Engaging young children with autism in caregiver-implemented shared reading: a review and call for research

Abstract

Objectives: Children with autism may have impairments in language acquisition. Research suggests that shared reading strategies and interventions may contribute to the enhancement of language comprehension, pre-literacy skills, engagement, and caregiver book-sharing competence. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the training effects on caregivers’ intervention implementation and the efficacy of caregiver-implemented shared reading activities on skill acquisition among young children with autism. Methods: This review was conducted to align with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines. Three search strategies were adopted to identify studies meeting the above criteria. Results: Seven studies that included in this review mainly used naturalistic communication teaching strategies and dialogic reading strategies. Caregiver training yielded strong positive evidence in training outcomes while mixed evidence on the children’s learning performance was detected. Conclusions: Overall, caregivers reported positive feedback, yet factors such as technology, intervention complexity, and children’s behavior issues may potentially undermine the learning outcomes. Future researchers may develop intervention packages that are more feasible for caregivers to implement and tailor the strategies to fit children’s learning, behavior, and sensory needs.

Department(s)

School of Special Education, Leadership and Professional Studies

Document Type

Article

DOI

10.1080/20473869.2025.2530497

Keywords

autism, behavior skill training, Caregiver-implemented shared reading, literature review, young children

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Journal Title

International Journal of Developmental Disabilities

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