فصلنامه ناتوانی های یادگیری
سال هشتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 31، تابستان 1398)

Specific Learning Disorder is one of the neurocognitive disorders that has received increasing attention in recent years. Previous studies have shown that the working memory of students with a specific learning disorder has deficiencies. So far, several studies on working memory have been conducted to improve the performance of students with special learning disabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to integrate the results of previous studies in this field that a total of 15 related studies involving 429 subjects were conducted. The findings showed that the effect size of working memory training on learning disorder was 0.863. This effect size in dyslexia was 1.24, in dyscalculia was 0.793 and in dysgraphia was 0.708. The aforementioned effect size in dyslexia has been more than the two other disorders. Furthermore, the results obtained from the analysis of the moderator variable of the number of sessions, indicates the lack of effect of this variable on performance improvement in specific learning disorder. According to the research results, it is suggested that working memory training in order to improve the performance of students with dyslexic disorder should receive more attention. Other results were discussed, too.

monitoring of attention on academic performance and enhancement of attention in students with reading difficulties. Four fourth grade female students with reading difficulties were selected from a normal elementary school from Educational District Six of Tehran, Iran as participants. Research design was single subject (multiple baseline) design with different subjects. The instruments of this research were Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Jordan's Attention Deficit Disorder questionnaire (teacher and parents form), and Reading and Dyslexic Tests. In order to measure academic performance of students, a researcher-made fluent reading test was used. The study was conducted in three stages including baseline, intervention and generalization. In order to analyze the data, visual analysis and influence index calculation were used. The comparison of subjects’ performance in three stages of baseline, intervention and generalization indicated that the self-monitoring training has enhanced all four subjects’ academic performance and attention and, moreover, this resulted in the extension of learning vocabulary and new texts that have not been learnt. Considering the effectiveness of self-monitoring of attention on academic performance and attention in students with reading difficulties, it is recommended for the educators of elementary schools to use the results of this study to increase attention and improve educational efficiency of students with reading difficulties.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of copy, cover and comparison strategies on the spelling performance of elementary students with writing disabilities. A pre-test and post-test design with a control group was used. Participants were 41 students with spelling learning disabilities in the 3rd grade elementary school in Rawor city, selected by inclusion criteria and divided into two experimental and control groups. Copy, cover and comparison strategies were performed for 10 sessions, for 4 weeks, 3 times per week and 1.5 hours for each session. After the end of the intervention and a month later, a spell test was carried out. Data were analyzed using repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance analysis. The findings showed that in the visual memory dimension, auditory sensitivity, visual differentiation and reminder of the error scores of the experimental group significantly decreased in the control group. In addition, the findings showed that the experimental group had a higher performance in the spell-checking test compared to the control group. Considering the importance of students with learning disabilities, especially in elementary school and their spelling problems, and considering the results of this study and the effects of copying strategies, coverage and comparisons on spelling disability students, a set of exercises and tests of this strategy can be used to solve spelling problems and improve the academic achievement of students with spelling learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study was constructing, investigating reliability and validating of the diagnostic scale for non-verbal learning disorders. The research method was descriptive-survey. The first statistical population consisted of all male and female students of the elementary schools in Alborz Province, who were studying over the educational year 2017-2018 and the second statistical population consisted of all male and female students of the elementary schools in Alborz Province, who were diagnosed as students with learning disorders in educational year 2017-2018 and were undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in the centers for the treatment of learning disorders. The sample from the first statistical population consisted of 480 elementary school students from the first to sixth grade in Alborz Province, selected by the multistage cluster sampling method; and were assessed with The researcher-made scale for non-verbal learning disorders and Perceptual reasoning subtest from Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The sample from the second statistical population consisted of 24 students from the centers for the treatment of learning disorders in the Nazarabad city that were selected by the multistage cluster sampling method; and were assessed with the researcher-made scale for non-verbal learning disorders. The reliability of the comprehensive scale was obtained 0.81 by calculating the Cronbach's alpha and the sensitivity factor, specificity and the best clinical cut-off point were obtained 0.71, 0.44 and 63.5, respectively. The results confirmed formal validity, content validity, concurrent validity, diagnostic validity, construct validity and reliability of the researcher-made scale. According to the findings of the study, it was concluded that the researcher-made scale has sufficient validity and reliability and can be used as a valid tool for the diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorders in the elementary school.

The aim of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance/commitment training to decrease experiential avoidance and psychological distress in teenagers with specific learning disorder. This research is an experimental study with a pre and post-test with a control group design. Statistical population of this study included all of male guidance grade students with special learning disabilities who studied in Ardabil city in the year 2017-2018. The study sample included 44 students with special learning disabilities (22 experimental group and 22 control group) who were selected by multistage cluster sampling and randomly divided into the experimental and control groups. The data was collected using experiential avoidance questionnaire, psychological distress assessment questionnaire and learning difficulties questionnaire. The acceptance/ commitment training was held for the experimental group in eight 90-minute sessions. The results of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that acceptance/ commitment training significantly decrease experiential avoidance and psychological distress in teenagers with specific learning disorder (P<0.01). These findings suggest that the acceptance/commitment training is an effective method for the use of specialists in educational and therapeutic centers to improve the mental health of students with special learning disabilities.

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of solution-focused approach on the educational motivation among children with special learning disabilities in the Vali Asr institute of rehabilitation in Tehran, in 2016-2017. The Method of this research was semi-experimental and it was conducted with the pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The researched population included students with special learning disability from Vali Asr rehabilitation institute in Tehran who had symptoms of special learning disabilities and were under treatment and educational programs. The whole population of the research included 150 children with special learning disability. From these 150 students, 30 students from fifth grade of elementary school were selected using convenience sampling method. From the selected 30 students, 15 students were randomly assigned to experimental group and 15 students to control group. For data analysis the method of covariance analysis of single variable was used. The result of research showed that the average of experimental group compared to the control group in the educational motivation variable had a significant growth, and statistical result from multivariate covariance analysis in the level of (α =/5) became significant. Therefore the solution-focused approach could improve the educational motivation of the students with special learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to compare metacognitive beliefs, rumination, worry and intolerance of uncertainty in mothers of students with and without learning disorder. The statistical population of this study included mothers of children with and without learning disorder in Marand who visited the Marand Learning Center in order to treat their children's learning disabilities during the second six months of the academic year of 2017-2018. From these visitors, 50 mothers of children with learning disabilities were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection instruments were the short form of the metacognitions questionnaire by Wales & Cartwright-Haaton, rumination questionnaire by Yousefi, intolerance of uncertainty scale by Friston and the Pennsylvania State worry questionnaire. The results of the study indicated that two groups of mothers with and without children with learning disorder had a significant difference in meta-cognitive beliefs, rumination, worry and uncertainty. The findings of this study, while confirming the mental health problems in parents (especially mothers) with children with learning disabilities, can also be interpreted within the framework of cognitive theories of emotional disorders.