The challenge of addressing severe dyslexia in students requires innovative and evidence-based approaches. A recent study titled "The impact of articulatory consciousness training on reading and spelling literacy in students with severe dyslexia: an experimental single case study" by Thurmann-Moe, Melby-Lervåg, and Lervåg (2021) provides valuable insights into an intervention that shows promise for this demographic.
The study involved 11 students with severe dyslexia who underwent an intervention program focusing on articulatory consciousness training. This training aims to make students more aware of the articulatory and acoustic features of speech sounds, thereby enhancing their decoding and spelling abilities. The intervention consisted of 32 individual sessions over eight weeks, employing a multiple baseline/probe design to measure outcomes.
Key Findings
The results of the study were promising:
- Significant improvements were observed in all reading and spelling outcomes.
- Students showed a 37% average increase in reading regular words, 60% in reading pseudowords, and 45% in reading irregular words.
- Spelling efficiency improved by 40% on average.
- Notably, the intervention also had a positive impact on reading accuracy, with students improving their correct word reading rate by 10-12%.
However, the study also noted significant effects on an irrelevant control task (the pegboard test), suggesting potential testing effects on the dependent variables. This underscores the need for further randomized trials to draw more definitive conclusions about the efficacy of this intervention for students with severe dyslexia.
Implications for Practitioners
For practitioners, these findings offer several actionable insights:
- Incorporate Articulatory Consciousness Training: Given the significant improvements observed, incorporating articulatory consciousness training into your intervention repertoire could benefit students with severe dyslexia.
- Monitor for Testing Effects: Be mindful of potential testing effects when evaluating intervention outcomes. Consider using control tasks to account for these effects.
- Tailor Interventions: Customize interventions to include a focus on articulatory and acoustic features of speech sounds, which may provide additional support for students struggling with traditional phonics-based approaches.
Encouraging Further Research
While the study's findings are encouraging, they also highlight the need for further research. Randomized controlled trials involving larger sample sizes and diverse populations are essential to validate the efficacy of articulatory consciousness training. Practitioners are encouraged to participate in or initiate such research to contribute to the growing body of evidence in this area.
In conclusion, articulatory consciousness training shows great potential in improving literacy outcomes for students with severe dyslexia. By incorporating these techniques into your practice and supporting further research, you can play a crucial role in enhancing the educational experiences and outcomes for these students.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: The impact of articulatory consciousness training on reading and spelling literacy in students with severe dyslexia: an experimental single case study.
