Effectiveness of a Parent-administered Reading Therapy Program During Summer Break for Dyslexic Children

"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterised by reading difficulties, not caused by developmental, neurological or sensory (vision or hearing) disorders.

After summer break, the reading performance of dyslexic children declines more than those of non-dyslexic children. Indeed, during the summer, dyslexic children are less inclined to read and their consultations with speech therapist are usually suspended.

Intensive reading therapy programs proved to be efficient during the summer, to maintain reading level of dyslexic children. However these programs are expensive and not easy to generalise. Some other studies tested reading therapy programs applied by parents at home. It proved to be effective and feasible.

Thus, the hypothesis of the present study is: a parent-administered reading therapy program during the summer break could stabilise the reading performance of dyslexic children (grade 3 to 5) after the summer. On the contrary the investigators assume the control group reading performance would decrease.

With a controlled randomised trial, the investigators will compare the reading performance of two groups of dyslexic children with the same type of dyslexia (with visual information treatment deficit). All of them are diagnosed by the Reference Centre for learning disabilities (CRTLA), a Robert Debré Hospital's Unit, Paris (France).

Intensity and duration : 6 weeks during the summer break. 15 minutes/day, 5 times per week.

Intervention group : Parent-administered reading therapy program. Control group : Dyslexic's Holiday Workbook (Hatier Editor). This study's main objective consists in evaluating the effectiveness in reading performance of a parent-administered reading training program during the summer break for dyslexic children.

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Inclusion criteria

• Schooled in Grade 3, 4 or 5 (CE2, CM1 ou CM2) at inclusion
• Diagnosis of developmental dyslexia with visual information treatment deficit, confirmed by the Reference Center for Learning Disabilities, Robert Debré Hospital
• Speech therapy for dyslexia that has started for at least 6 months
• No speech therapy during the 6-weeks intervention
• Family interest and availibility for 6 weeks durant summer break
• Informed consent signed by parents
• Affiliation to a social security scheme

Exclusion criteria

• Parents not fluent enough in French to read a text
• Patient IQ (intelligence quotient) < 70 (WISC test- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children)
• Other neurological pathology in the foreground
• Presenting hearing disorders or visual disorders not treated,
• Member of a sibling also eligible for the protocol (contamination bias)
• Beneficiary of State medical aid (AME)