Most readers of Drawing a Blank: Improving Comprehension for Autistic Readers want to know something specific: What can I do to help autistic readers understand what they read?
Comprehension difficulties in these readers can be subtle and difficult to tease out. As a result, their substantial level of risk for comprehension problems is often overlooked or unaddressed. Drawing a Blank offers as many teaching strategies and tools for improving comprehension as possible, because addressing the problem effectively is key for these individuals, no matter their age.
For more than 35 years, I’ve been keenly interested in the dramatic differences in skills among readers with autism, particularly those with excellent decoding skills but poor comprehension. I’ve gone from being an unsuspecting parent, to a concerned parent, to a professional in the field of special education, actively seeking information and answers.
Understanding what is read is crucial to the success and lifelong outcomes of those we teach and/or love. This need inspired me to look for the causes of the comprehension problem in autism, read the research, and search for effective interventions. The first edition of Drawing a Blank: Improving Reading Comprehension for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (DaB) was the outcome of that process and was published in 2011.
I was hoping that many researchers and educators would actively pursue this topic, making DaB obsolete. Instead, I was disappointed to discover that in the past twenty years or so, there have been no large-scale experimental studies about effective interventions to help readers with autism and comprehension issues. As I’m getting closer to retirement, I knew I had to explore this topic again and discover what has been learned since the mid 2000’s to add to the body of knowledge.
My cousin “B,” a senior in high school, and his mother also inspired me to update DaB. I was discouraged to learn that families and educators are still struggling to identify and address the comprehension issues of good decoders with autism (nearly 25 years after my own family’s struggle). Like many other autistic students, “B” is a good decoder who can recognize words automatically and read fluently. In contrast, he does not necessarily understand the meaning of the words, sentences, paragraphs or passages that he reads.
I call this an “uneven” reading profile, when a reader’s decoding skills and comprehension skills are not equally developed. Unfortunately, “B” is just one of the many autistic readers whose potential is being blocked by a lack of awareness and action on this issue. This strengthened my resolve to update Drawing a Blank for him and everyone else who needs it!
The 2026 edition of Drawing a Blank represents a renewed effort to find and learn as much possible about high-impact, effective interventions for autistic readers. The ultimate goal is to provide you, the reader, with the information and tools you need to help your children, students, and/or clients unlock meaning and benefit from whatever they read.
No matter what your role is in the life of a struggling reader, this book is designed to help you understand and identify the needs of autistic students, and then use this understanding to find effective ways to help them. I hope you’ll feel like an expert on the topic when you read and refer to Drawing a Blank: Improving Comprehension for Autistic Readers to help you teach and advocate for the needs of autistic readers.
