AN EDUCATOR REFLECTS ON HER SON’S DIFFICULTY WITH LITERACY AND SHARES TIPS FOR PARENTS LOOKING TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILDREN WITH WORDS AND COMPREHENSION.

By Lois LETCHFORD, MA

Language, by its very nature, is abstract. Children on the autism spectrum often fail to comprehend words that contain multiple meanings, inferences, or jokes and may, if confronted with such abstractions, resort to a concrete interpretation. Thus, literacy learning can be challenging.

In 1994, my second son, Nicholas, failed first grade. Every day I saw signs of stress. His fingernails, bitten to the quick, and the daily smell of urine reinforced a level of unforgettable pain.

“He stares into space all the time,” the teacher confided, “and he struggles to do the most basic of tasks.”

What she didn’t mention was his social isolation in and out of the classroom. This took years for me to figure out. At the end of that year, I requested testing. The results were devastating. Nicholas could read ten words, displayed no strengths, and had a “low IQ.”

My husband, a professor, had the opportunity to take study-leave for six months in Oxford, England. This opportunity allowed me to homeschool Nicholas. We began using a standardized set of books titled Success for all. I, too, failed.

It appeared I was no better than his first-grade teacher as “Nicholas had no memory for words, letters, or sounds.” It was my mother-in-law who offered invaluable advice. “Lois,” she said, “put away what is not working and make learning fun.”