Teleneuropsychology intervention in phonological awareness for children with specific learning disorder with reading and mathematical difficulties

Abstract

Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 5–15% of school-aged children worldwide. Often, difficulties in reading (SLD-RD) and mathematics (SLD-MD) occur together. Deficits in phonological awareness (PA) have been identified as the common factor between the two difficulties. Intervention in PA has been shown to be effective in SLD-RD; however, it is not clear whether it is also effective in SLD-MD. Neuropsychological intervention is usually conducted face-to-face, but when the patient is in a remote location or during extraordinary situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, tele neuropsychology (TeleNP) may be a suitable alternative. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a telerehabilitation program for PA to improve math skills in children with SLD-RD/SLD-MD. The study had an N-of-1 SCED design, and included six children aged 10–12 years with SLD-RD/SLD-MD. After four baseline measurements with an arithmetic verification paradigm, they were treated with TeleNP-PA. The effect on each participant was evaluated using visual analysis and the reliable change index. After the intervention, all participants showed improvement in arithmetic tasks, suggesting that the PA intervention had a positive influence on these skills.