Vanden Bempt, F. , Vanderauwera, J. , Glatz, T. , Economou, M. , Van Herck, S. , Wouters, J. , Vandermosten, M. & Ghesquière, P.
KU Leuven
GraphoGame is a computerized reading intervention, which is developed to train grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Previous studies revealed positive effects of the GraphoGame method on early literacy skills, such as letter knowledge and phonological awareness, but also on reading accuracy, reading fluency and spelling abilities in diverse language contexts as well as in diverse age groups. However, to date, the effects of GraphoGame on pre-literacy skills have never been explored in Flemish Dutch-speaking pre-readers at cognitive risk for dyslexia. This study aims to close this gap. We selected 88 five-year old pre-reading children with a cognitive risk for dyslexia. A first group received the tablet-based target intervention GraphoGame (n = 31). Two other groups received either a tablet-based control intervention (i.e. active control group; n = 29) or no intervention (i.e. passive control group; n = 28). Pre- and post-intervention measurements of cognitive-linguistic skills such as phonological awareness and letter knowledge were administered in all participants in the school environment. We expect significant improvements in letter knowledge and phonological awareness in children who play GraphoGame compared to children in the active and passive control group. Currently, data are being collected and results will be discussed at the IWORDD conference.