The Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies in the Improvement of Reading Performance and Reduction of Depression in Students with Dyslexic in Primary Schools

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of self-instruction techniques on reading performance of students with medium dyslexic and depression symptoms. From a sample of the students of the third and forth grades of public primary schools, 32 students were randomly selected and assigned to the two experimental and control groups. The experiment group practiced the self-instruction techniques for 12 sessions, while the students in the control group continued their ordinary school activities. In the experiment group the student's parents (i.e. mother) were also trained for six sessions to help their children at home. The data were evaluated through covariance analysis. The results indicated that the self-instruction techniques are effective on the improvement of reading performance of students and the reduction of depression symptoms. After 5 months, the results of follow up studies revealed that although student marks in the experiment group have decreased to some extent, the difference between experiment and control groups is significant.