Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of two different training programs regarding reading skills in 14 reading disabled Swedish children in grade two. Method: The children’s results from two different decoding measures plus identification by teachers as having reading difficulties were used to select the participants. Seven of the children used Omega-IS, which entails computerized top-down, orthographic training and no additional homework, and seven children used non-computerized Reading Recovery inspired training with some components of phonological training included plus 20 homework occasions. For both programs the training sessions were conducted individually (one-to-one teaching) and lasted between 15 and 45 minutes. Results: Both groups improved significantly in all tests assessing word and non-word decoding as a result of the intervention. No significant differences were yielded between the intervention programs. Conclusion: The conclusion is that one-to-one teaching has a positive impact regardless whether a top-down or a reading instructional strategy with phonological components is implemented. Due to the result of the Omega-IS group it might also be possible to reduce homework for reading disabled children if reading is well tutored in school.
Highlights
Since there has been an increasing demand for literacy skills in modern society, a failure in this domain can seriously affect an individual’s possibility to be an active citizen in democratic respects
The aim of the present study was to measure the effects of two intervention programs with the purpose of improving reading ability
The results showed that both groups, regardless of the method used, improved during the intervention in all of the tests measuring word recognition and phonological ability compared to baseline
Summary
Since there has been an increasing demand for literacy skills in modern society, a failure in this domain can seriously affect an individual’s possibility to be an active citizen in democratic respects. Constant failure and the feeling of not being able to read are devastating for the self-esteem and may increase the risk of drop-outs in school, which in turn might enhance the risk of being marginalized in society (McNulty, 2003; Svensson, 2010). The negative effects of reading and writing disabilities and dyslexia involving low self-esteem seem to be most profound during the first 6 years of schooling (Stanovich, 1986). Findings indicate that the early identification of literacy difficulties as well as the intervention process can even prevent reading disabled children from developing negative self-esteem (Humphrey, 2002; McNulty, 2003). It is important to early identify, and to remediate the children who are likely to encounter literacy difficulties in the future
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