order for the sentences to be correct. Putting the words in the right order did not make it difficult, in fact, G. noticed that it reminded him of a board game he has and plays himself. However, they both found it difficult to formally identify the words of each sentence. The rule at the end of the exercise regarding the editorial role of the words was also quite helpful, though the two children outside the subject-verb-object could not locate anything else without the help of the special educator. The next activity seemed particularly enjoyable to every child as it involved a piece of crafts. They did it with great care and attention, though L. found it difficult to handle the scissors. As a third activity there is again a new text for explanation and analysis. In this text the children processed their adjectives and endings. In addition to the grammatical processing of the text and the categorization of adjectives into endings (children), the children also edited the text realistically. Then through oral questions and with special educator’s guidance made the text textual recognition as above practicing their writing ability.
Finally, as a unit, each child dealt with the section on the environment, and in particular the text on environmental pollution. Through this text the children dealt with the vocabulary of the text using the dictionary again to record the definitions and then to spell them out. In the field of spelling, G. made the most mistakes. In the next activity, the children were asked to answer the comprehension questions of the text where both children had difficulty and needed the guidance of the special educator in collecting the information and what was important to write in each question from the text.
2. Problem Statement
In addition to its effects on the academic, cognitive and occupational fields, the degree of reading ability significantly determines the degree of participation of the individual in the development of his/her time and society [4] and interaction with other people [5]. Reading ability is important for any student with autism spectrum disorders as long as it plays an important role in all of their school duties. Through reading, the student acquires new knowledge in all subjects.
3. Purpose of the Research
The purpose of this research proposal is to study the effectiveness of interventions to develop written literacy by enhancing the expressive and editorial capacity of the child with ADHD. In particular, the ability to develop skills such as learning to write good and structured reports, brainstorming, refining critical thinking, enriching his vocabulary and applying grammatical and syntactic rules within his own texts will be studied.
The subgroups of this research are:
· Distribute students to the different levels of reading according to the test weighting data,
· Compare the differences between Reading Units in terms of reading ability,
· Compare the reading capacity of both sexes, boys and girls.
· Identify if there is an interaction between the Gender and the School Unit.
4. Difficulties in Written Expression
Writing is a multifaceted and complex process. This process is a process that requires cognitive tools to do all the learning. As an educational process it is something that students must first understand and then produce. Difficulties in writing often stem from the difficulty of understanding it first. Children with ASD encounter writing difficulties in terms of the meanings that a text may contain as there are difficulties in the social field feels the hero of a story. Through the proposed research it is expected that good practices will emerge and that they will be promoted at a practical level.
The definition of research variables includes the following categories:
Reading decoding: Recognizing written-visual symbols of language and transforming them into phonetic symbols. The reader manages to decipher, articulate and verbally render the characters of the message. It is the sensory or mechanical or external aspect of reading that predominates in the early stages of learning to read [6].
Phonological awareness: The term phonological awareness refers to knowledge of the phonological system of a language. In particular, phonological awareness allows the child to understand correctly and also to use the structural elements of speech correctly [7].
Cognitive Understanding: The Meaning-Making Process of Written Text, Based on the Complex Coordination of a Number of Interconnected Information Sources.
Short-term memory: The operation of a short-term memory retention system helps cognitive processing of incoming information [8].
The purpose of this research proposal is to study the effectiveness of interventions for the development of written speech by enhancing the expressive and editorial ability of children with autism spectrum disorders. In particular, the ability to develop skills such as learning to write good and structured reports, brainstorming, refining critical thinking, enriching his vocabulary and applying grammatical and syntactic rules within his own texts will be studied.
There is a growing interest in reading mechanisms as well as its place in the life of modern humans, one can perceive its significant impacts on the educational, social, work and economic integration as well as on the psychological state of the individual. Mastery of reading is the basic basis for the transmission of cultural information and a prerequisite for the start of the educational process. In addition to its effects on the academic, cognitive and occupational fields, the degree of reading ability significantly determines the degree of participation of the individual in the development of his/her time and society [4].
Reading is important for every student as it plays an important role in all of his or her school duties. Through reading, the student acquires new knowledge in all subjects. Students in the 2nd grade of Primary School are at a chronological age where they have acquired the basic reading mechanism based on the phoneme-letter relationship. Reads accurately and understands small verbal sets and single words or small texts to derive information and perform certain actions [9].
Investigating this topic for Grade 2 students is important because all school subjects are based on reading and their level of proficiency is an important predictor of student performance in subsequent grades [9].
According to [6] even reduced performance in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry is due to the student’s decreased reading ability. The experience of failure can cause students to cause secondary emotional disorders that may lead to a reduced ability of themselves and personal success. The low reading performance observed in many school-age students is a risk factor that can lead to school failure, rejection, low self-esteem and self-esteem, behavior problems, school dropout, unemployment and delinquency.
There are no nationally weighted measurement tests in our country. There are some that are either weighted to a limited number of students locally or have been translated from abroad and adapted to Greek reality or used without being weighted on a representative sample of students. The development of reading skills goes through several stages. According to them, the development of reading skills is divided into five stages [10] :
1) Reading readiness development: readiness refers to the level of development needed for effective learning. The stage of readiness goes from birth to the stage of understanding typical reading instructions.
2) Early Reading Learning Stage: Reading learning usually begins in the first grade of elementary school but with some children it may start in kindergarten or earlier. The student reads word by word slowly, trying to analyze a detailed, complex code. There are two main methods of teaching analytically and the whole method.
3) Stage of rapid development of reading skills: In the 2nd and 3rd grade of elementary school the child perfects his or her reading skills acquired earlier. It is capable of using these skills and is capable of doing a comfortable reading by reading about 100 words per minute with three or fewer errors. The key points concern the development of vocabulary by improving comprehension skills and thus keeping the child interested.
4) Main reading stage
At this stage, the student reads faster and is able to recognize and understand words with ease. This way the student can receive pleasant feedback, as he can read books and magazines on his own. Teachers encourage students to read extracurricular books and place emphasis on functional reading.
5) Improving reading skills
This stage corresponds to the larger classes as reading increases both in quantity and in difficulty. Students practice reading and improve reading reading skills.
Reading is a complex process, the successful completion of which requires the input of cognitive factors, linguistic and non-linguistic. According to the relevant literature, non-linguistic factors that affect reading function are intelligence, perception, attention, and memory. Linguistic factors are knowledge of the meaning of words, phonological awareness, and verbal short-term memory.
Intelligence: The relationship between cognitive ability and reading is evidenced by the fact that children with low intelligence learn to read with a noticeable delay in beginning, pace and completing the process of acquiring knowledge.
Concept: it is the interpretation of information stimuli. The main systems activated for reading learning relate to visual and auditory perception. The visual system is activated by the reception of written speech (reading process) as well as by the expression of written speech (writing). The acoustic system is activated by the acquisition of oral speech (comprehension) and by its expression (speech) [11].
Caution: it is about observing a stimulus. Attention includes prolonged and selective attention, which are likely to be related to reading or learning disabilities. In addition, attention seems to be influenced by the degree of difficulty of reading texts, while numerous studies suggest that differences in attention between capable and weak readers are due to the rapid and automatic operation of information processing skills.
Memory: includes the retrieval, storage, coding, and retrieval of information necessary for reading comprehension. Learning and reading require both short-term and long-term memory for all types of information that co-exist in written discourse [12].
5. Methodology
The term “method” refers to the set of processes and approaches used by the researcher to collect, organize and utilize their data in order to form a basis for conclusions and interpretation. In addition, not only processes are highlighted, but conceptual and methodological tools are clearly and precisely described, through which the method is subjected to an independent test by testing its findings [13].
For the purposes of the present research, the qualitative method was used as one of its major advantages is the investigation of the research done in depth and in detail. The purpose of qualitative research is mainly to explore the subjective experience of shaping the social world [14]. In particular, a 4-week intervention program (4 sessions per week) was implemented to develop written literacy in a child with autistic spectrum disorders by enhancing their expressive and editorial skills.
Interactive and experiential activities utilizing syntactic and grammatical rules were used to implement the intervention program. All of the suggested activities are taken from the literature and the Curriculum.
5.1. Means of Data Collection
The semi-structured interview was chosen in this research because the verbal reasoning allows the participants to express their views more freely and allows the researcher to have a more detailed picture [15]. Also, the researcher using the semi-structured interview can change the order and/or the content of the questions according to the flow of the discussion so that the answers become more interesting and meaningful for the topic under investigation [14] [16].
Specifically, the proposed research used the method of semi-structured interviewing with one of the child’s parents to completely outline their profile. In addition, an interview was conducted with the child’s teacher and the special educator who trains the child outside the school context in order to obtain information on the effectiveness of intervention-improving children’s performance in their written discourse. The objectives of the Elementary Language Curriculum were used to design the questions of effectiveness testing.
All personal data collected from the interviews, the criteria and the intervention material were used solely for the purpose of conducting the investigation and will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent.
5.2. Ethics and Ethics Issues
Participants in this survey were treated on the basis of codes of ethics and ethics and the respect required of a human resources survey. Together with the consent document, the research participants were fully and thoroughly informed about the preparation of the research and its process. Particular attention will be paid to the anonymity and confidentiality of the results. It is worth noting that participants were free to withdraw from the research process at any time. Also the research data is accessed only by the researcher using a password and no names will be used in writing the research except by coding.
Throughout the research process the participants were treated with respect and adherence to all codes of ethics and ethics. Participants received and completed a consent document and will then participate in the research. All participants were provided with an informative letter detailing the aims of the research and its process.
5.3. Population, Sample
In the present study, symptomatic or convenience sampling, which belongs to the research methods of indefinite probability of selection, was performed. A kind of voluntary sample is used, as those who are readily accessible and willing to participate are involved. The selection of the researcher is very small and because of this limitation, the utility and representativeness of such a sample are questionable. However, this sampling technique is well known because of the convenience of collecting candidate respondents. In using this method, the argument of sample representativeness and generalization of results is reversed and it is considered that the results of the survey can be generalized to populations that have characteristics similar to those of the sample [17].
5.4. Attainments Criterion
Concerning the validity of a criterion, a criterion is taken into account to prove that a measuring tool measures the concept - variable it intends to measure. The criterion is usually a second measurement tool that estimates the same variable.
At the start (1st week) and at the completion of the intervention program (4th week) the child will be assigned a performance criterion in order to derive reliable findings on the effectiveness of the intervention. The criterion’s activities have been fully derived from the Language Workbook for Elementary.
5.5. Intervention Material
Exercises covering their deficits based on the pre-test were used on intervention material of the children who participated in the study. Part of the exercises used were taken from a book of Upbility editions entitled “Developing Written Speech - Intervention Strategies - Based on E” and Elementary “Topics”. The other exercises were the development of freelance writing as a way of enhancing their expressive and editorial skills. The intervention material and intervention program lasted 4 weeks from 10 February 2019 to 10 March 2019.
At the beginning of the intervention, there were difficulties in understanding the texts after the pre-test results. The difficulties the children presented on a different scale, of course, concerned the actual meaning of the words and the concept of literacy. Their latest deficit is also due to the deficits of the DSA they have been diagnosed with.
During the first week the special educator dealt with the section about my friends and girlfriends. In this section as an activity is the understanding and use of the letter. The letter as a kind of text is something that is taught in the curriculum of the last two grades of elementary school where the two children participating in the intervention study respectively. The letter as a text is structured differently from a book excerpt or recording of an event. From the beginning the text refers to a person or company analogous to what the student is asked to write as a subject. Children had difficulty understanding the letter as a text to a friend. Their questions stemmed from the fact that they themselves had not used this type of communication except as a letter to Santa Claus, as they typically said. Therefore, the first part of the intervention concerned learning the type of letter. For example, when they can write a letter, how they write a letter and who can send a letter, that is, the procedure they follow.
In the second part of the activity, the special educator reads the exercise letter as there is the choice of speaking the activity for the child to either read the text itself or hear someone else read it. Then the special educator through various oral questions proceeded to understand the text but also to the unknown words that the children had, of different meaning corresponding vocabulary deficiencies, however. Then, at the end of the text, a syntactic rule is given about the structure of a letter and what the student should notice. After analyzing this rule in such a way that no questions were asked, the special educator proceeded to the next activity. The next activity relates to the written word of each child involved in the intervention. Speaking of exercise is about developing within 10 lines of text above. In this exercise the image of each child was quite different. L., the child of the sixth grade, had several difficulties in developing his written speech and at the beginning of the activity denied that he would not succeed and subsequently canceled. Then, with the encouragement of the special educator and guidance, she completed the activity where she finally mentioned it, according to the special educator’s notes that in the end it was not so difficult. G., a fifth-grade student, was not particularly difficult, but his vocabulary was poor and incomplete compared to the class he was studying. With the guidance of a special educator and without any difficulty he completed the activity.
Following the activities on how to write a letter, the next activity is writing a letter to a friend. This activity required the repetition of the structure of a letter as mentioned above as each child’s oral questions led to the conclusion of the need to repeat the theory based on and children’s learning gaps. Children with learning disabilities or learning disabilities usually have poor memory, so frequent.
6. Results
At the start (1st week) and at the completion of the intervention program (4th week) the child was assigned a performance criterion (informal test package) in order to derive reliable findings on the effectiveness of the intervention. The criterion’s activities have been fully derived from the Language Workbook of the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school. The results of the activities of the two children involved are presented below.
At the start (1st week) and at the completion of the intervention program (4th week) the child was assigned a performance criterion (informal test package) in order to derive reliable findings on the effectiveness of the intervention. The criterion’s activities have been fully derived from the Language Workbook for Elementary. The results were as follows:
• Activity 1: 6/10 - uses sentences that copy from the text.
• Activity2: -
• Activity 3: 6/10 - Copies the text timeline.
• Activity 4: 3/10 - found three words without spelling them out.
• Activity5: -
• Activity 6: 8/10 - used the correct timing and missed only two sentences.
• Activity 7: 9/10 - almost complete knowledge of the verb tenses.
• Activity 8: 7/10 - incomplete vocabulary however knowledge of concepts such as simple and complex words.
After the special teacher’s educational evaluation, the following was noted:
• Difficulty in reading comprehension and more typically deficits in the literal as well as interpretive comprehension of a narrative text. There is a lack of metacognitive strategies to control and find the central idea of a narrative. Significant difficulties in understanding and processing the information in the text (distinguishing important - insignificant information).
• It also shows the inability to think critically and to find an alternative title for the narrator who has read silently before. Unable to find the correct answer within the text.
• In producing written speech and more specifically in the vocabulary part, it appeared to have poor vocabulary. He did not know what the words crater and continent meant. Simple written word with many errors and in the historical spelling of words.
• In the phonological part of the language there are difficulties in the synthesis - segmentation and deletion of phonemes, - replacements, syllables omission. It also appeared to have a problem with the acoustic discrimination of the phonemes.
• His linguistic ability has not been sufficiently developed, since he describes the pictures very briefly, almost unilaterally, without promoting concluding-critical thinking. He has poor vocabulary that is in no way in line with his age. In addition, in the activity of hearing something and then talking about it in his own words, this student appeared to be facing serious difficulties as he was not able to explain the text on his own. He seems to be unable to organize his speech syntactically and grammatically.
• During the educational evaluation by the special educator, it was found that the child. she has no self-regulation strategies to be able to control herself and the way she concentrates on something. But where I think we focused more on the special education teacher, it was on the formative part but also on the production of written narrative text.
• In particular, the child makes many mistakes in placing the verb in the right person and in the right time, errors in the morphology of verbs in -o, errors in word synthesis and their analysis. It shows that it does not possess grammar rules and cannot make combinatorial thoughts to produce the correct type at other times, for example keeping the subject of the verb as a fixed type.
• On the other hand in the production of the written discourse, the student’s writing in the activities related to writing the story in accordance with the images given to her but also with the free expression, appeared to have problems with the structure (coherence - consistency). Also some of the other features that were noticed were lack of interest, discomfort with writing, lack of writing strategies for a narrative text, simple writing of a story and difficulty in the descriptive part.
This child has several difficulties in language learning and more specifically in the form of syntax (errors in placing the verb in the right person and at the right time, errors in the morphology of verbs in I, errors in word synthesis and their analysis).
In addition to problems with editing, there were shortcomings in the production of narrative text. More specifically, there were problems with the organization of thought, the structure of the written discourse (coherence), lack of interest and discomfort in writing, lack of writing strategies for narrative text, simple writing of a story, difficult in describing.
7. Conclusions
The present research proposal was to study the effectiveness of interventions to develop written literacy by enhancing the expressive and editorial capacity of the child with ADHD. In particular, he studied through various tests, and activities, the ability to develop skills such as learning to write good and structured reports, having ideas, practicing critical thinking, enriching his vocabulary and using grammar and syntax rules within his own texts.
Some studies show the effectiveness of ICT [18]. Difficulty in reading comprehension and more typically features deficiencies in the literal as well as interpretive comprehension of a narrative text. Successful reading, expressive and syntactic abilities of a child with autism spectrum disorders require the functioning of basic cognitive functions such as perception, memory, language, thinking, problem solving, memory [19] and mathematical abilities [20] [21]. Of course, at the level of reading a letter or a word it may not be necessary to contribute to the thinking and problem-solving functions that are necessary in the case of reading sentences, paragraphs or texts. But the most necessary cognitive function without the help of which even a letter can be identified is that of memory.
Children with autistic spectrum disorders find it difficult to understand the meanings of a text as there are difficulties in the social field. Difficulties are subjected to written language in categories such as vocabulary, abstract concepts, and even how the hero of a story may feel. In summary, the present research has highlighted good practices and has given them a boost in practice.
There is a lack of metacognitive strategies to control and find the central idea of a narrative. Significant difficulties in understanding and processing the information in the text (distinguishing important - insignificant information). The present study highlighted the problems that children with autistic spectrum disorders face. In particular they were categorized as follows:
Failure to think critically and find an alternative title for the narrative he had previously read implicitly; unable to find the correct answer within the text.
In producing the written word and more specifically in the vocabulary part, it appeared to have poor vocabulary. He did not know what the words crater and continent meant; simple written word with many errors and in the historical spelling of words.
In the phonological part of the language there are difficulties in the synthesis-fragmentation and deletion of phonemes, replacements, syllables omission. It also appeared to have a problem with the acoustic discrimination of the phonemes.
His linguistic ability has not been sufficiently developed, since he describes the pictures very briefly almost unilaterally, without promoting concluding-critical thinking. He has poor vocabulary that is in no way in line with his age. In addition, in the activity of hearing something and then talking about it in his own words, this student appeared to be facing serious difficulties as he was not able to explain the text on his own. He seems to be unable to organize his speech syntactically and grammatically.
During the educational evaluation by the special educator, it was found that the child. she has no self-regulation strategies to be able to control herself and the way she concentrates on something. But where I think we focused more on the special education teacher, it was on the formative part but also on the production of written narrative text.
Specifically, the child makes many mistakes in placing the verb in the right person and in the right time, errors in the morphology of verbs in -o, errors in word synthesis and their analysis. It shows that it does not possess grammar rules and cannot make combinatorial thoughts to produce the correct type at other times, for example keeping the subject of the verb as a fixed type.
On the other hand in the production of the written discourse, the student’s writing in the activities related to writing the story in accordance with the images given to her but also with the free expression appeared to have problems in structure (coherence - consistency). Also some of the other features that were noticed were lack of interest, discomfort with writing, lack of writing strategies for a narrative text, simple writing of a story and difficulty in the descriptive part.