EMERGENT LITERACY AMONG AUTISTIC CHILDREN IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES AND BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63330/aurumpub.067-004Keywords:
Assistive technology, Curriculum accessibility, Educational equity, Multimodal communication, Universal Design for LearningAbstract
The early development of written language is an essential dimension of children’s education, encompassing experiences involving oral language, reading, storytelling, symbolic representation, and emergent writing prior to conventional literacy instruction. However, autistic children have heterogeneous communication profiles, and school practices centered exclusively on speech may conceal their knowledge and restrict access to reading and meaning-making experiences. This study aimed to analyze pedagogical practices and barriers to participation in the emergent literacy of autistic children in early childhood education in order to understand how mediation and accessibility strategies can foster participation, learning, and authorship. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines across six scientific databases. A total of 763 records were identified; after duplicate removal, screening, and eligibility assessment, 23 studies comprised the qualitative corpus, which was examined through Bardin’s thematic content analysis. The synthesis organized the findings into five interdependent and complementary thematic categories. The results showed that shared reading, storytelling, concrete materials, visual supports, dramatization, assistive technologies, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication enhance engagement when combined with intentional teacher mediation. In contrast, exclusively oral instructions, sensory-overloading environments, standardized assessments, low expectations, and insufficient professional training constitute recurring obstacles, particularly for minimally speaking children. The findings indicate that participation difficulties do not arise solely from the characteristics of autism, but also from the mismatch between communication diversity and curricular standardization. The study recommends incorporating Universal Design for Learning, strengthening communicative accessibility, and expanding professional development and collaborative planning among teachers, families, and specialized professionals.
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