Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

Abstract

Following school closures due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for some months, children received only distance learning. The effects of this approach, however, are not clear for children with dyslexia. We conducted a cross-sectional comparison between children with and without dyslexia after the so-called “lockdown” and a comparison between pre- and post-lockdown parameters in children with dyslexia. We recruited sixty-five children with dyslexia (dyslexia group, DG) from an outpatient facility in Pavia (Lombardy, Italy) and fifty-two children without specific learning disabilities as the control group (CG) from summer camps in the same province. We performed neuropsychological tests to explore reading skills and an ad hoc questionnaire to explore how parents and children had experienced the measures taken to reduce spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Between 59 to 63% of children with dyslexia did not reach the average expected increase of reading skills. According to their parents, they also showed greater social isolation and fewer worries about the pandemic and the school’s closure. Our data indicate that children with dyslexia are at increased risk of consequences on their learning potential in case of school closure. They also seem to have a peculiar psychological experience of school closure. Specific interventions should therefore be provided to minimize the risk of negative effects on global development.

The impact of school strategies and the home environment on home learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in children with and without developmental disorders

“…Our findings confirm and expand other studies conducted in the COVID-19 context, also showing extra difficulties for DD children during the school-closures (Baschenis et al, 2021;Soriano-Ferrer et al, 2021;Zawadka et al, 2021). In order to improve our understanding of why these children experienced extra difficulties, it is important to discuss the predictors of these learning experiences.…”

“…Furthermore, the reading skills of about 60% of children with RLD in an Italian study improved less than expected during the school-closures. On the other hand, children with RLD in the same study reported less worries about the school-closures than their TD peers, possibly because the school context usually triggers feelings of inadequacy in these children (Baschenis et al, 2021).…”

“…to his/her observations of what the different children in their class are struggling with (just as in the regular classroom practice). The expectation that the teaching methods will have been less effective for DD children is reinforced by the already reported extra difficulties children with DD have with learning, both in regular school times (Nonweiler et al, 2020) as during the school-closures (Baschenis et al, 2021;Soriano-Ferrer et al, 2021;Zawadka et al, 2021).…”

“…During the COVID-19 lockdown, children with RLD (compared to TD children) demonstrated more conduct problems (Soriano-Ferrer et al, 2021), more emotional problems (anxiety and feelings of depression; Forteza-Forteza et al, 2021) and more problems with hyperactivity and inattention (Soriano-Ferrer et al, 2021). In addition, these children reported more difficulties with following online classes than their TD peers (Baschenis et al, 2021;Zawadka et al, 2021). Furthermore, the reading skills of about 60% of children with RLD in an Italian study improved less than expected during the school-closures.…”

“…Making sure these children can talk with someone about their worries might help to free working-memory resources to achieve their learning goals (Owens et al, 2012). We can assume that this finding is not only relevant for pandemic-related worries but also for other problems and uncertainties of DD children; for example feelings of inadequacy of children diagnosed with RLD during regular school times (Baschenis et al, 2021).…”