Digital Screening Protocol for Early Identification of Reading and Writing Disorders in the First Year of Primary School
Martina Angelini, Anna Giulia De Cagno, Ilaria Ceccarelli, Chiara Lavopa
Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that reports 2-10 cases out of 100, in Italy 5% (DSM-5). For the diagnosis of specific reading and writing disorders, it is necessary to wait until the end of the second year of primary school. However, with the data present in the literature, we can identify any difficulties in early learning, resulting in the necessity to launch targeted development programmes. This study aims to: (1) create a screening protocol capable of intercepting any difficulties that may occur in the early stages of learning to read and write; (2) carry out a descriptive analysis of the sample and a preliminary study, determining the percentiles for each test of the protocol; (3) analyse the correlation between the skills defined as predictors of learning and the early stages of learning to read and write, comparing our results with those available in the literature. One of the innovations of our study is the creation of a digital screening tool, which can be administered electronically. Following the creation of the tests of the protocol, a group of children attending their first year of primary school were recruited, with the collaboration of the Unified Institute of Seravezza (LU). Participation in the project was voluntary and 15 children belonging to two classes of the institute participated. Subsequently, statistical analyses revealed numerous significant correlations between predictive skills and early school learning, results that are in continuity with studies available in the literature.
Keywords
Difficulties in early learning, Screening, Early learning, Predictors of learning.
