JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES
Year:2020 | Volume:9 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:8

This study aimed at comparing hope, academic achievement motivation, and academic self-concept among students with and without learning disabilities. To this end, a causal-comparative research method was used. All the fifth and sixth grade elementary students with learning disabilities referred to Miyaneh Learning Disabilities Center and all the fifth and sixth grade elementary students without learning disabilities in Miyaneh city in the academic year 2016-2017 constituted the population of this study. From among this population, 40 students with learning disabilities and 40 students without learning disabilities were selected as the sample through simple random sampling. Hope Scale (Snyder), Academic Achievement Motivation Scale (Harter), and Academic Self-concept Questionnaire (Mendaglio & Pyryt) were employed for data collection. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results showed that the school students with learning disabilities had significantly lower levels of hope, academic achievement motivation, and academic self-concept than the ones without learning disabilities. The low levels of hope, academic achievement motivation, and academic self-concept among students with learning disabilities may have undesirable psychological, behavioral, and academic consequences; therefore, it appears necessary to conduct psychological intervention and instructional strategies to enhance the degree of hope, academic achievement motivation, and academic self-concept in these students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of verbal creativity storytelling and phonological awareness of dyslexic students which was done by a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest with control group. The sample included 28 dyslexic male students who completed the third elementary school in the academic year of 2018 selected through convenient sampling from the centers of diagnosis and treatment of state and private learning disorders in the cities of Tehran, Shahryar and Karaj. The students were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups of 14 people. The instruments used in this research were Dastjerdi and Solaymani Phonological awareness and Torrance Creativity Test of Verbal Section (Form A). The data were analyzed using covariance analysis. The results indicated that the method of storytelling was based on the overall score of verbal creativity, the score of each of the subscales (originality, fluency and flexibility), the overall score of phonological awareness, and the score of its levels (syllabic, intra-syllabic and phonological awareness). These have been effective and led to higher scores. Based on the findings of the study, the storytelling method is effective in improving the performance of dyslexic students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of mediation of differentiation between attachment styles and attachment-family adaptation to marital disturbance of students with special learning disorders in Ardabil city in 1397. The correlation method used here was a path analysis. From parents with children with learning disabilities, 250 parents were selected using available scorecard, differentiation questionnaire, attachment style, family cohesion, family affection, and marital disturbance. The data were analyzed using AMOS and path analysis. The results showed that safe attachment style had a positive and direct effect and insecure attachment style had a negative and direct effect on differentiation. Furthermore, the negative and direct effect of family differentiation and family correlation on marital distress was confirmed. Among exogenous variables, safe attachment style through differentiation has been able to reduce marital distress, but insecure attachment style has led to increased marital disturbance through differentiation. The results show that the role of mediation of differentiation between attachment styles and affiliation-family adaptation with marital frustration of parents of students with a specific learning disorder has a favorable fit.

The goal of this research is to teach computerized mathematical concepts to improve visual-spatial perception in students. We also compare this method's effectiveness with classic methods on improving visual-spatial perception. The method of doing this research is semi-experimental using pretest and posttest with the control group. In this research, the population is the second and third grade students studying in public schools of Tehran in 2016-2017. The sample of this research includes 45 students who were selected by random sampling with random replacement methods. 15 students among these 45 were placed in a software training experimental group; 15 students were placed in classic training experimental group, and 15 students were placed in the control group. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Shapiro Wilk, independent t-test, and covariance were used to analyze the data. Frostig test for visual-spatial perception was the tool for gathering data in this research. Covariance analysis results proved that visualspatial adjusted averages of the electronic group with the difference control of 22. 93 shows a number which is significant at. 001 level. After summing these conclusions up, it can be stated that this hypothesis has been proved and training through educational program of teaching computerized mathematical concepts could be effective in improving students’ visual-spatial perception. It should also be noted that comparing Frostig adjusted averages between classic group and educational program group shows a difference of 11. 130 which is significant at. 001 level. In these differences, educational program group's average is always more than the classic group's average.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of child-centered game therapy on working memory and processing speed of children with learning disabilities. This research was a semi-experimental design with pretest/ post-test and control group. The population of the study consisted of all preschool female students in Esfahan who studied in the academic year of 2017-2018. In order to select the sample, from preschool schools in District 3, six schools were selected and 30 female students through Canner’ s neuropsychological test by availability sampling were selected and placed into an experimental group (15 participants) and a control (15 participants). In order to collect the data, the active memory and the processing speed subscales of the fourth edition of the Wechsler test for children and adolescents were used. The experimental group was trained through the child-centered game therapy for 12 sessions of 45 minutes (This intervention was applied for two months at the students' free time in the kindergarten game room), but the control group did not receive any intervention. The data was analyzed by SPSS software and covariance analysis. The results showed that child-centered game therapy had a significant effect on the active memory and processing speed of students in the experimental group compared with the control group (p <. 05). It can be concluded that the CCPT can be effective in improving active memory and processing speed as two effective cognitive factors in children with neuropsychological/developmental learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy on reducing anxiety and improving English reading skills of dyslexic students. The research method is a quasiexperimental pretest-posttest with a control group. The population consisted of all dyslexic students in Karaj city in the academic year 2016-2017 of whom 31 participants were selected by purposive, availability sampling and randomly assigned into an experimental (15) and a control group (16). The anxiety questionnaire was used for the students as a pretest as well as the Topnotch Placement Test. The participants were then subjected to interpersonal psychotherapy for 8 sessions of 60 minutes. The control group did not receive any intervention. After performing the treatment, the results were compared with covariance analysis and an independent samples t-test. The findings showed a significant reduction in students' anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group (p <. 001). Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the performance of experimental over the control group in the reading comprehension. Therefore, interpersonal psychotherapy can be used for dyslexic students and can be used as a psychological intervention along with other interventions.

This study examines the effectiveness of neuropsychological rehabilitation treatment on improving the performance of response inhibition in people with learning disabilities in math and dyscalculia. Therefore, among the population of the city of Tabriz, that all students with disabilities in math and reading centers of learning disorders in the 2015-2016 academic year, 30 students with these disabilities, aged 8 to 12 years, received 20 sessions of 30-to 45-minute treatment, with the Persian version of the educational software SOUND SMART produced by BRAIN TRAIN company. The data were analyzed through SPSS (Version 21) descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis. The results revealed that neuropsychological rehabilitation of response inhibition had a significant positive impacton students with learning disabilities in math and reading (p <. 01). According to the results of the present study, it can be concluded that rehabilitation therapy can be used as a complementary therapy along with other conventional therapies for math and reading learning disabilities.

The main purpose of the present study was to compare mental toughness and ambiguity tolerance in mothers of children with special and ordinary learning disabilities. This research was a causal-comparative study. The population of the present study included all mothers with special learning disabilities who referred to the center (LD) of Farsan learning discords in 2017 and used the counseling and psychological services of the center, among whom 30 participants were selected by availability sampling, as well as 30 mothers with normal children participated in this study as a comparison group. The two groups responded individually and with the presence of the researcher to the questionnaire of mental toughness and ambiguity tolerance. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results showed that the mean scores of mothers with children with specific learning disabilities in the mental toughness (its components) variables and ambiguity tolerance are different than the normal group (p <. 001). So, it is essential to hold workshops for parents of children with specific learning disabilities and mental toughness to increase their tolerance.