• Theory of Mind/Emotional Reciprocity

• Central Coherence

• Restricted Interests and Motivations

• Literal vs. Abstract Thinking

• Pragmatics

• Language, Communication, and Vocabulary

• Difficulty understanding the perspectives and emotional states of the characters

• Difficulty predicting or making inferences about the future actions of characters

• Difficulty understanding the emotional states of characters based on the descriptions of their body language and facial expressions in the text

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty with understanding character development (as it relates to the plot or moves the plot along), difficulty with being able to relate to the text (which can cause frustration or a lack of interest in the story), or difficulty with the ability to determine the theme (or "moral") of the story.

• Difficulty understanding figurative language (e.g., metaphors, hyperbole, etc.) or the use of idioms, irony, innuendo, and sarcasm

• Difficulty ignoring irrelevant factual information in text, and missing context cues and other information that enhances the comprehension of the text

• Applying only one meaning to a word and failing to be able to use context cues to recognize a different meaning

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty in determining the theme (or "moral") of a text, difficulty with determining the central idea, and difficulty understanding what the text is talking about. As poetry typically uses a lot of figurative language, poems are often difficult for students with ASD to understand and decipher.

• Difficulty understanding a character's perspectives or intentions based on the narration and context cues

• Focusing on concrete details in narrative text rather than focusing on the conversation and context cues to gain an understanding of plot and character development

• Difficulty making inferences about the characters’ emotions or perspectives based on subtle cues or context in the text

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty connecting character development to plot development, determining the problem/solution or cause/effect of the story development, and difficulty following and understanding the purpose of a conversation in a text.

• Difficulty with communication skills that impact the ability to answer questions about or demonstrate knowledge of the text

• Difficulty understanding vocabulary nuances such as homographs (words spelled the same with more than one meaning) or homophones (words pronounced the same but with different meanings)

• Difficulty understanding pronouns used to represent previously identified persons, objects, or groups

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty with comprehending text, especially fictional text as it can be much more subjective and requires reading between the lines, as opposed to informational text.

• Over-focusing on minor, irrelevant, or concrete details in the passage and therefore missing the main idea(s) or overall purpose of the text

• Comprehending all of the rote facts in the text, but not putting them together to understand the “big picture"

• Difficulty with connecting information at the paragraph or chapter level

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty with determining the central idea(s) of a text and being able to separate the difference between the central idea and supporting details.

Phonics is defined as the relationship between the letters (or letter combinations) in written language and the individual sounds in spoken language.

• Creating an intense focus on specific preferred interest areas, and therefore will not engage in reading in non-preferred areas of interests

• Getting "stuck" by reading only certain words, phrases, or sections in the text

• Failing to monitor for comprehension due to their intense focus on preferred interests and topics

When a student with ASD struggles with the above skills, it can cause difficulty with getting the student interested in reading and difficulty in science and/or history, as they are typically reading-heavy subjects.

This can be a useful program/application for students with ASD, as it does not require writing (which can be a struggle for many), as well as it's lessons are very engaging and typically fairly short, so as to keep a student's attention for the duration of an entire lesson.

This can be a useful application for students with ASD, as it is a fairly simple and plain layout. It highlights each sound/word part/word as you hover over it, which brings attention to the important part, but does not have a busy background or graphics, which can often be a distraction for students with ASD.

This can be a useful application for students with ASD, as it is very visual. It is very fun and engaging, and a "lesson" could be as short or as long as they stay attentive to it.

This can be a useful application for students with ASD, as it is a very engaging and fun game. As multi-meaning words, homographs, and homophones can often be very confusing to students with ASD, learning synonyms and antonyms can help these learners better understand words and how they work.

This can be a useful program for students with ASD, as it is extremely engaging and covers all academic areas. Science, Social Studies, and sometimes even Math do not have to same time and rigor to spend on vocabulary that they should, especially since it is so crucial to comprehending the content they are learning. Flocabulary is a fun way for kids to practice these vocabulary words in context and build up those reading, listening, and attention skills. Plus, it also incorporates music, which can be a motivator for many students with ASD.

This digital graphic organizer can be a useful tool for students with ASD for many reasons. As it is digital, this means that a student with ASD can still fill it out without having to physically write, which means they are more likely to be able to keep up with (or exceed) their peers and not get frustrated by having to write. Although some individuals with ASD excel at drawing, many others struggle with it. Since it is digital, this allows the learner to find real-life pictures related to the word they are learning about. This helps them make a connection to the word, and they are more likely to remember it.

This can be a useful tool for students with ASD, due to the fact it highlights words so it helps them visually focus only on the word being read at the time and helps them not get distracted by the other words.

This can be a useful tool for students with ASD to help them comprehend a text more efficiently. Rewordify will often take out "extra" words that are not really necessary for comprehension of the material, which helps students with ASD be able to better understand the text. With less words to potentially focus on and confuse them, it should help them better comprehend the material.

This can be a useful tool for students with ASD to help improve their comprehension (though it can also be used for fluency and vocabulary). Since it adapts to each reader, it help lessens the frustration of reading - by breaking down vocabulary and checking for understand, it helps the reader learn how to better understand what they are reading, which is one of the biggest issues students with ASD face, especially for narrative text.

This program can be for students with ASD, as it was created specifically for children with ASD. It adapts to each learner's specific reading needs and it uses graphics, audio, and animation to help reinforce understanding.

This can be a useful program for students with ASD to help build fluency skills. It listens to and corrects the student as they read aloud and only needs a device with a microphone to operate, meaning it can be easily used at home as well for parents to help their learners practice.

This can be a useful application for students with ASD since it is independently leveled to meet each students' needs. In their "Sequenced and Idioms" series, the learner reads the key words and their definitions while listening to an audio recording. This is a super useful feature as sequencing and understanding idioms are often difficulty skills to master for many students with ASD.