Computer based reading game as a tool for improving reading related skills in Finnish six-year-old children

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Computer based reading game as a tool for improving reading related skills in Finnish six-year-old children Riikka Lovio1*, A. Halttunen2, H. Lyytinen3, R. Näätänen1, 4, 5 and T. Kujala1 1 Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Finland 2 Policlinic of Child Psychiatry, HUCH, Finland 3 Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland 4 Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Estonia 5 Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, University of Aarhus, Denmark OBJECTIVEThis study aimed at determining whether an intervention game (Literate, Prof. H. Lyytinen) that strengthens sound-letter connections has a remediating effect on reading-related skills and central auditory processing in children who have an increased risk for dyslexia. The control group played a game with mathematical exercises. Children who played the intervention game were hypothesized to perform better than the control group children in tests assessing reading-related skills after the three hour training period and also have increased MMNs to speech sound changes in Finnish syllables. METHODS:A Total of 57 children participated in the study. The parents of the children were carefully interviewed on their family history of dyslexia in order to evaluate children’s familial risk for dyslexia. The children were tested in their pre-reading skills with tests of phonological processing, letter knowledge and writing, rapid naming, and working memory. Of these children, 35 children who could not read and had problems in reading-related skills were included in the study. The children were divided into two groups not differing in IQ, age, sex or in reading-related skills. A total of 16 children in the intervention group vs. 13 in the control group finished the training period of altogether three hours during three weeks. In addition to behavioral tests, children’s mismatch negativity responses (MMNs) to five changes (vowel, vowel duration, consonant, pitch and intensity) were recorded both before and after the training period. The stimuli were presented in a multi-feature paradigm in which five deviants are presented in an alternating fashion with the standards (Näätänen et al., 2004). RESULTS:The intervention game group improved their performance statistically significantly in tests of letter knowledge, letter recognition, writing words and writing non words. The control group improved their performance only in the test of letter knowledge. Preliminary results also suggest that after the training period, the children who had played the intervention game had enhanced MMN responses for a vowel change. This effect was not seen in the control group. CONCLUSIONS:The results of using an intervention game already before the school start are promising. The intervention group improved their performance in reading related skills after a short training period. Their MMN response for vowel change also increased reflecting improved cortical auditory discrimination. In future, it is important to study how the positive effects of the intervention game can be optimized and to what extent the intervention prevents reading deficits at school. Conference: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications, Budapest, Hungary, 4 Apr - 7 Apr, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Presentations Citation: Lovio R, Halttunen A, Lyytinen H, Näätänen R and Kujala T (2009). Computer based reading game as a tool for improving reading related skills in Finnish six-year-old children. Conference Abstract: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.05.143 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 26 Mar 2009; Published Online: 26 Mar 2009. * Correspondence: Riikka Lovio, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, riikka.lovio@helsinki.fi Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Riikka Lovio A. Halttunen H. Lyytinen R. Näätänen T. Kujala Google Riikka Lovio A. Halttunen H. Lyytinen R. Näätänen T. Kujala Google Scholar Riikka Lovio A. Halttunen H. Lyytinen R. Näätänen T. Kujala PubMed Riikka Lovio A. Halttunen H. Lyytinen R. Näätänen T. Kujala Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.