Children with reading disorders--I. Efficacy of reading remediation

The efficacy of reading remediation, which emphasized phonetic decoding, was investigated in children with pure reading disorders, controlling for the influence on non-specific treatment effects. Sixty-one children were randomly assigned to receive instruction in reading or in other subjects for four months. Children were re-evaluated immediately after, and two and eight months after, the cessation of the intervention. At the end of treatment, the children who had received reading remediation obtained significantly higher scores than the controls on all reading tests. Some of the treatment advantages were maintained beyond the treatment period. Results clearly support the efficacy of reading remediation which emphasizes phonetic skills. The study does not address itself to whether this treatment method differs from other remedial interventions.