Improving the academic performance of a university student with a late diagnosis of dyslexia
Francesca Derba, Maria Clara Cavallini, Eleonora Villani
More and more students with dyslexia are entering higher education. Several studies in literature have shown that students with dyslexia achieve lower results in university examinations, while other research supports the thesis that they experience anxiety and frustration to a greater extent than university students without a diagnosis. This study aimed to measure the effectiveness of goal setting and self-monitoring training in reducing anxiety, improving academic performance and increasing the on-task time of a 22-year-old student with a late diagnosis of dyslexia. The results of the study show improvements in all areas: study test scores (AMOS test) and resilience were increased while anxiety perception decreased (measures assessed with the QAR of the AMOS test). The percentage of time that the student spent on a task during autonomous study (on-task time) also increased. An important qualitative result can be added to these data: from 2016 to 2017 the exams taken and those passed by the participant increased (from 3 to 9 and from 0 to 9 respectively).
Keywords
Dyslexia, university students, study skills, specific learning disorders, academic stress.