This single-subject research investigation evaluated the effects of teaching preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to utilize whole, written words to request (mand) by completing sentences as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Five preschool males (aged 3;0-5;3) participated. Dependent variables included measures of whole-word literacy. Findings indicated that most participants were able to demonstrate functional, whole-world literacy to request. Identification tasks proved more difficult for participants to complete. Findings indicated that future research may evaluate interventions for literacy with the preschools ASD population. Findings indicate that functional measures of language and literacy may beneficial for preschoolers with ASD. Future research may refine the target population for this intervention. Teaching literacy to this population may provide an efficient and effective intervention, possibly improving readings comprehension difficulties that the population often encounters at later ages.
Keywords: autism, preschool, language, literacy, reading, AAC, functional, interactive, written words, whole word
