The efficacy of narrative therapy and storytelling in reducing reading errors of dyslexic children

Abstract

Narrative and stories in education have been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. The idea of narrative is fertile ground for adult educators who know intuitively the value of stories in teaching and learning. Narrative is deeply appealing and richly satisfying to the human soul, with an allure that transcends cultures, centuries, ideologies, and academic disciplines. The present study examined the efficacy of narrative therapy and storytelling in reducing reading errors of dyslexic children. Sample of 30 dyslexic 1st to 3rd graders were identified as dyslexia using the Dyslexia Checklist (Michaeli, 2006). The sample was administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R,1974) and Diagnostic Reading Test (Bahari Gharahgoz, 2006) and randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. During a five month period, the experimental group received twenty five, one hour sessions of individual training with the narrative therapy by counselor and storytelling by children. The control group received none. The two group pre-post tests of reading errors were compared using ANCOVA. The results revealed that, controlling for the intelligence variable, the application of narrative therapy accounted for a 60% reduction in reading errors.