Abstract
Music and rhythm-based training programs to improve reading are a novel approach to treatment of developmental dyslexia and have attracted the attention of trainers and researchers. Experimental studies demonstrating poor basic auditory processing abilities in individuals with dyslexia suggest they should be effective. On this basis, the efficacy of a novel rhythm-based intervention, Rhythmic Reading Training (RRT), was recently investigated and found to improve reading skills in Italian children with dyslexia, but its mode of action remains somewhat unclear. In this study, 19 children and preadolescents with dyslexia received 20 sessions of RRT over 10 weeks. Gains in a set of reading-related cognitive abilities—verbal working memory, auditory, and visual attention, and rhythm processing—were measured, along with reading outcomes. Analysis of the specific contribution of cognitive subprocesses to the primary effect of RRT highlighted that reading speed improvement during the intervention was related to rhythm and auditory discrimination abilities as well as verbal working memory. The relationships among specific reading parameters and the neuropsychological profile of participants are discussed.
Highlights
Innovative interventions for dyslexia based on new scientific evidence and aetiological theories have recently been proposed
As in any small-scale investigation, the small sample size is a possible limitation of the study, but clear-cut effects and associations emerged, suggesting that the results can be considered reliable. This investigation explored the cognitive mechanisms underlying the efficacy of a novel, rhythm-based reading intervention that had been found to be effective in improving reading speed in Italian children with dyslexia
Rhythm discrimination ability was found to be strongly related to baseline reading ability and the improvements made during the intervention, which confirms that it plays a crucial role in reading
Summary
Innovative interventions for dyslexia based on new scientific evidence and aetiological theories have recently been proposed. The aim of these interventions is to maximize reading improvement whilst optimizing the duration of the intervention and fostering participants’ motivation and engagement. These novel, process-based interventions are designed to target specific cognitive processes that are impaired in dyslexia, such as rapid automatized naming [1] and visuo-spatial abilities [2]. Temporal auditory processing has been shown to have a central role in determining phonological and reading deficits in dyslexia (e.g., [3,4,5]). The relationship between rhythm processing and reading led researchers to test the hypothesis that musical training could improve dyslexia-related difficulties, with promising results [10,11,12,13]
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