title: Visual attention and engagement during shared book reading and emergent literacy for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Creators: name: Wicks, Rachelle T
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
subject: emergent literacy learning
subject: Preschool-aged children
subject: social communication
subject: visual attention
subject: shared book reading
subject: storybook content

description: A high percentage of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show significant challenges in learning to read. These challenges may present during the preschool years, also known as the emergent literacy stage of development. Research has clearly demonstrated the importance of shared book reading activities during this period for facilitating the printrelated emergent literacy skills needed for later word decoding, as well as the oral languagerelated precursors to reading comprehension, for typically developing children. However, the impact for children with ASD is less known. Preschool-aged children with ASD often show difficulties in language and literacy development, which may be associated with atypical visual attention and reduced engagement during shared book reading due to characteristic challenges in social communication, including early differences in joint attention. Yet, research investigating visual attention and engagement during shared book reading and links to emergent literacy learning for this group of preschoolers is currently limited. Of particular interest to this project were the relative strengths in alphabet knowledge that have often been reported relative to typically developing peers, which may reflect a greater focus on print during shared book reading. Typically developing preschool-aged children rarely look at print during shared book reading without direct prompting, yet where children with ASD look, and if prompting is similarly effective in directing them to look at storybook content (i.e., the print and pictures), remains largely unknown. This is important for the design and implementation of effective early literacy interventions for children with ASD aimed at supporting emergent literacy development that may contribute to improving later reading outcomes. The research presented in this thesis involved a sequential, empirical design over three phases. In Phase 1, behavioural observation and coding was used to investigate visual attention and engagement during naturalistic shared book reading for preschool-aged children with ASD and links to concurrent emergent literacy and parent behaviours. Findings from Phase 1 highlighted the interplay between different aspects of visual attention during shared book reading for preschoolers with ASD and the facilitative behaviours executed by their parents. In Phase 2, eye tracking was used across two experimental conditions designed to investigate spontaneous gaze behaviour to print versus pictures during shared book reading for children with ASD compared to age-matched typically developing peers and the effectiveness of embedded prompts for directing visual attention print versus picture content across groups. Findings indicated an enhanced preference for looking at print compared to typically developing peers and divergence from patterns of gaze behaviour typically observed with age as autism characteristics increased. Further, looking at print was positively related to concurrent alphabet knowledge across groups, with the effect strengthening as autism characteristics increased. Finally, Phase 3 involved a longitudinal follow-up study that investigated changes in gaze behaviour to print versus pictures during shared book reading across time and whether looking at print predicted alphabet knowledge and early word reading and potential groups differences. Findings indicated that gaze behaviour to print during shared book reading may be most useful in predicting alphabet knowledge and word reading for children diagnosed with ASD compared to typically developing peers. Taken together, these studies provide valuable insight into the attentional mechanisms that may underlie emergent literacy learning during shared book reading for preschoolers with ASD and contribute to understanding how these children can best benefit from this important early learning context in order to inform future intervention research aimed at improving later reading outcomes.