An evaluation of the effectiveness of a computer-assisted reading intervention

Background. A cost-effective method to address reading delays is to use computer-assisted learning, but these are not always effective. Methods. We evaluated a commercially available computer system which uses visual mnemonics, in a randomised controlled trial with 78 English speaking children (mean age 7;7 years) who their schools identified as needing reading support. School based individual tutorials usually took place 2-3 times/week. Only the experimental group received the intervention in the first 10 months, thereafter both the experimental and control groups received the intervention for 6 months. Results. After 10 months the experimental group had significantly higher standardised scores than the waiting list control group of decoding, phonological awareness, naming speed, phonological short-term memory and executive loaded working memory. Conclusions. The computer-assisted intervention was effective and this suggests that this medium can be used for reading interventions with English speaking children