Computer-Assisted Remedial Reading Intervention for School Beginners at Risk for Reading Disability

• Published in: Child development Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 1013 - 1028
• Main Authors: Saine, Nina L., Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina, Ahonen, Timo, Tolvanen, Asko, Lyytinen, Heikki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2011; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Achievement; At risk; At Risk Students; At risk youth; Biological and medical sciences; CAI; Child; Child development; Children; Comprehension; Computer assisted instruction; Computer Oriented Programs; Computer-Assisted Instruction - methods; Computers; Decoding; Decoding (Reading); Disabilities; Dyslexia; Dyslexia - diagnosis; Dyslexia - psychology; Dyslexia - therapy; EMPIRICAL ARTICLES; Female; Finland; Fluency; Foreign Countries; Grade 1; Humans; Intervention; Learning; Literacy; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Orthographies; Phonetics; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reading; Reading Difficulties; Reading disabilities; Reading Instruction; Remedial education; Remedial Reading; Remedial Teaching - methods; Risk Factors; Risk management; Special education. Orthophony; Spelling; Training; Treatments; Verbal Learning; Youths at risk; Finland; Europe; Human; Reading disorder; Educational schedule; School environment; Reading; Orthophony; Treatment; School age; Language; Follow up study; Cognitive remediation; Risk factor; Child; Computer aid
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01580.x

The aim of the longitudinal study was to investigate whether a computer application designed for remedial reading training can enhance letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling of at-risk children. The participants, 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N = 166), were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) regular remedial reading intervention (n = 25), (b) computer-assessed reading intervention (n = 25), and (c) main-stream reading instruction (n = 116). Based on the results, computer-assisted remedial reading intervention was highly beneficial, whereas regular type of intervention was less successful. The results indicated that at-risk children require computer-based letter-name and letter-sound training to acquire adequate decoding and spelling skills, and to reach the level of their non-at-risk peers.