TREATING THE CORE DEFICITS OF DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA - EVIDENCE OF TRANSFER OF LEARNING AFTER PHONOLOGICALLY-BOARD AND STRATEGY-BASED READING TRAINING-PROGRAMS

Individuals with dyslexia have difficulty generalizing from word identification training. This study compared 2 forms of word identification training to promote transfer of learning by children with dyslexia. Sixty-two children were randomly assigned to one of the training programs or to a study skills control program. One program trained phonological analysis and blending skills and provided direct instruction of letter-sound correspondences; the other trained the acquisition, use, and monitoring of 4 metacognitive decoding strategies. Results provided clear evidence of transfer of learning after treatment of the core reading deficits of these children. Both training approaches were associated with large positive effects, transfer on several measures, and generalized achievement gains. The phonological program resulted in greater generalized gains in the phonological domain and the strategy program in broader-based transfer for real words.