ASD and phonological awareness assessment

A systematic review with meta-analysis

Authors

  • Alessandra Cristina Vieira de Araújo Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
  • Carla Alexandra da Silva Moita Minervino Universidade Federal da Paraíba
  • Filomena Maria Gonçalves da Silva Cordeiro Moita Universidade Estadual da Paraíba

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51207/2179-4057.20260019

Keywords:

Reading Development, Assessment of Learning Conditions, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Systematic Review

Abstract

The process of assessing reading acquisition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been a challenge due to the lack of adapted instruments that allow for an effective assessment of Phonological Awareness (PA). The primary objective of this study was to identify which instruments are used to assess phonological awareness in the literacy process of children with ASD. The eligibility criteria were the anagram PICOT (Population, Intervention, Outcomes or outcome, Type of study) in which the population is autistic children under eight years of age, the intervention refers to PA, the comparator is typically developing children, the outcome refers to the instruments used to measure the predictor variables and the type of study is observational. The research covered studies carried out between 2014 and 2024 and yielded 15 articles. It was carried out from May to June 2024 in online databases such as: Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Google Scholar, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and CAPES journals. The meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager software. The data revealed that the most commonly used instruments were PALSPREK and TOPEL. The meta-analysis shows that there is real harm identified with TOPEL. The limiting factors were the small number of studies and the diversity of instruments. There was also a lack of studies evaluating larger samples and the need for adaptations and translations of this type of instrument for the public in question. This study is registered with PROSPERO under CRD42024546660.

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Published

2026-04-24

How to Cite

Araújo, A. C. V. de, Minervino, C. A. da S. M., & Moita, F. M. G. da S. C. (2026). ASD and phonological awareness assessment: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Psychopedagogy Journal, 43(130), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.51207/2179-4057.20260019

Issue

Section

Review Article