[Development of a training program for Japanese dyslexic children and its short-term efficacy]

The purpose of this study is to develop a computer training program of reading for the Japanese dyslexic children and to examine its short-term efficacy on their reading and writing abilities.

Fifteen dyslexic children underwent two sets of training programs, one for single-hiragana and non-word reading, and the other for the reading of real words, in which each hiragana was followed by the correctly read sound. Subjects were required to use a given program for five minutes a day for three weeks, switching to the other program after a three-week interval. Four kinds of reading test and one writing test were done at the beginning and end of each program period.

The averages reading speeds increased, and the single-hiragana reading error average was lower after the training. Hiragana-writing errors also decreased, even though no writing procedure was involved in the programs.

The results indicate the usefulness of these training programs as an early intervention of reading and writing for the Japanese dyslexic children.