سهیلا هاشمی کوچکسرایی

Background and Purpose: Dyslexia as the most common specific learning disorder is related to working memory deficiency. In this research, the effectiveness of transcranial electrical stimulation of the brain (real and sham) combined with Attentive Rehabilitation of Attention and memory (ARAM) on working memory and reading efficiency in students with dyslexia was investigated. Method: This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design and the study population includes all students with dyslexia aged 8-12 years old in north of Iran (Babol). Among them, 22 students were selected and randomly placed in two experimental groups (11 students in each group). After performing the pre-tests, the first experimental group was exposed to real electrical stimulation combined with ARAM and the second group was exposed to sham electrical stimulation combined with ARAM (for 12 sessions of 60 minutes). Working Memory Test for Children (WMTC) (Arjamandinia, 2016) was used to evaluate the working memory of students with dyslexia, and NEMA reading and dyslexia test (Moradi et al., 2016) was used to measure reading efficiency. The analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Results: Statistical analysis showed that the increase in working memory scores and reading efficiency in the first experimental group was significantly higher than the second experimental group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the method of real electrical stimulation combined with ARAM was more effective compared to sham electrical stimulation method combined with ARAM. Therefore, based on the results of this research, it can be suggested to specialists of learning disorders to use the mentioned method in order to improve working memory and reading efficiency of students with dyslexia.