A Preliminary Study of Writing Skills in Adolescents with Autism Across Persuasive, Expository, and Narrative Genres | SpringerLink Advertisement Search Log in Search SpringerLink Search Original Paper Published: 17 October 2019 A Preliminary Study of Writing Skills in Adolescents with Autism Across Persuasive, Expository, and Narrative Genres Johanna R. Price  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6330-36961 , Gary E. Martin2 , Kong Chen3 & Jennifer R. Jones1   Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 50, pages319–332(2020)Cite this article 406 Accesses 4 Citations 9 Altmetric Metrics details Abstract Writing is often difficult for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet relatively little literature exists that profiles specific strengths and needs within this area. This preliminary investigation compares the written language skills of adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability (n = 14) to typically developing (TD) adolescents (n = 12). Writing samples from persuasive, expository, and narrative genres were elicited. Variables of sample length, writing productivity, syntax, lexical diversity, and macrostructure were analyzed. In the persuasive and expository genres, the ASD group scored significantly lower than the TD group on sample length and some aspects of macrostructure. The ASD group scored higher than the TD group on lexical diversity in the persuasive genre. Other comparisons yielded large effect sizes but were not statistically significant. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Access options Buy single article Instant access to the full article PDF. US$ 39.95 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Subscribe to journal Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Subscription will auto renew annually. US$ 199 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent this article via DeepDyve. Learn more about Institutional subscriptions References Altemeier, L. 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College curriculum competencies and skills former students found essential to their careers. College Student Journal,38(3), 412–422. Google Scholar  Download references Acknowledgments We thank the adolescents and families who participated in the study. We also thank Megan Black and Megan Schmidt for their assistance with data collection, as well as Hannah Martin, Kathleen Gildea, and Jordan Thompson for their assistance with data coding. This research was supported in part by a Provost Internal Research Grant from Western Carolina University. Author information Affiliations Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA Johanna R. Price & Jennifer R. Jones Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, St. John’s University, Staten Island, NY, USA Gary E. Martin Coulter Faculty Commons, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA Kong Chen Authors Johanna R. PriceView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Gary E. MartinView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Kong ChenView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Jennifer R. JonesView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Contributions JP conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and drafted the manuscript; GM participated in the design of the study and critically reviewed the manuscript for important content; KC participated in the design of the study and performed the statistical analyses; JJ participated in data collection and coding and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Corresponding author Correspondence to Johanna R. Price. Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the Institutional and/or National Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (and their parent/guardian) included in the study. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Cite this article Price, J.R., Martin, G.E., Chen, K. et al. A Preliminary Study of Writing Skills in Adolescents with Autism Across Persuasive, Expository, and Narrative Genres. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 319–332 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04254-z Download citation Published: 17 October 2019 Issue Date: January 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04254-z Keywords Written language Writing samples Adolescents Autism spectrum disorder Access options Buy single article Instant access to the full article PDF. US$ 39.95 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Subscribe to journal Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Subscription will auto renew annually. US$ 199 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent this article via DeepDyve. 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