Construction of an Arabic computerized battery for cognitive rehabilitation of children with specific learning disabilities

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to design an Arabic computerized battery of cognitive skills for training children with specific learning disabilities (SLD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Nineteen students from fourth grade primary schools in Assiut, Egypt, who were previously diagnosed with SLD, agreed to participate in the rehabilitation program. The study passed through four stages: first stage, detailed analysis of the cognitive profile of students with SLD (n=19), using a previously constructed diagnostic cognitive skill battery, to identify deficits in their cognitive skills; second stage, construction of an Arabic computerized battery for cognitive training of students with SLD; third stage, implementation of the constructed training program for the students, each tailored according to his/her previously diagnosed cognitive skill deficit/deficits; and fourth stage, post-training re-evaluation of academic achievement and cognitive skills’ performance. RESULTS: Students with SLD have a wide range of cognitive skill deficits, which are more frequent in auditory cognitive skills (68.4%) than in visual cognitive skills (64.1%), particularly in phonological awareness and auditory sequential memory (78.9%). Following implementation of the training program, there was a statistically significant increase (P<0.001) in the mean scores of total auditory and visual cognitive skills, as well as in academic achievement (P<0.001) of the study group. CONCLUSION: Remediation-oriented diagnosis of cognitive skills, when tailored according to previously diagnosed cognitive deficits, leads to the improvement in learning abilities and academic achievement of students with SLD.