Spelling and Autism: a Narrative Review of Recent Developments and Directions for New Research Priorities

This review provides a critical overview of recent research on spelling and autism, highlighting developments and future research priorities.

It has long been known that some children with autism have difficulty learning to spell. Recent studies have explored the reasons why these children have difficulty learning to spell and how they are best supported to learn to spell.

Spelling development has been linked to various factors in groups of autistic children, with language skills and intellectual functioning identified as key contributors to spelling achievement. Autistic and non-autistic children appear to draw on similar processes when spelling and may benefit from similar forms of instruction. Additional participatory research guided by autistic children, their parents and teachers is needed to further our understanding of spelling development and efficacious spelling instruction for autistic children. Potential avenues for future research are presented.