Educational Effects of Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System and Dawson–Guare Program on Neuropsychological Functions in Students with Dyslexia

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D–KEFS) and Dawson–Guare program on neuropsychological functions in students with dyslexia. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design, a control group, and a follow-up period. The statistical population included all boy and girl third-graders in Tehran within the 2018–2019 academic year. Based on the inclusion criteria, convenience sampling was employed to select 45 dyslexic students from all the boy and girl third-graders with dyslexia. The Raven IQ Test for Children (1983) and the Reading and Dyslexia Test (2016) was conducted for screening, and the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test (2004) was utilized for assessment before and after interventions. The first experimental group received 17 sessions based on the D–KEFS, whereas the second experimental group received 17 sessions in the Dawson–Guare Program. The ANCOVA was then used in SPSS-24 for data analysis. The mean of the post-test and follow-up scores of neuropsychological functions in the D–KEFS and Dawson–Guare Program groups significantly decreased compared to the control group (p<0.01). Moreover, the D–KEFS intervention improved neuropsychological functions further than the Dawson–Guare Program (p<0.05). Based on the findings, it can be concluded that there is a high correlation between enhancing executive skills in dyslexic children and improving their neuropsychological functions. It is possible to enhance neuropsychological functions, which underlie the reading skill, in dyslexic children through interventions that target a wide variety of executive functions.