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This longitudinal study investigates the differences in cognitive and socio‐emotional development and academic achievement between children educated in special education classes (N = 37) and regular classes (N = 37). The study is retrospective. The first measurement point was while children were attending play‐oriented kindergarten and no decision about their education had yet been made. The second measurement point followed after 2 years of schooling. Comparing carefully matched groups, no differences in executive functions (EFs) were found before beginning school. Children assigned to special education had poorer language, fine motor skills and a lower pre‐academic self‐concept, self‐regulatory skills and social integration. Notably, every fourth child in special education was an immigrant, 9% of whom later attended regular classes. After 2 years of schooling in either setting, the groups differed significantly in academic achievement, EFs, fine motor skills and cognitive self‐regulatory skills. However, it was not – as school officials had intended – that children in special education classes had caught up, except in regard to their academic self‐concept and social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether training using a nonverbal auditory-visual matching task had a remedial effect on reading skills in developmental dyslexia. The pretest/post-test design was used with Swedish children ( N= 41), between the ages of 7 and 12. Training comprised twice-weekly sessions of 15 minutes, over eight weeks. There was an improvement in auditory-visual matching during the training period. There were also improvements in some reading test scores, especially in reading nonsense words and in reading speed. These improvements in tasks which are thought to rely on phonological processing suggest that such reading difficulties in dyslexia may stem in part from more basic perceptual difficulties, including those required to manage the visual and auditory components of the decoding task. The utility of the concept of auditory structuring is discussed in relation to auditory and phonological processing skills when a child learns to read. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether audiovisual computer training without linguistic material had a remedial effect on different learning disabilities, like dyslexia and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). This study applied a pre-test–intervention–post-test design with students (N = 62) between the ages of 7 and 19. The computer training lasted eight weeks occurring twice a week for 15 minutes per session. After the training period, an improvement in the auditory-visual matching test was found. According to the hypothesis of this study, the youngest children with dyslexia would benefit most from the intervention. However, the training had also a positive effect on auditory-visual matching with older students with dyslexia. Surprisingly, the students with ADD benefited from this intervention. According to the teachers, this intervention had also a positive effect on the students' school behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]