First: Set up an Account for Yourself as a Parent, Educator, or Clinician. To set up your account, click on ARC Instructions (Parents, Educators or Clinicians) https://www.readingcompre- hension.ca/arc-instructions-parents-educators-or-clinicians. html This section outlines how to use the Administrative portion of the app. It also explains the various sections of the adminis- trative portion of the app including the Dashboard; how to set up Groups (for parents with more than one child, or teachers and clinicians; how to add multiple students/clients); how to add different children/students or Participant, and finally, how to add or change the Content, e.g., words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and their corresponding images. The app can also support short and long paragraphs that can be uploaded by the user. Next: Log on for the Child/Student/Client. Once the app has been set up for a Participant (your child/student/client), you or your child/student/client can log into the app on your web browser (on your tablet) using https://arc.readingcompre- hension.ca/. This address is where you will always access the app going forward. You or your child will click on “Welcome! Please log in” and enter the User Number and password that you created for the child/student/client in the Administrative section when you set the child up as a participant. Click on the ARC Instructions (child user) https://www.readingcomprehen- sion.ca/arc-instructions-child-user.html for more information. SETTINGS There are some settings worth mentioning. The default setting for audio instructions is set to OFF. Instructions are auto- matically spoken once at the beginning to teach the child, but most children quickly understand what they must do. There- fore, it is recommended to keep audio instructions set to OFF to discourage echolalia by listening to the instructions repeated constantly. Adults can easily re-instruct the child to touch the word first to avoid the repetitive instructions, if necessary. As mentioned, the app always begins with an assessment to set the level which is appropriate for your child to begin. The Intervention cannot be accessed until the Assessment has been completed. Re-assessment can be controlled by the parent/ educator/clinician to measure progress. To do so, select Partici- pants and then the Edit button beside the child’s name. Scroll down to change Assessment from “Disable” to “Enable”. BENEFITS OF EARLY INTERVENTION FOR HYPERLEXIA We are all aware of the benefits of early intervention for chil- dren on the autism spectrum (see Landa, 2018 for a summary). However, the benefits of early reading comprehension for chil- dren on the autism spectrum with hyperlexia is still in its infancy. The results of our study (Macdonald et al., 2022) suggests that reading comprehension and listening comprehension can be increased by using the strengths in, and the passion for, early
word reading of preschoolers as young as 3 years old on the autism spectrum with hyperlexia. Our study proposes that there is no reason to wait until the later grades to work on reading comprehension. Although reading comprehension is typically not targeted until the later primary grades, the results from our study imply that reading comprehension, beginning at the single word level, can be practiced by very young children on the autism spectrum with hyperlexia. THE LINK BETWEEN READING, VOCABULARY, LANGUAGE, AND SOCIAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT We also know that there is a strong link between vocabu- lary development and reading success (Perfetti et al., 2008; Stanovich, 1986), and between vocabulary development and linguistic ability (Sparks,et al., 2014). In addition, receptive language and social development are linked to social language skills like joint attention (both initiating and following a point; Delinicolas & Young, 2007) Therefore, using the strength in early word decoding to facilitate early vocabulary acquisition may also simultaneously support oral, written, and social language skill development for young children on the autism spectrum. EFFICACY OF AN APP FORMAT The app format of ARC makes it easy for parents, educators, and clinicians to implement the program in their own homes, classrooms, or clinics. This means that treatment can begin while awaiting services or in between sessions (for parents) or used during classroom (for teachers) or language-based lessons (for clinicians). Clinicians can use the app both in and between sessions (i.e., parents can use the app as carryover). For parents, there can be long wait times for early intervention services, therefore, this app provides an interim, cost-effective option for early service provision. In addition, it provides teachers an alternative to phonological awareness instruction for children on the autism spectrum with hyperlexia. FOCUS ON THE READING COMPREHENSION LEVEL, NOT THE WORD DECODING LEVEL While many parents and educators encourage the child on the autism spectrum to read, and support their reading skills, reading more simply isn’t enough. The ARC app allows parents, educators, and clinicians to target the specific underlying chal- lenges these children are experiencing, while encouraging their special interest. So, while a preschooler on the autism spec- trum with hyperlexia may be able to read books at a 3rd grade level, their reading comprehension is likely well below that of a kindergarten child. Therefore, the key is really targeting their reading comprehension level, not their word decoding level. The Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS-II; Carrow-Wool- folk, 2011) Reading Comprehension (a word-picture matching test) is a good test for clinicians to use to determine where the
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