The Use of Pictorial Cues in Guided Storybook Reading to Enhance Reading Comprehension among Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often struggle with comprehension, particularly with making inferences. This study aimed to introduce reading strategies using pictorial cues during guided storybook reading sessions for preschoolers to enhance their reading comprehension. The study assessed the children’s reading comprehension by evaluating their responses to both literal and inferential questions based on short passages. Fifteen children with ASD, aged five to six years, participated in 10 guided storybook reading sessions at an early intervention program centre. The results indicated that the children found it significantly more challenging to answer literal questions compared to inferential ones before they attended the guided storybook reading sessions. However, their ability to answer both types of questions improved significantly after that. These findings suggest that guided storybook reading, combined with specific reading strategies such as pictorial cues, is a promising approach for children with ASD and deserves further research.