[Effects of computer-assisted practice on reading and spelling in children with learning disabilities]

Psicothema. 2010 Nov;22(4):813-21.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of computer-assisted practice on reading and spelling in children with learning disabilities (LD). We compared three practice conditions, one with reading and two with spelling, in order to test whether computer-based reading and spelling practice has an influence on the development of reading and spelling ability in children with LD. A sample was selected of 85 children with LD, with age range between 8 years and 10 years (age, M=111.02, SD=9.6), whose spelling performance was two years below grade level. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) Copy the target word from the computer screen (n=22), 2) Memorize the target word and write it from memory (n=21), 3) Word reading (n=21), and 4) the untrained control group (n=21). We administered measures of pseudoword reading, phonological awareness, phonological word decoding and orthographical word decoding tasks. We examined the learning effects and transfer effects on words classified as a function of length, consistency, and complexity of syllable structure. Overall, the results showed that reading training did not improve spelling; however, the children who participated in the copy training condition improved their spelling skills.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Articulation Disorders / psychology
  • Articulation Disorders / rehabilitation
  • Child
  • Computer-Assisted Instruction*
  • Feedback, Psychological
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intelligence Tests
  • Learning Disabilities / psychology
  • Learning Disabilities / rehabilitation*
  • Male
  • Memory
  • Memory Disorders / psychology
  • Memory Disorders / rehabilitation
  • Phonetics
  • Reading*
  • Software
  • Verbal Learning
  • Writing*