Keywords

Adulthood, Asperger's syndrome, Inference, Reading

Abstract

The ability to generate inferences is a skill that is necessary to fully comprehend a text and understand the intentions, behaviors, and emotions of a conversational partner. Individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) have been shown to demonstrate significant difficulty in inference generation in both social contexts and in reading comprehension. Although, the reciprocity of the four components of literacy (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) has been established in the literature (Bradley & Bryant, 1983; Catts & Kamhi, 2005; Englert & Thomas, 1987; Gillon & Dodd, 1995; Hiebert, 1980; Kroll, 1981; Ruddell & Ruddell, 1994); the relationship between inference generation in reading and social inference generation is not well understood. The present study investigated the efficacy of a language-focused reading inference strategy intervention (ACT & Check Strategy) on the general reading comprehension, inference generation in reading, social inference, and metacognitive ability of adults with AS. Twenty-five adults with AS were randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group. The treatment group participants were divided into groups of 3-4 based on their availability and preferred location for treatment resulting in a total of 4 groups. Each group met in one-hour sessions twice a week for a total of six weeks. When controlling for pretest scores, the treatment group was found to perform significantly better on one measure of inference generation in reading and metacognitive ability compared to the control group. Significant differences between groups were not found in two measures of inference generation in reading comprehension or social inference ability.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2011

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Nye, William

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education; Communication Sciences and Disorders

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004146

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004146

Language

English

Release Date

12-15-2016

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education, Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Share

COinS