Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy
Following school closures due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for some months, children received only distance learning. The effects of this approach, however, are not clear for children with dyslexia. We conducted a cross-sectional comparison between children with and without dyslexia after the so-call...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/560 |
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| author | Ilaria Maria Carlotta Baschenis Laura Farinotti Elena Zavani Serena Grumi Patrizia Bernasconi Enrica Rosso Livio Provenzi Renato Borgatti Cristiano Termine Matteo Chiappedi |
| author_facet | Ilaria Maria Carlotta Baschenis Laura Farinotti Elena Zavani Serena Grumi Patrizia Bernasconi Enrica Rosso Livio Provenzi Renato Borgatti Cristiano Termine Matteo Chiappedi |
| author_sort | Ilaria Maria Carlotta Baschenis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Following school closures due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for some months, children received only distance learning. The effects of this approach, however, are not clear for children with dyslexia. We conducted a cross-sectional comparison between children with and without dyslexia after the so-called “lockdown” and a comparison between pre- and post-lockdown parameters in children with dyslexia. We recruited sixty-five children with dyslexia (dyslexia group, DG) from an outpatient facility in Pavia (Lombardy, Italy) and fifty-two children without specific learning disabilities as the control group (CG) from summer camps in the same province. We performed neuropsychological tests to explore reading skills and an ad hoc questionnaire to explore how parents and children had experienced the measures taken to reduce spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Between 59 to 63% of children with dyslexia did not reach the average expected increase of reading skills. According to their parents, they also showed greater social isolation and fewer worries about the pandemic and the school’s closure. Our data indicate that children with dyslexia are at increased risk of consequences on their learning potential in case of school closure. They also seem to have a peculiar psychological experience of school closure. Specific interventions should therefore be provided to minimize the risk of negative effects on global development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:58:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe21dee0aaf84da2b643e35a4482aa5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:58:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe21dee0aaf84da2b643e35a4482aa5d2023-11-22T02:12:53ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672021-06-018756010.3390/children8070560Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in ItalyIlaria Maria Carlotta Baschenis0Laura Farinotti1Elena Zavani2Serena Grumi3Patrizia Bernasconi4Enrica Rosso5Livio Provenzi6Renato Borgatti7Cristiano Termine8Matteo Chiappedi9Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, ItalyChild Neuropsychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, ItalyFollowing school closures due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for some months, children received only distance learning. The effects of this approach, however, are not clear for children with dyslexia. We conducted a cross-sectional comparison between children with and without dyslexia after the so-called “lockdown” and a comparison between pre- and post-lockdown parameters in children with dyslexia. We recruited sixty-five children with dyslexia (dyslexia group, DG) from an outpatient facility in Pavia (Lombardy, Italy) and fifty-two children without specific learning disabilities as the control group (CG) from summer camps in the same province. We performed neuropsychological tests to explore reading skills and an ad hoc questionnaire to explore how parents and children had experienced the measures taken to reduce spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Between 59 to 63% of children with dyslexia did not reach the average expected increase of reading skills. According to their parents, they also showed greater social isolation and fewer worries about the pandemic and the school’s closure. Our data indicate that children with dyslexia are at increased risk of consequences on their learning potential in case of school closure. They also seem to have a peculiar psychological experience of school closure. Specific interventions should therefore be provided to minimize the risk of negative effects on global development.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/560COVID-19dyslexiareading skillslearning disability |
| spellingShingle | Ilaria Maria Carlotta Baschenis Laura Farinotti Elena Zavani Serena Grumi Patrizia Bernasconi Enrica Rosso Livio Provenzi Renato Borgatti Cristiano Termine Matteo Chiappedi Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy Children COVID-19 dyslexia reading skills learning disability |
| title | Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy |
| title_full | Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy |
| title_fullStr | Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy |
| title_short | Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Improved Less Than Expected during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy |
| title_sort | reading skills of children with dyslexia improved less than expected during the covid 19 lockdown in italy |
| topic | COVID-19 dyslexia reading skills learning disability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/560 |
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