Effects of Three Interventions on the Reading Skills of Children With Reading Disabilities in Grade 2

In a longitudinal intervention study, the effects of three intervention strategies on the reading skills of children with reading disabilities in Grade 2 were analyzed. The interventions consisted of computerized training programs: One bottom-up intervention aimed at improving word decoding skills and phonological abilities, the second intervention focused on top-down processing on the word and sentence levels, and the third was a combination of these two training programs ( n = 25 in each group). In addition, there were two comparison groups, 25 children with reading disabilities who received ordinary special instruction and 30 age-matched typical readers. All reading disabled participants completed 25 training sessions with special education teachers. All groups improved their reading skills. The group who received combined training showed higher improvements than the ordinary special instruction group and the typical readers. Different cognitive variables were related to treatment gains for different groups. Thus, a treatment combining bottom-up and top-down aspects of reading was the most effective in general, but individual differences among children need to be considered.

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Mindfulness and Attention: Current State-of-Affairs and Future Considerations

10.31231/osf.io/8p3qv ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ruchika Prakash ◽

Stephanie Fountain-Zargoza ◽

Arthur F. Kramer ◽

Shaadee Samimy ◽

John Wegman

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽

Mindfulness Meditation ◽

Mindfulness Training ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Methodological Rigor ◽

Comparison Groups

This review examines longitudinal studies of changes in attentional control following mindfulness training. A total of 56 retreat studies, feasibility studies, and randomized controlled trials were identified. Outcome measures were broadly categorized based on whether they operated primarily via top-down mechanisms, involving goal-directed modulation of attention via endogenous information, or bottom-up mechanisms, involving attentional capture via exogenous cues. Although many feasibility and retreat studies provide promising evidence supporting gains in both top-down and bottom-up attention following mindfulness training, evidence from randomized controlled trials, especially those involving active control comparison groups, is more mixed. This review calls attention to the urgent need in our field of contemplative sciences for adopting the methodological rigor necessary for establishing the efficacy of mindfulness meditation as a cognitive rehabilitation tool. Although studies including wait-list control comparisons were fruitful in providing initial feasibility data and pre-post effect sizes, there is a pressing need to employ standards that have been heavily advocated in the broader cognitive and physical training literatures. Critically, inclusion of active comparison groups and explicit attention to reduction of demand characteristics are needed to disentangle the effects of placebo from treatment. Further, detailed protocols for mindfulness and control groups and examination of theoretically guided outcome variables with established metrics for reliability and validity are key ingredients in the systematic study of mindfulness meditation. Adoption of such methodological rigor will allow for causal claims supporting mindfulness training as an efficacious treatment modality for cognitive rehabilitation and enhancement.

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READING THEORIES AND READING COMPREHENSION

Journal on English as a Foreign Language ◽

10.23971/jefl.v5i1.89 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 25

Author(s):

Maria Novary Ngabut

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Reading Instruction ◽

Reading Skills ◽

Background Knowledge ◽

Schema Theory ◽

History Of Reading ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

History Of ◽

Models Of Reading

In this article several reading theories in their relations to reading comprehension teachers and lecturers of English need to know are reviewed. At the theory level, three other Models of Reading, namely Bottom-Up, Top-Down, and Interactive are previously discussed to the Schema Theory. In reviewing the reading comprehension, the history of reading instruction, types and purposes of reading, and cognitive reading skills are discussed. Finally, it reviews six variables involved in the comprehension of English texts.Keywords: models of reading, schema theory, comprehension, background knowledge

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Top-down, Bottom-up, and History-driven Processing of Multisensory Attentional Cues in Intellectual Disability: Cognitive Experiment in Virtual Reality (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26599 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jinwook Kim ◽

Eugene Hwang ◽

Heesook Shin ◽

Youn-Hee Gil ◽

Jeongmi Lee

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Training Programs ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Attentional Deficits ◽

Sensory Modalities ◽

Attentional Cues ◽

Attentional Mechanisms

BACKGROUND Models of attention demonstrated the existence of top-down, bottom-up, and history-driven attentional mechanisms, controlled by partially segregated networks of brain areas. However, few studies have examined the specific deficits in those attentional mechanisms in intellectual disability within the same experimental setting. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to specify the attentional deficits in intellectual disability in top-down, bottom-up, and history-driven processing of multisensory stimuli, and gain insight into effective attentional cues that could be utilized in cognitive training programs for intellectual disability. METHODS The performance of adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability (n=20) was compared with that of typically developing controls (n=20) in a virtual reality visual search task. The type of a spatial cue that could aid search performance was manipulated to be either endogenous or exogenous in different sensory modalities (visual, auditory, tactile). RESULTS The results identified that attentional deficits in intellectual disability are more pronounced in top-down rather than in bottom-up processing, but with different magnitudes across sensory modalities: The top-down processing in the visual modality was relatively preserved, whereas that in the auditory and tactile modalities was severely impaired. Moreover, the history-driven processing in intellectual disability was altered, such that a reversed priming effect was observed for immediate repetitions of the same cue type. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the impact of intellectual disability on attentional processing is specific to attentional mechanisms and sensory modalities, which has theoretical as well as practical implications for developing effective cognitive training programs for the target population.

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Top-down, bottom-up, and history-driven processing of multisensory attentional cues in intellectual disability: An experimental study in virtual reality

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0261298 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0261298

Author(s):

Jinwook Kim ◽

Eugene Hwang ◽

Heesook Shin ◽

Youn-Hee Gil ◽

Jeongmi Lee

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Training Programs ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Attentional Deficits ◽

The Impact ◽

Attentional Cues ◽

Attentional Mechanisms

Models of attention demonstrated the existence of top-down, bottom-up, and history-driven attentional mechanisms, controlled by partially segregated networks of brain areas. However, few studies have examined the specific deficits in those attentional mechanisms in intellectual disability within the same experimental setting. The aim of the current study was to specify the attentional deficits in intellectual disability in top-down, bottom-up, and history-driven processing of multisensory stimuli, and gain insight into effective attentional cues that could be utilized in cognitive training programs for intellectual disability. The performance of adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability (n = 20) was compared with that of typically developing controls (n = 20) in a virtual reality visual search task. The type of a spatial cue that could aid search performance was manipulated to be either endogenous or exogenous in different sensory modalities (visual, auditory, tactile). The results identified that attentional deficits in intellectual disability are overall more pronounced in top-down rather than in bottom-up processing, but with different magnitudes across cue types: The auditory or tactile endogenous cues were much less effective than the visual endogenous cue in the intellectual disability group. Moreover, the history-driven processing in intellectual disability was altered, such that a reversed priming effect was observed for immediate repetitions of the same cue type. These results suggest that the impact of intellectual disability on attentional processing is specific to attentional mechanisms and cue types, which has theoretical as well as practical implications for developing effective cognitive training programs for the target population.

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