A compreensão leitora em jovem com Transtorno Espectro Autista: estudo de caso

Abstract

The subject of the present research is the reading comprehension of a young person with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The objective of this study is to identify, from the pre-test, the difficulties presented by the participant regarding reading comprehension and, based on that, to propose an intervention whose effectiveness was examined in the post-test. The subject is relevant considering that students with ASD are included in school and university, as determined by legal provisions, but teachers do not always know how to assist them due to gaps in teacher training. The method adopted is the single case study, of qualitative-quantitative character. Reading tests were carried out, as well as semi-structured interviews with a young university student with autism, his parents, and some teachers. The main reading skills verified were vocabulary, comprehension, predictability, and, from these, the lowest performance was verified in the last skill, evaluated by the Strange Stories test, which considers the attribution of mental states according to the Theory of Mind. The applied intervention aimed at predictability had its effectiveness analyzed through a post-test, in which an improvement was identified in relation to the comparison between pre-test and post-test. However, it is understood that other factors, such as experiences and transition from school to university, may interfere with the result. Thus, it is believed that this research can encourage other studies that seek to develop strategies to be applied to students with ASD.