MEGHAN M. DAVIDSON,
PH.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor
Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders
University of Kansas
About Me
I am an assistant professor in Speech-Language-Hearing:Sciences and Disorders at the University of Kansas.
I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Callier Center at the University of Texas at Dallas from 2016-2018. I earned my Ph.D. in 2016 in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Ellis Weismer. I received my clinical M.S. in speech-language pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011, and I worked as a speech-language pathologist at the Communication Development Center for 6 years. I received my B.S. from the University of Arizona in 2004.
My research focuses on spoken and written language comprehension in autistic individuals across the lifespan. My specific research interests are in the contributions of different cognitive, linguistic, and social communication factors in the development of listening and reading comprehension abilities across the autism spectrum. Current projects are focused on investigating the role of spoken language and social communication in story comprehension with an emphasis on determining child and text influences. I employ eye tracking and text analysis methodologies as part of this work. The overarching goal of my work is to determine profiles of strength and weakness in comprehension and underlying skills in order to identify targeted areas for effective clinical treatment.
My work also aims to advance clinical-practice research and implementation science in communication sciences and disorders. This work has included publications on disseminating research through social media and an evaluation of national access to speech and language treatment in children with speech and language disorders, and co-editing a forum on implementation science in CSD.
Selected Publications
Davidson, M.M. & Fleming, K.K. (2022). Story comprehension monitoring across visual, listening, and written modalities in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Other Developmental Disorders, 53, 1-24.
Abstract
Visual, as compared to verbal, tasks are often assumed to be easier for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but is this true for story comprehension? This study evaluated story comprehension monitoring across visual, listening, and written modalities and assessed predictors in two closely matched groups (age, socioeconomic status, language, nonverbal cognition, and word reading) of children and adolescents (8–14 years) with ASD (n = 20) and typical development (typically developing [TD]; n = 20). The results of mixed-effects models indicated that story comprehension monitoring was low overall, and performance was comparable across visual, listening, and written modalities for participants with ASD. Age, vocabulary, nonverbal working memory, response and distractor inhibition, and social communication significantly predicted comprehension monitoring.
Davidson, M.M. (2021). Reading comprehension in school-age children with ASD: Examining the many components that may contribute. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(1), 181-196.
Abstract
Purpose: Reading comprehension is consistently poor in many school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an overview from a multicomponent view on the many predictors that may contribute to reading comprehension difficulties in ASD. Method: This tutorial reviews current literature on profiles and predictors of reading comprehension in ASD. The review is situated from a multicomponent theoretical view based on the “direct and indirect effects of reading” model that builds on the familiar “simple view of reading.” Each component, including word reading, listening comprehension, morphosyntax, vocabulary, working memory, comprehension monitoring, inferencing, and theory of mind, is separately reviewed, with consideration of the current evidence for their contribution to reading comprehension in ASD. At the end of each section, key takeaways are provided. To conclude, a summary with general clinical implications, case examples, and recommendations for future research across all components is offered.
Conclusions: Reading comprehension in ASD may be affected by any one or several components in any given individual. Speech-language pathologists have expertise and play a critical role in assessing and intervening on these components. The age and language status (language impaired or not) of a child are emerging as important factors for what to assess and consider for intervention. However, more research is needed that intentionally examines language status, evaluates reading comprehension at targeted ages or narrower age ranges, and/or examines language and reading development longitudinally.
Davidson, M.M. & Ellis Weismer, S. (2018).
A preliminary investigation of parent-reported fiction
versus non-fiction book preferences of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, 3, 1-12.
Abstract
Background & aims: Anecdotal evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder prefer non-fiction books over fiction books. The current study was the first to investigate parent-reports of children with autism spectrum disorder’s fiction and non-fiction book preferences and whether these relate to individual differences in social communication, oral language, and/or reading abilities.
Method: Children (ages 8–14 years, M = 10.89, SD = 1.17) with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses (n = 19) and typically developing peers (n = 21) participated. Children completed standardized measures of social communication, oral language, and reading abilities. Parents reported children’s current favorite book, and from these responses, we coded children’s fiction versus non-fiction book preferences.
Main contribution: Contrary to anecdotal evidence, children with autism spectrum disorder preferred fiction similar to their typically developing peers. Fiction versus non-fiction book preference was significantly related to social communication abilities across both groups. Children’s oral language and reading abilities were related, as expected, but the evidence for a relationship between social communication and reading comprehension was mixed.
Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence supporting the association of social communication in fiction versus non-fiction book preference, which may be related to children’s comprehension and support the theoretical role of social communication knowledge in narrative/fiction.
Implications: It should not be assumed that all children with autism spectrum disorder prefer expository/non-fiction or do not read narrative/fiction. Children who prefer non-fiction may need additional social communication knowledge support to improve their understanding of narrative fiction.
Davidson, M.M, Kaushanskaya, M., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2018). Reading comprehension in children with and without ASD: The role of word reading, oral language, and working memory. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Abstract: Word reading and oral language predict reading comprehension, which is generally poor, in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, working memory (WM), despite documented weaknesses, has not been thoroughly investigated as a predictor of reading comprehension in ASD. This study examined the role of three parallel WM N-back tasks using abstract shapes, familiar objects, and written words in children (8–14 years) with ASD (n = 19) and their typically developing peers (n = 24). All three types of WM were significant predictors of reading comprehension when considered alone. However, these relationships were rendered non-significant with the addition of age, word reading, vocabulary, and group entered into the models. Oral vocabulary emerged as the strongest predictor of reading comprehension.
Davidson, M.M. & Ellis Weismer, S. (2017). Reading comprehension of ambiguous sentences by school-age children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 10(12), 2002-2022.
Abstract: Weak central coherence (processing details over gist), poor oral language abilities, poor suppression, semantic interference, and poor comprehension monitoring have all been implicated to affect reading comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study viewed the contributions of different supporting skills as a collective set of skills necessary for context integration—a multi-component view—to examine individual differences in reading comprehension in school-age children (8–14 years) with ASD (n = 23) and typically developing control peers (n = 23). Participants completed a written ambiguous sentence comprehension task in which participants had to integrate con- text to determine the correct homonym meaning via picture selection. Both comprehension products (i.e., offline representations after reading) and processes (i.e., online processing during reading) were evaluated. Results indicated that children with ASD, similar to their TD peers, integrated the context to access the correct homonym meanings while reading. However, after reading the sentences, when participants were asked to select the meanings, both groups experienced semantic interference between the two meanings. This semantic interference hindered the children with ASD’s sentence representation to a greater degree than their peers. Individual differences in age/development, word recognition, vocabulary breadth (i.e., number of words in the lexicon), and vocabulary depth (i.e., knowledge of the homonym meanings) contributed to sentence comprehension in both children with ASD and their peers. Together, this evidence supports a multi-component view, and that helping children with ASD develop vocabulary depth may have cascading effects on their reading comprehension.
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