ROCK&T Lab
UCF Communication Sciences and Disorders
Overview
In the Reading and Oral Comprehension in Kids & Teens (ROCK&T) Lab at UCF we believe that all children can learn to read and we make it our mission to help them attain this goal. Our primary focus is to support the development of robust reading and listening comprehension skills for children and adolescents with autism or those with or at risk for reading disabilities using evidence-based practices in school settings.
What we do:
- Language and reading comprehension development in school-aged children and adolescents with autism
- Classroom-based listening and reading comprehension interventions for students with autism
- Classroom-based comprehensive reading interventions for young struggling readers
- Professional development and implementation support for educators and school-based speech-language pathologists working with students with autism or those with or at risk for reading disabilities
News
Meet Our Team
Director
Nancy McIntyre, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Communication Sciences and Disorders
E-mail: Nancy.mcintyre@ucf.edu
Phone: 407-823-1684
Students
Riley Sullivan
Lab Manager & Undergraduate Research Assistant
Katlyn Crandall
Graduate Research Assistant
Rakhi Chhabra
Graduate Research Assistant
Rachel Alexander
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Maria Del Carmen Cuza
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Salha Dhanji
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nicholas Gongora
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Amanda Green
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Gabriela Harvey
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alexa Kamer
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Syria Lutfi
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bridget Limitone
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Tyler Thompson
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Joseph Gurtis
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Selected Relevant Publications & Book Chapters
Our laboratory makes a concerted effort to publish our findings in respected academic journals and present at regional, national, and international conferences. In addition to contributing to collective body of knowledge in a given field, presenting original data at conferences is a fun way for the lab’s students to enhance their self-confidence and network with other scientists.
- Steinbrenner, J., McIntyre, N., Rentschler, L., Pearson, J., Luelmo, P., Jaramillo, E., Boyd, B., Wong, C., Nowell, S., Odom, S., & Hume, K. (2022). Patterns in reporting and participant inclusion related to race and ethnicity in autism intervention literature: Data from a large-scale systematic review of evidence-based practices. Autism, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F13623613211072593
- Bullen, J., Zajic, M., McIntyre, N., Solari, E., & Mundy, P. (2022). Patterns of math and reading achievement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 92, 101933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2022.101933
- McIntyre, N., Loughran, C., & Towson, J. (2022). Reimagining assessment of literacy skills for adolescents with intellectual disability: A tutorial for an individualized approach. Invited Submission to a Special Issue on Literacy for Individuals with Intellectual Disability in Perspective of the ASHA Special Interest Group, SIG 1.
- Boo, C., Alpers-Leon, , McIntyre, N., Mundy, P., & Naigles, L. (2021). Conversation during a virtual reality task reveals new structural language profiles of children with ASD, ADHD, and comorbid symptoms of both. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05175-6
- Henry, A., Solari, E., & McIntyre, N. (2021). Preliminary effects of a pilot listening comprehension intervention on the narrative abilities of children with ASD. Journal of Research in Special Education Needs. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12527
- McIntyre, N., Tomaszewski, B., Hume, K., Odom, S. (2021). Stability of literacy profiles of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and associations with stakeholder perceptions of appropriate high school support intensity. Invited Submission to a Clinical/Research Forum on ASD & Literacy in Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52, 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00016
- Odom, S. L., Hall, L.J., Morin, K.L., Kraemer, B.R., Hume, K.A., McIntyre, N.S., Nowell, S.W., Steinbrenner, J.R., Tomaszewski, B., Sam, A.M., & DeWalt, L. (2021). Educational interventions for children and youth with autism: A 40 year perspective. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Special Issue: Autism in review: 1980-2020: 40 years after DSM-III. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04990-1
- Hume, K.A., Steinbrenner, J.R., Odom, S.L., Morin, K.L., Nowell, S.W., Tomaszewski, B., Szendry, S. McIntyre, N.S, Yücesoy-Özkan, S., Savage, M. (2021). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism: Third generation review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/1007/s10803-020-04844-2
- Solari, E.J., McIntyre, N.S., Dynia, J.M. and Henry, A. (2021). Reading development for individuals with ASD: Current knowledge and a roadmap for next steps. In Cook, B.G., Tankersley, M., & Landrum, T.J. (Eds.) The next big thing in learning and behavioral disabilities(Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 31), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 149-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X20210000031010
- McIntyre, N., Grimm, R., Solari, E., Zajic, M., & Mundy, P. (2020). Growth in narrative retelling and inference abilities and relations with reading comprehension in children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, 5, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941520968028
- Zajic, M., Solari, E., McIntyre, N., Lerro, L., Mundy, P. (2020). Observing visual attentional and writing behaviors during a writing assessment: Comparing children with autism spectrum disorder to peers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing peers. Autism Research, 14(2), 356-368. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2383
- Sparapani, N., Solari, E., Towers, L., McIntyre, N., Henry, A., Zajic, M., (2020). Secondary analysis of reading-based activities utilizing a scripted language approach: Evaluating interactions between students with autism and their interventionists. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 63(9), 3130-3154. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00146
- Zajic, M., Solari, E., McIntyre, N., Lerro, L., & Mundy, P. (2020). Task engagement during narrative writing in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder compared to peers with and without attention difficulties. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101590
- Zajic, M. C., Solari, E. J., McIntyre, N. S., Lerro, L., & Mundy, P. (2020). Overt planning behaviors during writing in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103631
- Zajic, M., Solari, E., Grimm, R., McIntyre, N., Mundy, P. (2020). Relationships between reading profiles and narrative writing abilities in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder. Reading and Writing, 1-26.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10015-7
- Solari, E., Henry, A., McIntyre, N., Grimm, R., Zajic, M. (2020). Testing the effects of a pilot listening comprehension and vocabulary intervention for individuals with ASD. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2019.101501
- McIntyre, N. (2020). Reading comprehension impairments in school-aged children with HFA. In Volkmar, F. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2nd New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102378-1
- Solari, E., Grimm., R., McIntyre, N., Zajic, M., & Mundy, P. (2019). Longitudinal stability of reading profiles in individuals with higher functioning autism. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1362361318812423
- McIntyre, N., Oswald, T., Solari, E., Lerro, L., Zajic, M., Hughes, C., Devine, R., & Mundy, P. (2018). Social cognition and reading comprehension in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders or typical development. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 54, 9-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2018.06.004
- Grimm, R., Solari, E., McIntyre, N., & Denton, C. (2018). Early reading skill profiles in typically developing and at-risk first grade readers to inform targeted early reading instruction. Journal of School Psychology, 69, 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.05.009
- Grimm, R., Solari, E., McIntyre, N., Zajic, M., & Mundy, P. (2018). Comparing growth in linguistic comprehension and reading comprehension in school-aged children with autism versus typically developing children, Autism Research, 11(4), 624-635. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1914
- Solari, E., Grimm, R., McIntyre, N., & Denton, C. (2018). Reading comprehension development in at-risk vs. not at-risk first grade readers: The differential roles of listening comprehension, decoding, and fluency. Learning and Individual Differences, 65, 195-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.06.005
- McIntyre, N., Solari, E., Grimm, R., Swain-Lerro, L., Gonzales, J., & Mundy, P. (2017). A comprehensive examination of reading heterogeneity in students with high functioning autism: Distinct reading profiles and their relation to autism symptom severity, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(4), 1086-1101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3029-0
- McIntyre, N., Solari, E., Gonzales, J., Solomon, M., Swain-Lerro, L., Novotny, S., Oswald, T., & Mundy, P. (2017). The scope and nature of reading comprehension impairments in school-aged children with higher-functioning autism spectrum disorder, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(9), 2838-2860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3209-y
Contact
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The ROCK&T Lab is located inside HSII in Room 101A.
ROCK&T Lab
Health Sciences II
4364 Scorpius Street
Orlando, FL, 32816
