THE ROLE OF PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY IN READING ACQUISITION AND DYSLEXIA: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Purpose: This paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review regarding the role of phonological memory in reading acquisition and early onset of dyslexia. Method: Searching multiple bibliographic databases (PUBMED, HEAL-LINK/Annals of Dyslexia, SCOPUS, SCHOLAR), 254 published studies were identified as potentially relevant with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. Eight of them refer to the role of phonological memory in reading ability and 4 in dyslexia. Results: The findings of the review highlight: (i) the limited range of conducted research regarding the association of phonological memory and reading ability in general and dyslexia in particular among preschool children, (ii) the significant heterogeneity of tools and tasks implemented and (iii) the shared conclusion by the vast majority of the studies suggesting that phonological memory affects reading ability and is an onset predictor of dyslexia. Conclusions: As a general conclusion, it was found that a common goal of all studies was to evaluate the contribution of phonological memory to reading ability. However, significant heterogeneity was found in tools and tasks (to a lesser extent) they used in their studies. Also, no clear conclusion emerged on the role of phonological memory in the acquisition of reading skill. More specifically, some studies have found a correlation between phonological memory and reading ability and some other non-correlation.  Article visualizations

PERCEPTIONS OF GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS ABOUT INCLUSION TO STUDENTS WITH AUTISΜ ΙΝ SCHOOLS OF GENERAL EDUCATION

Nowadays, inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in general education is increasing, and teachers are invited to incorporate them in their classroom. The present study attempts to investigate the views of teachers of general and special education on inclusion of students with ASD in the mainstream classroom. The research participants were sixteen general and special education teachers serving primary schools in the counties of Arta and Preveza during the 2019-2020 school year. The research was conducted using a semi-structured interview. According to the results of the survey, all teachers had knowledge of the disorder, but special educators had a bit more specialized knowledge. Overall, teachers expressed positive views on the inclusion of students with ASD and no significant differences were found between general and special education teachers. The characteristics of the student with ASD have been shown to be an important factor in the views of all participants regarding the choice of framework of study, as well as the collaboration between teachers for successful inclusion. In addition, the importance of continuing education on autism and inclusion has emerged as a factor with significant impact on inclusive education for all participants.  Article visualizations

WORKING MEMORY AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES: COEXISTENCE OR A STRONG RELATIONSHIP?

This research paper addressed the relationship between Learning Difficulties and Working Memory of a sample of primary students in 10 schools at 4 cities of Cyprus. Students with poor working memory have a low academic achievement, facing difficulties in reading and mathematical thinking. The main objective of the current research is to investigate the possibility of a causative interaction between working memory and the occurrence of learning difficulties in primary school students. Evaluating working memory in students with SLD, the analysis showed that it was significantly lower (p=,000), indicating a strong correlation between working memory and learning difficulties. Specifically, the analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation (p≤.001) between working memory and the variables of digit span, picture memory, pattern memory, grapheme discrimination, phoneme discrimination, and phoneme composition. Adding to the research, the current study stress that in students with learning difficulties the deficits in working memory are in a strong relationship with difficulties in specific types of both Sequence Working Memory and Grapheme-phoneme’s Awareness.  Article visualizations

SELF-EFFICACY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN GREECE

The present study focused on investigating the self-efficacy of special education teachers of primary and secondary education in Greece. In addition, the effect of certain demographic factors (gender, age, marital status, years of service, specialization, and working grade) on teachers' self-efficacy was investigated. The sample of the study was 106 special education teachers of primary and secondary education. For the evaluation of self-efficacy, the Perceived Self-efficacy subscale was selected from the Self-efficacy, Perceived School Collective Efficacy, Job Satisfaction (Carpara, Barbaranelli, Steca, & Maloneet, 2003). The statistical package SPSS, version 21.0 was used for statistical analysis of the data. Statistical assumptions were tested for a default level of statistical significance α = .05. Analysis of the data revealed that the level of self-efficacy of special education teachers was high. A statistically significant relation was found between age and self-efficacy.   Article visualizations

TITE: ESTABLISHING AN INTEGRATED DIAGNOSTIC PROFILE OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) THROUGH THE USE OF ESSENCE FRAMEWORK. THE CASE STUDY OF A 3-YEAR-OLD INFANT

Neurodevelopmental disorders appear in early childhood and cause serious impairment in several areas. These are characterized by damages or delays in development of functions closely associated with the biological aging of the central nervous system. Neurodevelopmental disorders include speech and language disorders, learning disorders, motor and divisive disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Aiming to explore the various phenotypic characteristics of these disorders as well as their co-morbidity or coexistence, an emerging body of studies stressed the importance of both early multidisciplinary assessment and intervention in the framework of these disorders. Due to the complexity of neurodevelopmental disorders there should be specific diagnostic groups so as to apply timely and multifactorial diagnoses. Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations (ESSENCE) are considered as an assessment concept that could contribute to multifactorial early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. Early, adequate, and comprehensive diagnosis conduces to early, effective, and well adapted to individual’s needs intervention programs. In the current study, the ESSENCE framework was used as the key diagnostic approach for both definitive and multifactorial diagnosis of a 3-year-old infant with a wide range of impairments.   Article visualizations

PROFESSIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN GREECE

The present study focused on investigating the professional quality of life of special education teachers of primary and secondary education in Greece. In particular, the three dimensions of the professional quality of life of special education teachers were investigated, based on participants' responses and some demographic-general characteristics. In addition, the possible relevance of the three dimensions of professional quality of life to each other was investigated. The sample of the study was 106 special education teachers of primary and secondary education. The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL)-Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue, Version 5 (Stamm, 2009) was used to assess professional quality of life. The statistical package SPSS version 21.0 was used for statistical analysis of the data. Statistical assumptions were tested for a default level of statistical significance a=.05. The analysis of the data showed that the level of participants' job satisfaction was high, while the level of secondary traumatic stress and burnout was low. A statistically significant relation was found between specialization in special education and job satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress and burnout of special education teachers, respectively. Age and years of service of special education teachers were found to be statistically significant in relation to their burnout. It also emerged that teachers’ secondary traumatic stress was associated with job satisfaction and burnout. The findings of the present study are expected to contribute to improving the professional quality of life of special education teachers.  Article visualizations

Evaluating New Approaches of Intervention in Reading Difficulties in Students with Dyslexia: The ilearnRW Software Application

The aim of this paper is to increase knowledge and understanding on how the implementation of language content through specialized software, such as the “Integrated Intelligent Learning Environment for Reading and Writing-iLearnRW”, can enhance learning during intervention procedures to enhance reading skills for children with dyslexia.The iLearnRW software is a newly designed tool that makes use of innovative technology and provides individualized intervention through games that incorporate learning activities, addressing those language areas that are most challenging for children with dyslexia in a highly entertaining and motivating way. Individualized intervention is provided through an underlying user profile, which incorporates these language features and is constantly updated as the child uses the software playing games, presenting language material selected based on his difficulties and recording his progress. A group of 78 students (52 male, 26 female) diagnosed with dyslexia, aged between 9 and 11 years old, was assessed for phonological, morphological and vocabulary skills. The students logged in the iLearnRW software on a mean of 14.18 days over a six-month intervention. After the 6-month intervention, the students were assessed once again on the same skills so as to establish the tool’s effectiveness.The results’ analysis revealed the following: (i) there was a strong constructional linkage between the profile entries of the sample, the language content of the tasks of the screening test as well of the games and its effectiveness in the students’ performance; (ii) the students who received specific guidance by their teachers, obtained higher success rates in most of the games than the students without any guidance, and (iii) the quantity of the language content and the time playing were not correlated with the students’ performance in the software’s games. Keywords: Digital technology, assistive computer software, dyslexia, learning environmen

Developmental Dyslexia: Environment Matters

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a multifactorial, specific learning disorder. Susceptibility genes have been identified, but there is growing evidence that environmental factors, and especially stress, may act as triggering factors that determine an individual’s risk of developing DD. In DD, as in most complex phenotypes, the presence of a genetic mutation fails to explain the broad phenotypic spectrum observed. Early life stress has been repeatedly associated with the risk of multifactorial disorders, due to its effects on chromatin regulation, gene expression, HPA axis function and its long-term effects on the systemic stress response. Based on recent evidence, we discuss the potential role of stress on DD occurrence, its putative epigenetic effects on the HPA axis of affected individuals, as well as the necessity of early and appropriate intervention, based on the individual stress-associated (endo)phenotype

LEARNING PATHS AND LEARNING STYLES IN DYSLEXIA: POSSIBILITES AND EFFECTIVENESS - CASE STUDY OF TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AGED 7 YEARS OLD

The difficulty in reading and writing, spelling mistakes and poor speech are considered as the main elements that characterize students with dyslexia. If one thinks that most of the things in a class are based on writing and reading, then the importance of such a learning difficulty is that it is recognized as soon as possible and with appropriate strategies that people with dyslexia can be helped in their progress. The main aim of the current study was to stress the contribution of early diagnosis of dyslexia to the creation of effective learning environments based on individual learning difficulties, learning styles, and learning paths. To this end, were studied different difficulties in the domains of memory, phonology, grammar, and syntax differentiated the learning styles as well as the strategies of each case, resulting to the implementation of multisensory individualized teaching approaches. Conclusively, early diagnosis of dyslexia as well as multisensory intervention approaches were considered as the most effective factors in the improvement of the two cases learning achievement