Effects of a visual perception-based occupational therapy program on reading and motor skills in children with developmental dyslexia: Single blind randomized cross-over study design.

This study aimed to examine the effects of a visual praxis-based occupational therapy (VPOT) program on reading and motor skills for children with developmental dyslexia (DD). Forty-two children were included in the study. Additionally, before VPOT, the Reading-Aloud and Reading-Comprehension Test 2 (ORSRC-2) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor-Proficiency-Test-2-Brief Form (BOT2-BF) were applied to the participants. According to the study design, VPOT was applied to two sessions per week for 8 weeks to group A. During this period, group B was accepted as the control group. At the end of these 8 weeks, evaluation tests were applied to both groups. Then, group A was defined as the control group and Group B as the intervention group, and VPOT was applied to Group B. At the end of another 8 weeks, evaluation tests were applied to both groups for the third time. When the final ORSRC-2 results were examined, VPOT was found to be an effective program for improving reading skills. Additionally, when the final BOT2-BF results were examined, VPOT was determined to be effective in improving motor skills (p < 0.05). We believe that it is important to carry out comprehensive studies such as the VPOT program to solve problems in the physical and learning activities of children with DD.

Scoping Review of Music Interventions Aimed at Improving Reading Skills in Children with Specific Learning Disorders in Reading.

An emerging body of research utilizes music in the treatment of children with specific learning disorders in reading. However, greater understanding of music interventions is necessary for efficient application of music to address children's specific reading needs. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify the key musical concepts used to improve reading skills. Intervention studies were identified through online searches of databases and hand searching of primary journals in music therapy, and 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. For the 12 studies, auditory processing, phonological processing, and temporal processing were the underlying mechanisms identified in the interventions. Most of the interventions presented rhythmic activities for the purpose of improving reading accuracy. The results of this study highlight the lack of specific descriptions for the musical elements used within music interventions targeting reading skills. In addition, due to the diversity of the terms used to describe the music interventions, it was difficult to compare the effectiveness of these interventions on reading accuracy, comprehension skills, and fluency. Therefore, future studies are needed to articulate clear rationales for how musical elements can be used in music interventions to treat specific reading disabilities in children.

Language development, reading and word learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a review on eye tracking studies.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to review research that has been conducted over the past five years on language development, reading skills and word learning with the use of the eye tracking machine as regards the population with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to typically developed population. Materials and methods: A combination of relevant terms from Google Scholar, Research Gate and PsychINFO databases was used and as a result 24 studies emerged. The total number of studies that met the inclusion criteria was 21. Results: Studies focusing on the language development of people with ASD have presented significant findings regarding vocabulary processing and the preferential focus on specific stimuli (images, audio) over a wide range of ages that in some cases have not been investigated until then. Furthermore, studies on reading have found that adults with ASD showed a strong preference for images and symbols over texts, longer reading time and performances similar to the typical population in vocabulary processing. Studies on word learning demonstrated that adults with ASD are able to rely on gaze cues in order to learn a new word and they have the ability to use syntactic bootstrapping. For preschool and early school-aged children with ASD the results showed that they are capable of cross-situational learning. Conclusions: This review provides information on the effectiveness of the eye tracking method as a tool that can contribute to the identification of deficits in language processing on the part of individuals with ASD from early childhood to adulthood, and more specifically as regards the domains of language development, reading and word learning.

Duration Perception and Reading in Typically Developing Adults and Adults with Developmental Dyslexia: Implications for Assessment and Intervention.

While the link between beat perception and reading skills is attributed to a general improvement in neural entrainment to speech units, duration perception (DP) is primarily linked to a specific aspect of speech perception, specifially discriminating phonemes of varying lengths. Our previous study found a significant correlation between DP and pseudoword reading in both typically developing (TD) individuals and adults with dyslexia (DD). This suggests that, like beat, DP may also enhance overall speech perception. However, our previous study employed a composite measure that did not discriminate speed from accuracy. In this study, we sought to replicate the link between DP and pseudoword reading in a new sample and explore how it might vary depending on the reading parameter being measured. We analyzed the performance of 60 TD vs. 20 DD adults in DP, word reading and pseudoword reading tasks, analyzing the latter for both speed and accuracy. Indeed, duration skills correlated positively with pseudoword reading accuracy. In TD adults, there was no association between DP and reading speed, whereas DD individuals exhibited slower reading speed alongside improved duration skills. We emphasize the potential usefulness of DP tasks in assessment and early intervention and raise new questions about compensatory strategies adopted by DD adults.

Computer-Assisted or Instructor-Led Reading Instructions of Portuguese Words with Orthography Difficulties

This article presents the findings of a study comparing a computer-assisted teaching program to traditional instructor-led teaching for elementary school children. The study evaluated reading and writing skills and employed a group design. Results showed that both teaching approaches were effective in improving reading performance, with slightly better gains in the instructor-led version. Both conditions facilitated learning transfer to new words with spelling difficulties, although the computer-assisted condition demonstrated higher generalization in final tests. Motivational and attentional factors, easily addressed by instructors but challenging in computer programs, were highlighted. The instructor-led condition's personalized feedback and differential consequences potentially contributed to the observed differences in learning gains. Individual differences in learners' input and performance were emphasized, suggesting the need for program adaptations. The advantages of computer-assisted teaching, such as scalability and individualized pacing, were discussed, along with the need for further refinements and automation. Strategies for enhancing teaching sequence flexibility and reducing the instructor's decision-making burden were proposed. The study contributes valuable insights into computer-assisted reading instructions for children with spelling difficulties, emphasizing their benefits and areas for improvement. The research underscores the importance of designing effective technology-mediated interventions and provides guidance for future developments in this field. (AU)

The effectiveness of a reading and cognitive task-based Web delivered intervention program for children with reading difficulties.

The present study aimed to investigate the improvement of reading ability and cognitive performance of children with reading difficulties through a Web application named "Poke the Reading Ability" (PtRA). PtRA is designed to assist the intervention of reading difficulties in Greek, a language that is more transparent than English. Sixty (60) children between nine (9) to twelve (12) years old (mean age 10.18 years). The baseline assessment consisted of two batteries of reading and cognitive abilities tests. Test-A, a Greek standardized psychometric tool and Askisi, a newly developed neuropsychological battery of tests are adopted to assess reading and cognitive performance. Both tools, were used in order to screen children's reading and cognitive performance before and after implementing the PtRA. The PtRA Web intervention consists of (a) tasks that focus on improving visual and auditory working memory, (b) tasks that improve phonological awareness and decoding, (c) tasks that are adopted to strengthen visual discrimination ability and (d) tasks that improve reading comprehension ability. Following the Web delivered intervention program the results revealed that the reading and cognitive abilities of children with reading difficulties were statistically significant improved in all 9 reading and all 3 cognitive abilities tasks.

A Serious Game to Train Rhythmic Abilities in Children With Dyslexia: Feasibility and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Rhythm perception and production are related to phonological awareness and reading performance, and rhythmic deficits have been reported in dyslexia. In addition, rhythm-based interventions can improve cognitive function, and there is consistent evidence suggesting that they are an efficient tool for training reading skills in dyslexia. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes a rhythmic training protocol for children with dyslexia provided through a serious game (SG) called Mila-Learn and the methodology used to test its usability. METHODS: We computed Mila-Learn, an SG that makes training remotely accessible and consistently reproducible and follows an educative agenda using Unity (Unity Technologies). The SG's development was informed by 2 studies conducted during the French COVID-19 lockdowns. Study 1 was a feasibility study evaluating the autonomous use of Mila-Learn with 2500 children with reading deficits. Data were analyzed from a subsample of 525 children who spontaneously played at least 15 (median 42) games. Study 2, following the same real-life setting as study 1, evaluated the usability of an enhanced version of Mila-Learn over 6 months in a sample of 3337 children. The analysis was carried out in 98 children with available diagnoses. RESULTS: Benefiting from study 1 feedback, we improved Mila-Learn to enhance motivation and learning by adding specific features, including customization, storylines, humor, and increasing difficulty. Linear mixed models showed that performance improved over time. The scores were better for older children (P<.001), children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (P<.001), and children with dyslexia (P<.001). Performance improved significantly faster in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ß=.06; t3754=3.91; P<.001) and slower in children with dyslexia (ß=-.06; t3816=-5.08; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Given these encouraging results, future work will focus on the clinical evaluation of Mila-Learn through a large double-blind randomized controlled trial comparing Mila-Learn and a placebo game.

The relation of bilingual cognitive skills to the second language writing performance of primary grade students.

The purposes of the current study were to examine the effects of cognitive and reading skills (i.e., working memory [WM], oral language development [OLD], and reading skills) on second language (L2) writing performance as well as the changes in these relationships across different grades among Spanish-speaking children learning English. A battery of measures assessing English and Spanish WM, OLD, reading skills, and English writing were administered to 494 English learners in Grades 1 to 3. Path analysis was conducted for each grade separately in both English and Spanish models. The findings indicated that the relationships between English writing performance and English cognitive and reading skills became stronger as the grades increased. However, the relationships between English writing and the Spanish cognitive and reading determinants were mixed, indicating a statistically significant relationship with Spanish WM and reading skills for Grade 2 and 3 students but not with OLD across all grades. Implications for L2 writing development are discussed.

'What makes you say so?' Metacognition improves the sustained learning of inferential reading skills in English as a second language.

PURPOSE: This quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of enhancing metacognition in learning inferential reading skills in English as a second language. PROCEDURES: Six Grade 4 classes were randomly assigned to two groups. The "Control group" received an instructional unit on inferential reading skills. The "Metacognition group" received the same unit, including metacognitive activities. Students were assessed in metacognitive and inferential reading skills before (pre-test), immediately after (post-test) and four weeks after the intervention (deferred test). FINDINGS: Metacognitive strategy instruction enhanced student learning of inferential reading skills and its sustainability in time. The Metacognition group attained a significantly higher average score in deploying metacognitive skills both in the post and deferred tests, indicating that the intervention was effective, as intended, to this end. While both groups significantly improved their proficiency in inferential reading skills after working with the provided instructional unit, there was a significant difference in the Metacognition group, which outperformed the Control one, even more strongly in the deferred test. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the importance of deliberately promoting metacognition as it positively impacts learning outcomes and sustainability.

Enhancing English reading skills and self-regulated learning through online collaborative flipped classroom: a comparative study.

Introduction: This research investigates the effectiveness of an online collaborative flipped classroom approach in enhancing English reading skills and self-regulated learning among Chinese English learners. Methods: A total of 71 participants were divided into three instructional groups: traditional instruction (TI) group (n = 24), flipped instruction (FI) group (n = 22), and online flipped instruction (OFI) group (n = 25). The participants' reading comprehension ability was assessed using the reading section of the IELTS exam. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) strategy use was evaluated using a questionnaire, and weekly online quizzes assessed participants' understanding of course materials. Online learning behaviors were examined by considering online log-on times. The instruction period lasted for 12 weeks, with pre-tests and post-tests conducted to measure progress. Results: The results indicated that both the FI and OFI groups outperformed the TI group in terms of reading comprehension and self-regulated learning. Furthermore, the OFI students demonstrated superior online learning behaviors and objective performances compared to the FI students. Discussion: These findings suggest that the integration of flipped and online instruction methods holds promise for improving English reading skills and enhancing self-regulated learning among Chinese English learners.

Domain-general but not speech-specific auditory duration perception predicts pseudoword reading in adults.

Associations between reading performance and duration perception have been found both for domain-general and speech-specific duration perception. However, research seems limited to children and, critically, the predictive value of the two duration perception modalities has not been compared so far. In the present study we compared the weight of domain-general (comparison of time intervals defined by beeps) vs. speech-specific duration perception (pre-attentive EEG responses to consonants with different durations) as statistical predictors of reading in a sample of 46 neurotypical adults (18-43 years old) with 13 years of schooling on average. Reading included word and pseudoword decoding, as well as reading comprehension. We ran one regression model with domain-general and speech-specific duration perception as predictors for each of the three reading skills. Pseudoword decoding was the only reading skill that was significantly predicted by duration perception, and this happened for domain-general duration perception only. A complementary analysis adding 26 typically developing and 24 dyslexic adults to the main sample (n = 96 in total) showed the same pattern of results in dyslexics, but not in added controls. Our findings strengthen the idea that duration perception is important to phonological encoding and its use in grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, given that only pseudoword decoding was predicted by the interval comparison task. The irrelevance of speech-specific duration perception tones down the possibility that accurately perceiving the length of speech sounds is crucial to skilled reading.

Influence of Lexical Development on Reading and Spelling Skills: Effects of Enhancement on Second-Grade Children in Primary School.

Previous studies suggest that lexical competence is an important factor that influences reading skills and spelling accuracy in primary school children. Understanding the relationship between these skills will provide valuable insights to improve reading and writing enhancement and intervention strategies. The aim of this pre-post longitudinal study is to examine the effectiveness of an enhancement program, in which there are activities proposed through a narrative and metacognitive methodology, designed to develop the cognitive processes of lexical acquisition and its effects on reading and writing ability. A total of 74 primary school children (M-age = 7.04 years) participated in the research. They were divided into groups: experimental, which carried out the enhancement, and control groups, which carried out the typical school program. The results show that children who carried out the enhancement obtained higher scores in reading skills, specifically in reading accuracy and text comprehension and spelling accuracy, in comparison with their peers in the control group. These results suggest that strengthening the lexical semantic pathway, as theorized by Coltheart's two-way model, can lead to improved reading comprehension and diminished reading errors and spelling inaccuracies.

Associations between early lexical composition and pre-reading skills at 5 years - A longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: At the end of the second year, children's lexical compositions (LexC) differ significantly in terms of variety of lexical categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, closed-class words). The aim of this study was to investigate whether this variation is associated with acquisition of pre-reading skills (PreRS) at 5;0. AIMS: To study the associations between LexC at 2;0 and PreRS at 5;0 and to examine the possible explaining value of LexC and lexicon size for PreRS. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Participants were 66 healthy, monolingual Finnish speaking children. LexC was measured at 2;0 using the standardized Finnish long form version of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory (FinCDI). Raw scores and percentages of words were used in the analysis. At 5;0, PreRS variables of letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), lexical ability and phonological processing were collected. RESULTS: The number of social terms, nouns, verbs, adjectives and closed class words associated significantly with all PreRS except RAN. The percentages of predicates and closed class words were positively associated with PreRS. All LexC variables and lexicon size at 2;0 had significant predictive values for the composite pre-reading score, explaining 19-32 % of the variation. The best model to explain PreRS included the number of nouns as the linguistic variable. A high percentage of social terms at 2;0 proposed weak PreRS at 5;0. CONCLUSIONS: LexC at 2;0 is a significant predictor of PreRS at 5;0. Closer examination of lexical composition is important, when assessing lexical skills at the end of the second year.

Effects of the Visual Praxis-Based Occupational Therapy Education Program on different kinds of reading skills: Single-blind randomized follow-up study.

This study aims to examine the long-term effects of Visual Praxis Based Occupational Therapy Program (VP-OTP) on the reading skills of children with Developmental Dyslexia. A total of 126 children with Developmental Dyslexia participated in the study. The participants were then divided into two groups (Intervention and Control groups) of equal sizes (n = 63) using a random number generator without replacement. The intervention group received VP-OTP in two weekly sessions for 8 weeks. All participants were assessed with the Oral Reading Skills and Comprehension Test-II (Sobat®-II) at three time points; pretest, post-test, and follow-up. The intervention group showed promising results as the Sobat®-II's Reading Accuracy, Reading Speed, Fluent Reading, Reading Comprehension Total Score significantly increased after the intervention (p ≤ 0.05) and the scores were maintained at the follow-up (p > 0.05). The VP-OTP intervention provided a maintained improvement in reading skills of children with Developmental Dyslexia.

The impact of computer-assisted technology on literacy acquisition during COVID-19-related school closures: Group-level effects and predictors of individual-level outcomes.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closure and loss of in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 academic year across the United States, which had a profound impact on the reading development of beginning readers. In this study we tested if a research-informed educational technology (EdTech) program-GraphoLearn-could help alleviate the COVID-19 slide. We also sought to understand the profiles of children who benefitted most from this EdTech program. Methods: We tested participants' (N = 172 K-2 children) early literacy skills using a standardized measure (STAR) before and after playing GraphoLearn, and used the pre to post difference as the dependent variable. We first compared children's STAR actual and expected growth. Then we conducted a multiple regression analysis with data about engagement with GraphoLearn included as predictors. Additional predictors were extracted from GraphoLearn performance at study onset to assess children's letter-sound knowledge, rime awareness, and word recognition. Results: The difference between actual average reading growth and expected growth in a regular school year was not statistically significant. This suggests that children in our sample seem to be gaining reading skills as expected in a regular school year. Our multiple linear regression model (which accounted for R2 = 48% of reading growth) showed that older children, with higher baseline GraphoLearn word recognition, who played more units in a fixed number of days, made significantly more early literacy progress. Discussion: While lacking a control group, our preliminary results suggest that an EdTech program such as GraphoLearn may be a useful reading instructional tool during school shutdowns. In addition, our results suggest that practice with GraphoLearn was more effective and efficient when foundational instruction was already in place.

Computer-Based Development of Reading Skills to Reduce Dropout in Uncertain Times.

An adequate level of reading comprehension is a prerequisite for successful learning. Numerous studies have shown that without a solid foundation, there can be severe difficulties in later learning and that failure in the first years of schooling can determine attitudes to learning. In the present study, we present the effect size of an online game-based training program implemented on eDia. The primary goals of the development program are to develop fluency in reading and reading comprehension in Grades 3−4. The content of the program has been developed in accordance with the national core curriculum and the textbooks based on it. Therefore, it can be integrated into both classroom-based lessons and extracurricular activities outside of class. The quasiexperimental research involved 276 students. Propensity score matching was used in examining the effect size of the development program to increase the validity of the results. Through the training program, the development of students in the intervention group accelerated greatly (d = .51), which proved to be even higher in the lowest and average skill groups (d1 = 1.81; d2 = .92) as well as in the disadvantaged student group (d = .72). Latent-change analyses confirmed the sensitivity, relevance, and importance of developing comprehension at 9−10 years of age and the generalizability of the results (χ2 = 421.5; df = 272; p < .05; CFI = .950; TLI = .945; RMSEA = .045 (CI: .036, .153). The study provided evidence that a well-designed online training program is suitable for developing comprehension and overcoming disadvantages, even without the presence of the teacher outside the classroom.

Habilidades prelectoras en niños uruguayos de diferente nivel socioeconómico / Differential pre-literacy skills development in Uruguayan children from different socioeconomic backgrounds

Resumen El objetivo del presente estudio fue comparar las habilidades prelectoras en 50 preescolares uruguayos de 5 años de edad de diferente nivel socioeconómico (NSE) y analizar el impacto de estas habilidades en el aprendizaje de la lectura. Para ello, se evaluó a los niños mediante pruebas de vocabulario receptivo, conciencia fonológica, conocimiento sobre el nombre y el sonido de las letras, y denominación rápida de objetos a fin del nivel preescolar Tiempo 1 (T1). Un año más tarde, se evaluó a un subgrupo de la muestra inicial mediante una prueba de lectura de palabras Tiempo 2 (T2). Los resultados señalaron la existencia de correlaciones significativas entre los predictores (T1) y la lectura de palabras (T2) y entre todas las variables evaluadas y el nivel socioeconómico de los niños. La comparación del desempeño intergrupal señaló la existencia de diferencias significativas en todas las habilidades evaluadas a favor del nivel socioeconómico medio. Sin embargo, el desempeño en la lectura de palabras de ambos grupos fue bajo. Por otra parte, un análisis de regresión mostró que, para los niños de nivel socioeconómico bajo, el nivel de conciencia fonológica fue el que explicó la mayor parte de la varianza en la eficiencia lectora. El nivel de lectura de los niños de nivel socioeconómico medio fue mayormente explicado por el conocimiento del nombre de las letras. Los resultados ponen en evidencia la importancia de atender a las diferencias que se generan temprano en el desarrollo de habilidades lingüísticas fundamentales para aprender a leer.

Abstract Learning to read transforms lives. Reading contributes to knowledge acquisition, cultural engagement, and success in the school. The unequal distribution of literacy skills in a society is associated with economic and social inequalities as a result, children with a poor foundation in literacy before entering formal schooling are more likely to struggle academically and to drop out of school. For these reasons, there has been an intense scientific interest for decades in understanding how children learn to read. It is well established that in the early stages of reading development, phonological awareness, letter name-sounds knowledge, and the naming speed are three independent longitudinal predictors of children's later word-reading skills in alphabetic-writing systems. Phonological awareness constitutes the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of their own language, meanwhile letter knowledge promotes the discovery of systematic relationships between writing and oral language. As early readers develop some level of phonological awareness and some level of letter knowledge, they can recognize written words through phonological recoding processes, in which graphemes are recoded as phonemes and assembled to pronounce words. In addition, rapid naming expresses the speed at which phonological information is accessed from a graphic label. Phonological processing and letter knowledge are powerfully affected by the experience, stimulation, and support that children receive before beginning formal education. Most children acquire these abilities relatively effortlessly during early childhood. However, there is a significant number of children in Latin America who experience difficulties in their pre-literacy skills development. This study examined the cognitive profiles of a total of 50 Uruguayan preschoolers from different socioeconomic backgrounds from two public schools in Montevideo, Uruguay. Twenty-six children from low-income households were compared to peers from middle-income. At the end of the pre-schooling period (time 1) receptive vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter name-sounds knowledge, and object naming speed tests were administered to children. One year later (time 2), word -reading of a subgroup of children was measured. Significant correlations were observed between all predictors at time 1; between predictors at time 1 and word reading at time 2; and between all measured abilities and socioeconomic status. Comparative analysis between children of different socioeconomic status showed that children growing up in poverty contexts performed more poorly than their peers from middle-income families in all the tests. Nonetheless, both groups performed poorly in word reading. Descriptive statistics indicated that, out of a total of 26 words, low SES children correctly read a total of 7 words per minute, and medium SES children a total of 14 words. Finally, regression analyses indicated that phonological awareness contributed 30 % variance in predicting the total score achieved in a reading-word test in children of low-income families, meanwhile letter name knowledge contributed 74 % variance in predicting the total score achieved in a reading-word test in their peers from middle-income families. In general terms, results of pre-reading skills and reading performance seem to indicate that children of different socioeconomic status use different word recognition strategies according to their level of letter-knowledge of and phonological processing. Discussion considers international literature pointing out that children who enter elementary school with limited reading-related skills are unlikely to be able to keep pace with their peers. These findings warn about the importance to elaborate systematic and high-quality educational proposals to try to reduce the gap in reading development for children from low-income families. Developing literacy and language skills before formal schooling sets a child up for success in school and life. Results also suggest the importance of analyzing the variables that affect reading development in populations that are not the majority described.

Rapid Automatized Naming as a Universal Marker of Developmental Dyslexia in Italian Monolingual and Minority-Language Children.

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) is considered a universal marker of developmental dyslexia (DD) and could also be helpful to identify a reading deficit in minority-language children (MLC), in which it may be hard to disentangle whether the reading difficulties are due to a learning disorder or a lower proficiency in the language of instruction. We tested reading and rapid naming skills in monolingual Good Readers (mGR), monolingual Poor Readers (mPR), and MLC, by using our new version of RAN, the RAN-Shapes, in 127 primary school students (from 3rd to 5th grade). In line with previous research, MLC showed, on average, lower reading performances as compared to mGR. However, the two groups performed similarly to the RAN-Shapes task. On the contrary, the mPR group underperformed both in the reading and the RAN tasks. Our findings suggest that reading difficulties and RAN performance can be dissociated in MLC; consequently, the performance at the RAN-Shapes may contribute to the identification of children at risk of a reading disorder without introducing any linguistic bias, when testing MLC.

Time spent playing predicts early reading and math skills through associations with self-regulation.

Children's play time has declined in recent decades, which could negatively impact early self-regulation-a vital component of school readiness. To date, studies have not fully explored how the time spent playing relates to children's self-regulatory skills, and in turn, their early reading and math competencies. Using data from time diaries and direct assessments of self-regulation, prereading, and math skills, this study examined how minutes spent playing at home predict these skills in a sample of 128 children followed from age four to five. Additionally, it considered whether self-regulation explained links between play time and prereading and math. Results showed that the time spent playing positively related to children's self-regulation. Moreover, through its association with self-regulation, play time had indirect effects on prereading and math skills measured one year later. Results suggest that fostering opportunities for play time during the preschool years may help to boost school readiness skills.