Relationship between phonological working memory, metacognitive skills and reading comprehension in children with learning disabilities

Abstract Reading requires the activation of several cognitive processes, some of which are basic, e.g. recognizing letters and words, whereas others are complex, such as working memory and ability to think about one's own learning strategies. One condition for fulfilling a complex cognitive task, such as understanding a text, is the ability to maintain and process information, which depends on working memory. Objective To analyze the ability of using metacognitive strategies for reading, the phonological working memory of school children with learning disabilities, and also determine if there is relation between these skills and reading comprehension. Method The sample consisted of 30 school-age children and teenagers of both genders, aged 8 to 12 years, who were enrolled in primary school. They were divided in two groups, experimental (EG) and control (CG). All children were subjected to evaluation of reading comprehension, phonological working memory, and use of metacognitive skills for reading. The results were compared between groups through the Mann-Whitney test, and correlation between variables was analyzed through Spearman correlation test. Result Statistical comparison between EG and CG showed statistically significant difference. Positive and effective correlation was observed between reading comprehension, phonological working memory and metacognitive tests. Conclusion children with learning disabilities presented deficits in phonological working memory and use of metacognitive strategies. The positive and effective correlation between the abilities analyzed suggests that failure in the phonological working memory and use of metacognitive strategies interfere with reading comprehension.

Estratégias metacognitivas de leitura de crianças com distúrbio de aprendizagem / Metacognitive reading strategies of children with learning disabilities

RESUMO Objetivo verificar o uso de estratégias metacognitivas de leitura de crianças com Distúrbio de Aprendizagem e averiguar se há relação entre este uso e a compreensão de textos. Método participaram 30 crianças, de 8 a 12 anos, de ambos os gêneros, divididas em grupo experimental (GE) - 15 crianças com Distúrbio de Aprendizagem; e grupo controle (GC) - 15 crianças sem dificuldades. Todas foram submetidas à Escala de Estratégias de Leitura e o subteste compreensão de textos do Prolec. A descrição da amostra foi feita em valores de média, mediana, mínimo e máximo. Para análise comparativa entre os grupos, foi utilizado o Teste de Mann-Whitney. O grau de correlação entre as variáveis foi verificado pela Análise de Correlação de Spearman. Foi adotado o nível de significância de 5%. Resultados na pontuação total da escala, o desempenho do GE foi inferior em todas as medidas descritivas com diferença significante em relação ao GC. O GE apresentou desempenho próximo ao das crianças sem dificuldade somente nas estratégias globais. A correlação entre o uso de estratégias metacognitivas e a compreensão de textos foi positiva. Conclusão as crianças com Distúrbio de Aprendizagem evidenciaram déficits na utilização de estratégias metacognitivas de leitura quando comparadas às crianças sem dificuldade de aprendizagem. Quanto melhor o desempenho na escala de estratégias de leitura, melhor foi o desempenho na compreensão dos textos e vice-versa, sugerindo que habilidades metacognitivas para leitura contribuem para a compreensão leitora.

ABSTRACT Purpose to check the use of metacognitive reading strategies in children with learning disabilities and determine whether there is a relationship between their use and text comprehension. Methods the study was conducted on 30 children, aged 8 to 12 years, of both genders, divided into experimental group (EG) - 15 children with learning disabilities; and control group (CG) - 15 children without disability. All children were submitted to the Reading Strategies Scale and Prolec text comprehension subtest. The sample was described in mean, median, minimum and maximum values. Comparative analysis was performed between the groups using the Mann-Whitney test. The degree of correlation between variables was verified by Spearman Correlation Analysis. The significance level was set at 5%. Results across the total scores of the scale, EG performance was lower in all descriptive measures, with a significant difference compared to CG. The EG achieved a performance close to children without difficulties only in global strategies. The correlation between the use of metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension was positive. Conclusion children with learning disabilities showed deficits in the use of metacognitive reading strategies when compared to children without learning disabilities. The better the performance in reading strategies, the better textual comprehension was and vice versa, suggesting that metacognitive reading skills contribute to reading comprehension.

Speech rate and fluency in children with phonological disorder / Velocidade e fluência de fala em crianças com distúrbio fonológico

PURPOSE: To identify and describe the speech rate and fluency of children with phonological disorder (PD) with and without speech-language therapy.METHODS: Thirty children, aged 5-8 years old, both genders, were divided into three groups: experimental group 1 (G1) - 10 children with PD in intervention; experimental group 2 (G2) - 10 children with PD without intervention; and control group (CG) - 10 children with typical development. Speech samples were collected and analyzed according to parameters of specific protocol.RESULTS: The children in CG had higher number of words per minute compared to those in G1, which, in turn, performed better in this aspect compared to children in G2. Regarding the number of syllables per minute, the CG showed the best result. In this aspect, the children in G1 showed better results than those in G2.CONCLUSION: Comparing children's performance in the assessed groups regarding the tests, those with PD in intervention had higher time of speech sample and adequate speech rate, which may be indicative of greater auditory monitoring of their own speech as a result of the intervention.

OBJETIVO: Verificar e descrever a velocidade e fluência de fala de crianças com Distúrbio Fonológico (DF) com e sem intervenção fonoaudiológica.MÉTODOS:30 crianças, 5 a 8 anos de idade, ambos os gêneros, sendo: Grupo experimental 1 (G1) - dez crianças com DF em intervenção; Grupo experimental 2 (G2) - dez crianças com DF sem intervenção; e Grupo controle (GC) - dez crianças com desenvolvimento típico. As amostras de fala foram coletadas e analisadas segundo parâmetros de protocolo específico da área.RESULTADOS: As crianças do GC apresentaram maior quantidade de palavras por minuto em comparação às crianças do G1, que, por sua vez, apresentaram melhor desempenho nesse aspecto em comparação às crianças do G2. Em relação à quantidade de sílabas por minuto, o GC foi o que apresentou melhor resultado. Nesse aspecto, as crianças do G1 apresentaram resultados melhores que os das crianças do G2.CONCLUSÃO: Comparando o desempenho das crianças dos grupos analisados nas provas aplicadas, as crianças com DF em intervenção apresentaram tempo maior de amostra de fala e velocidade de fala adequada, podendo ser indicativo de um maior monitoramento auditivo da própria fala como resultado da intervenção.