After hearing alarming reports about the effects of screen time on young people, some parents may not want their children to play video games. But there are positive aspects to this pastime. In fact, new research claims that video games could be beneficial for preschoolers at risk of dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty reading. It manifests as difficulty identifying letters, syllables, and words. The causes of dyslexia are still not fully understood, but the scientific community suspects that there may be a problem with the way visual information is transmitted to and analyzed by the brain. However, it has been found that children of parents with dyslexia are 80 times more likely to develop dyslexia themselves.
Dyslexia is usually diagnosed in primary school, when children begin to learn to read and write. However, it is possible to identify at-risk children much earlier. With this in mind, a team of French and Italian researchers decided to investigate whether playing video games could help preschoolers overcome the cognitive problems associated with dyslexia.
To do this, the researchers studied 20 preschoolers aged 5 to 6, 79 of whom were identified as at risk for dyslexia. They divided the preschoolers into four groups:
The first group had to play an action video game. Space Invaders Extreme 2 The first group received phonological training for 45 minutes, four times a week for a month and a half, the second group played a series of mini-games, the third group of children received phonological training from a speech therapist, and the fourth group of children received no special treatment.
The effectiveness of the different experimental protocols with the children was assessed by tests measuring phonological awareness, phonological working memory, and rapid naming abilities. Space Invaders Extreme 2 The subjects were better at breaking down spoken words into phonemes than others. In other words, they had much greater phonological awareness than their peers.
To their surprise, the researchers found that this phenomenon was still present six months after the experiment ended, so they concluded that games like action video games were Space Invaders Extreme 2 It had a lasting effect on children's phonological development.
Although the study has methodological limitations, it opens the door to new interventions for children with learning disabilities who may eventually develop dyslexia. Certain video games may help children improve the cognitive skills they need to master reading. Great news for parents. – AFP Relax News
