Combined Cognitive and Motor Training Improves Reading, Writing and Motor Coordination in Dyslexic Children

Different strategies were proposed to enhance dyslexic children's performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combined cognitive and motor training on reading, writing, and motor coordination in dyslexic children.

Twenty-four children with dyslexia (9.33 ± 0.48 years) were randomly allocated to either a Control (CG, 9.25 ± 0.45 years, n = 12) or a Trained Group (TG, 9.42 ± 0.51 years, n = 12). The intervention lasted eight weeks with a pre/post measurement (Δ) design in each group. It consisted of a combined cognitive and motor program composed of two 45 min sessions per week in TG. Reading and writing capabilities were measured using the word reading task based on the French battery (BALE) and the word dictation task, inspired by the ODÉDYS-2 French battery, respectively. The visuospatial orientation and the upper limb coordination parameters were evaluated using the Judgment of Line Orientation Test and Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency, second edition, short form test, respectively.

Two-way ANOVA for repeated measures showed no significant difference between CG and TG in pre-intervention in all tests. Reading (p < 0.001, d = 1.19, Δ% = 15.07) and writing (p < 0.001, d = 1.13, Δ% = 19.69) scores increased significantly at post-compared to preintervention in the TG group. Comparable results were obtained in the visuospatial orientation (p < 0.001, d = 0.97, Δ% = 63.50) and the upper limb coordination (p < 0.001, d = 0.69, Δ% = 110.42) scores. No significant change was observed in CG comparing pre/post-intervention.

A combined cognitive and motor training program could allow better cerebellar integration, leading to the improvement in reading, writing, and motor abilities in children with dyslexia. Further studies on a larger number of dyslexic children will be necessary to explore such issues.