The effectiveness of Enback software training on improving the working memory of dyslexic students

Clinical Psychology Master Thesis (M.Sc)

Abstract

Reading is the most basic learning tool for students. Dyslexia accounts for the largest percentage of learning disabled students, which is defined by the lack of success in language skills such as reading, writing and spelling. Memory, especially active memory, is one of the important factors in learning that these students have a strong weakness in. Therefore, this study was carried out with the aim of investigating the effect of Enback software training on the working memory of dyslexic students. For this purpose, among the second to fifth elementary school boys in Rasht city, first, 18 of those who had received the diagnosis of reading disorder with the dyslexia screening test were selected and then they were randomly placed in two groups of 9 people, experimental and control. The subjects of the experimental group were trained individually and in 30 sessions of 20 minutes with Enback software. In order to collect data, Nema reading and dyslexia test, Danmin and Carpenter working memory test software and Enback software were used. The results of covariance analysis indicated the positive effect of Enback software training on improving working memory and its components in the subjects of the experimental group compared to the control group. Based on this, it can be concluded that Enback software has the advantage that it can be used to improve the active memory of dyslexic children and thus solve their academic problems. Keywords: Enback software training, active memory, dyslexic students Introduction In this chapter, the generalities of the research are discussed; Therefore, topics such as introduction, statement of the problem, importance and necessity of research, research objectives and conceptual and operational definitions of research variables are examined in detail in order. Students with learning disabilities, despite having a suitable educational environment and natural intelligence and not having brain and biological lesions and psycho-social problems, do not have the ability to learn in certain fields (Wallace and Laughlin, 1979; translated by Menshi Toosi, 2016). Until the mid-1960s, learning disabilities were not considered among special disabilities (Shkohi and Parand, 2015). At least 5% of school-age children have learning disabilities, and in the United States, this rate includes about half of all public school children who receive special education services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 requires American states to provide free and appropriate educational services to all children. Learning disorders are more than average with the risk of a variety of co-occurring disorders, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, communication disorders, behavior and depression (Kaplan and Sadok, 2007).

According to the definition of the American federal government, learning disability is defined as follows: "Specific learning disability is the presence of a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes that are involved in the process of understanding or using oral or written language. This disorder causes a deficiency in the ability of people to listening, thinking, speaking, reading, spelling, or math. This term includes conditions such as cognitive disabilities, brain damage, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. This term does not apply to children whose learning difficulties are caused by motor, visual, or hearing disabilities, emotional disturbances, environmental, cultural, or economic problems. From Shokohi and Parand, 1385).

Learning is a complex process and requires the possession of various abilities, facilities and conditions. In other words, in order for a person to learn and use what he has learned as an experience to control his environment, a set of factors must come together and interact with each other (Riahi, 2007). Learning disabilities is a neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store and respond to information. This situation is not a separate disorder, but refers to a group of different disorders; In this case, a person faces major problems in learning basic academic skills, which are necessary for success in education and employment (Bahari and Saif Naraghi, 2018).

Since the early 1960s, a study has been started about children who, despite having normal intelligence, were unable to study and continue without special education, or had acceptable and good grades in some subjects and failed in others (Milanifar, 2004). Optimistic estimates show that at least 20% of students have problems in learning and studying, of which a significant percentage have learning disabilities. In the last few decades, the number of these students has increased (Alizadeh, 2010). In the literature related to these students, as the supporters of the cognitive model of learning insist on thinking processes such as memory, various terms are used such as partial disorder in brain functions, disorder in perception and information processing, and the like (Afrooz, 2006). (Kaplan and Sadock, 2007). Inability to read, perhaps more than other specific learning disorders in various fields, hinders academic progress because reading is a way to access a wide range of information (Dakral and McShane, 1993, translated by Ahadi and Esadi, 2016). About 90% of students with learning disabilities have difficulty in reading (Shekohi and Parand, 2015). One of the most common learning disorders is reading disorder. Reading disorder is actually the most important learning disorder because reading is the basis of all types of learning (Kirimi, 2017).

Reading is the most basic learning tool for students, and dyslexia[2] accounts for the largest percentage of learning disabled students, which is defined by failure in the field of language skills such as reading, writing, and spelling. Memory, especially active memory, is one of the important factors in learning that these students have a strong weakness in (Hossein Khanzadeh, 2012). Dyslexia is defined as a disorder in children who are unsuccessful in language skills such as reading, writing, and spelling despite having appropriate education for their intelligence level (Roderick and Rood, 2008).

In the field of academic activities, reading is very important. In fact, reading is the most common problem for students with learning disabilities (Kratochvil and Morris, 1998). The ability to read is one of the basic abilities of our daily life. In a society where fluent reading has a high value and status, those who suffer from dyslexia (difficulty in deciphering, reading and understanding the text) are severely hurt and upset by this problem (Benseich and Thomas [3], 2003; translated by Kharazi and Hejazi, 1392). Reading is a skill that at least includes language, memory, thinking, intelligence and perception (Garoud and Dinman [4], 2003; translated by Kharazi and Hejazi, 1392). It is said that dyslexic people do not practice and mentally review and categorize words that are related to each other, and as a result, they suffer from memory failure and auditory and visual stimuli. The post-mortem examination of dyslexic patients has shown organ damage in the temporal lobe (the center of speech, memory, vocabulary and reading) and the parietal lobe of the dominant brain hemisphere in the area (spatial, visual and perceptual) (Milanifer, 2004). On the one hand, considering the increasing interest of researchers in memory issues, specifically active memory, which, as mentioned, explains the cognitive model of dyslexia, as well as the relationship between the degree of visual and auditory memory weakness and the degree of dyslexia (Alizadeh, 2009), the greater the clarity of this influence and the importance of following up on this relationship and the greater awareness of this importance can make a significant contribution to improving the level of active memory of these students and ultimately improving their academic problems.

Statement Problem

In describing the cognitive and perceptual characteristics of students with learning disabilities and indicators of reading problems in dyslexics, memory weakness occupies an important part. In students with learning disabilities, they have shown evidence of a working memory defect in the transfer and adaptation of the working area of ??visual-spatial memory, and this defect is manifested in the occurrence of reading disorders, weakness in verbal short-term memory, and processing speed (Jencks and Lishat [5], 2009). Research indicates the existence of a relationship between memory and reading, language and spelling problems.