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Effect of Attention Therapy on Reading Comprehension

State College of Optometry, State University of New York, hsolan{at}sunyopt.edu

John Shelley-Tremblay

University of South Alabama

Anthony Ficarra

Optometry Section, Cincinnati Veterans Administration Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio

Michael Silverman

Psychiatry Department of Cornell University's Weill Medical College

Steven Larson

State College of Optometry, State University of New York

This study quantified the influence of visual attention therapy on the reading comprehension of Grade 6 children with moderate reading disabilities (RD) in the absence of specific reading remediation. Thirty students with below-average reading scores were identified using standardized reading comprehension tests. Fifteen children were placed randomly in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. The Attention Battery of the Cognitive Assessment System was administered to all participants. The experimental group received 12 one-hour sessions of individually monitored, computer-based attention therapy programs; the control group received no therapy during their 12-week period. Each group was retested on attention and reading comprehension measures. In order to stimulate selective and sustained visual attention, the vision therapy stressed various aspects of arousal, activation, and vigilance. At the completion of attention therapy, the mean standard attention and reading comprehension scores of the experimental group had improved significantly. The control group, however, showed no significant improvement in reading comprehension scores after 12 weeks. Although uncertainties still exist, this investigation supports the notion that visual attention is malleable and that attention therapy has a significant effect on reading comprehension in this often neglected population.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 36, No. 6, 556-563 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/00222194030360060601


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