Here’s a brief demonstration of the Listening Comprehen- sion and Reading Comprehension levels of ARC Intervention:
TABLET OR PHONE USE The program is accessed from a web browser (like Chrome or Safari) and is intended to be used with a touch-screen device, such as a tablet (iPad or Android) or a phone. The program is not meant to be accessed via a laptop and a mouse (although a laptop with a touch screen would work). The reason for using a touch-screen device, like tablets and phones, is that the action of touching an image on a screen is meant to replicate the real- life gesture of touching pictures when reading a book. There is research to suggest that when the real-world response is used, (e.g., a natural response of finger pointing) greater generaliza- tion can occur (McEwan & Dubé, 2017). Using a mouse does not imitate a real-life pointing response. Along similar lines, the program is also meant to be used like a book, with parents commenting on the pictures, providing feedback and positive reinforcement. FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE The app is fully customizable. Although the existing images are in English, you can privately upload your own images and label them with words in any language. While you cannot delete existing images, as these are shared with everyone using the web-based app, you can customize images for a participant by blocking any existing images you don’t want and selecting only those you choose/upload for a participant. Though the images you upload are private, you can decide to share them with other participants that you’ve created. Finally, the program also accepts short and long paragraphs that can be uploaded with specific images. CARRYOVER/GENERALIZATION After each session, a list of the words the child learned in that session will be displayed. You can take a screen shot of these words so that they can be practiced during other activities with the child/student/client. HOW TO ACCESS THE FREE APP The links and instructions for the free app are available online at www.readingcomprehension.ca. Select the tab “ARC APP ACCESS” to see setup instructions. The first step is for a parent, educator, or clinician to create an account. Once your account has been set up, you can begin adding participants (e.g., your child, student, or client).
YouTube Video: Activities for Reading Comprehension (ARC) Short demo https://youtu.be/1HLFD1waPAs
As a reminder, this sequence of first practicing Listening Comprehension then Reading Comprehension is in keeping with the Simple View of Reading which states that acquiring listening comprehension is the key to acquiring reading comprehension (for children on the autism spectrum with hyperlexia who are already strong decoders). Pairing the written word to the image to facilitate vocabulary comprehen- sion agrees with the Dual Coding Theory.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, PRACTICE, AND DATA COLLECTION
The ARC program always ends each turn by providing posi- tive reinforcement for selecting the correct word. That is, if the child selects the incorrect word twice, the incorrect word is greyed out and only the correct word is available for selection. As such, the child always ends each turn with positive reinforce- ment. The app is meant to be used for 15 minutes per day. This is in keeping with a distributed model of learning schedule (i.e., practicing small amounts over consecutive days) that has been shown to be a superior model of learning to mass practice, (i.e., practicing all in one day; Haq et al., 2015). The program privately collects data on how the child has done in each session and displays the words they have learned for more specific tracking of progress and to support general- ization, (i.e., parents/educators and clinicians can practice these same words outside the session).
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