The Effects of Background Noise on Reading in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Commonplace noises in classrooms may result in unfavorable listening environments that negatively affect student learning, including reading skills (Klatte et al., 2010; Maxwell & Evans, 2000). Little is known about how noisy classroom environments impact students with ASD with regard to academic performance. Previous research indicates that individuals with ASD are more at-risk for difficulties with reading (Brown et al., 2013) and attention problems (Leyfer et al., 2006; Mayes & Calhoun, 2007), which could be further impacted by noisy environments. In a recent pilot study (McClain et al., in review), researchers found that children with ASD evidenced significantly lower reading comprehension skills than TD children. However, with background noise, this difference was nonsignificant. Further research is needed to explore the effects of multiple background noises on reading skills in children with ASD.

Objectives:

The current project has the following objectives:

1. To determine differences in reading fluency performance across various background noises for children with ASD.
2. To determine differences in reading comprehension performance across various background noises in children with ASD.
3. To determine differences between children with ASD and TD children in reading fluency performance across various background noises.
4. To determine differences between children with ASD and TD children in reading comprehension performance across various background noises.

Methods:

Participants

Currently, participants in the present study are children diagnosed with ASD (n=3) and typically developing children (n=13) between the ages of 6 and 12. Children with ASD are identified by parent report and scores on the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (Goldstein & Naglieri, 2013). Of note, data collection is ongoing. It is anticipated that a minimum of 20 children with ASD and 40 TD children will be included in the final analyses.

Procedures

Participants attended two clinic visits. At clinic visit one, participants completed the WISC-V, a brief language and hearing screening, and the GORT-5 (Form A) while their caregivers completed a demographic questionnaire and three rating forms (i.e., ASRS, BRIEF-P, and Conners-3P). During clinic visit two, participants were administered four reading fluency and comprehension curriculum-based measurements (CBMs) in four different conditions: (1) Quiet, (2) One-Person Talker, (3) Classroom Noise, and (4) White Noise. Participants completed these conditions in an audiologic sound-treated testing booth to ensure extraneous noises were minimized.

Results: Performance on reading fluency and comprehension CBMs are the dependent variables. Reading fluency is measured by percent words read correct and percent of errors made per minute. Reading comprehension is measured by percent comprehension questions answered correctly. The researchers will use multilevel models to determine differences in reading fluency and comprehension between experimental groups and background noises.

Conclusions: While data collection is ongoing, results from an initial pilot study indicate differences in reading fluency and comprehension performance across groups and sound conditions. No specific predictions are included due to the study’s exploratory nature. However, findings may help education professionals and parents provide ideal work environments in the school and home settings for children with ASD.