Abstract Reading comprehension is a critical academic skill that frequently presents a significant challenge for children and adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Meta-analytic evidence indicates that while individuals with ASD often demonstrate intact word decoding skills, they typically exhibit a lower ability in reading comprehension, particularly when engaging in inferential reasoning and contextual integration. While previous research has focused on reading comprehension in students with a diagnosis of ASD, few studies have thoroughly examined it in those without intellectual disabilities (ASD-WID) or comprehensively analyzed all relevant predictors. Hence, this systematic review examines the reading comprehension of this population compared to that of typically developing (TD) peers and the primary predictors of reading comprehension of students with a diagnosis of ASD-WID. Systematic searches in Web of Science, PubMed, ERIC, PsycArticles, and Scopus for articles published between January 2016 and September 2024 yielded 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Findings reveal that students with a diagnosis of ASD-WID tend to have poorer reading comprehension than their TD peers, although some studies have reported no differences. Moreover, predictors of reading comprehension in ASD-WID encompass sociodemographic factors, linguistic skills, executive functions, working memory, attention, communication and Theory of Mind. These results support an integrated model of reading development, underscoring the need for targeted, individualized interventions.
Herrero-Roig et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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