Rhythm and Music to Rehabilitate Reading Disorders

Reading Disability Clinical Trial

— ReMus  

Official title:

Rhythm and Music to Rehabilitate Reading Disorders

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02316873
• Other study ID #: ReMus R-11-85
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: December 9, 2014
• Last updated: December 11, 2014
• Start date: September 2011
• Est. completion date: December 2013

Study information

• Verified date: December 2014
• Source: Aix Marseille Université
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Italy: National Bioethics Committee
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether music training is an effective treatment of reading disorders

Description:

Introduction: Children with dyslexia show deficits in temporal processing, both in language and in music. Musical activity increases phonological awareness, word segmentation, working memory, as well as reading abilities in children with typical development, a compelling evidence for a role of music training in fostering brain plasticity. Within this theoretical framework, we investigate the hypothesis that music training, by improving temporal processing and rhythm abilities, improves phonological awareness and reading skills in children with dyslexia.

Methods: The study is a prospective, multicenter, open randomized controlled trial, consisting of test, rehabilitation and re-test

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 48
• Est. completion date: December 2013
• Est. primary completion date: June 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 8 Years to 11 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Italian native language

• Reading performance (accuracy and/or speed) failed on at least two of three school grade standardized Italian tests: text, words, pseudowords (cut-offs: z-score <-1.8 standard deviations from the mean for speed scores, a score <5th percentile in the accuracy scores).

• Hearing and neurological examination within normal range

• Normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity

• General IQ >85 at Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of comorbidity involving Attentional Deficit Disorders with Hyperactivity (ADHD)

• Presence of comorbidity involving Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

• Presence of comorbidity involving Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

• Severe emotional-relational impairments

• Previous formal musical or painting education for more than one year, other on-going treatment.

• Presence of other diseases (i.e. diabetes , cystic fibrosis, asthma...) that could influence the performance in cognitive and executive functions.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Dyslexia
• Reading Disability

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Music training
This program was based on the Kodaly and Orff pedagogy and adapted to focus on rhythm and temporal processing.
• Visual arts
This program emphasized visual-spatial and hand skills as well as creativity.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Aix Marseille Université	University of Roma La Sapienza, WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health, Trieste

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Pseudoword reading test	The primary outcome variable was the performance in the pseudoword reading test measured in terms of accuracy (percentile of number of errors).	six months	No
Secondary	Reading text	Reading a short standardized text, measured in terms of accuracy (percentile of number of errors) and speed (z score of reading syll/sec or time).	six months	No
Secondary	Phonological awareness	Phonemic blending task. Children have to blend sounds into words (e.g. hearing [c]-[a]-[t] and produce [cat]). The number of correct items is the dependent variable.	six months	No
Secondary	Word reading	The ability to read aloud single words and pseudowords is measured on a standardized list of 102 Italian words	six months	No