Dr. Tina Veale: Today, we are going to address the topic of adolescents with autism and how to teach them to write. This is one topic that I get asked about quite a lot, second only to how to teach them to read. Many people are interested in learning how to help these clients on our caseload to be able to write better since it is such as critical learning skill and life skill.
Learning Outcomes
Our learner outcomes today are that you will be able to list three barriers to good writing that adolescents with autism experience. I would like you to be able to describe three types of writing that adolescents with autism need to develop as there are different kinds of writing, as well as three strategies that you might use to improve their writing skills.
Why is Writing So Difficult?
When we begin to consider how to help an adolescent with autism to learn to write, it is important to think about why writing is so difficult. I think we could sum it up with the point that it requires the highest level of linguistic ability. It requires metalinguistic knowledge; the ability to think about language. It requires mastery of semantics, vocabulary, implied meanings, multiple meanings, multiple meaning words and phrases, and figurative language. It requires the comprehension and use of complex syntactic forms. It also requires that the writer consider how the text will sound when it is read by someone who is not even there. This is very difficult for someone with autism, as you can imagine.
It also requires consideration of an audience that is not present. Adolescents with autism often have a hard time dealing with an audience that is present. Again, trying to assume who the audience will be, how that audience will receive the information, and how that information should be shaped for any audience that might read it is a big task for any writer. It is especially hard for individuals with autism spectrum disorders who have theory of mind or perspective taking problems and other social communication disorders.
Writing requires executive function. I think this is why anyone struggles to write sometimes, as it requires the highest levels of planning a written text, and being able to execute it. It requires the person to be diligent and get the job done. Staying on it until it is done requires an extended attention span and it requires memory; being able to remember what you want to write. All of that is aside from the high level linguistic function.
