A Real-World Data Study on the Impact of the ReadRx Cognitive Training and Reading Intervention on Cognition, Basic Reading Ability, and Psychosocial Skills for 3527 Children

Figures & data

Figure 1 Brief descriptions of cognitive training tasks.

Notes: Adapted from Carpenter D, Ledbetter C and Moore AL. LearningRx cognitive training effects in children ages 8–14: a randomized controlled study. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2016:30 (5);815–826. Copyright © 2016 The Authors Applied Cognitive Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.⁵¹

Abbreviations: AA, auditory analysis; AB, auditory blending; AD, auditory discrimination; AP, auditory processing; AS, auditory segmenting; AM, associative memory; C, comprehension; DA, divided attention; EP, executive processing; LR, logic and reasoning; MC, math computation; PS, processing speed; SF, saccadic fixation; SA, selective attention; SM, sensory‐motor integration; SP, sequential processing; STM, short-term memory; SSP, simultaneous processing; STA, sustained attention; VP, visual processing; VD, visual discrimination; VF, visual fixation; VM, visual manipulation; VN, visualization; VS, visual span; WM, working memory.

Figure 2 Example of a memory training task.

Notes: Reproduced with permission from Gibson K, Carpenter DM, Moore AL, Mitchell T. Training the brain to learn: beyond vision therapy. Vision Dev Rehabil. 2015;1(2):120–129. Copyright 2015 College of Optometrists in Vision Development.⁵²

Figure 3 Example of a complex code training task.

Notes: Reproduced with permission from Gibson K, Carpenter DM, Moore AL, Mitchell T. Training the brain to learn: beyond vision therapy. Vision Dev Rehabil. 2015;1(2):120–129. Copyright 2015 College of Optometrists in Vision Development. ⁵²

Table 1 Paired Samples t-tests for Cognitive and Reading Outcome Measures in Standard Scores

Variable	n	Pre (SD)	Post (SD)	p	d
Cognitive Measures
Long-term Memory	3527	82.1 (16.3)	96.7 (16.1)	0.000*	1.10
Working Memory	3527	86.2 (14.3)	95.5 (13.7)	<0.001*	0.69
Visual Processing	3527	96.5 (10.6)	104.2 (10.5)	0.000*	0.87
Fluid Reasoning	3527	92.1 (14.8)	104.1 (15.0)	0.000*	1.08
Processing Speed	3527	84.4 (17.7)	92.8 (16.6)	<0.001*	0.68
Broad Attention	3527	94.6 (10.7)	105.5 (12.2)	<0.001*	1.08
IQ Score	3527	86.6 (12.3)	100.4 (13.6)	0.000*	1.68
Reading Measures
Phonological Awareness	3527	84.6 (13.5)	102.6 (16.8)	0.000*	1.37
Word Attack	3527	86.9 (9.9)	95.9 (8.7)	0.000*	1.05
Spelling	3527	88.9 (12.3)	95.7 (10.7)	<0.001*	0.56
Phonetic Coding	3527	101.8 (13.9)	113.6 (13.0)	0.000*	0.99
Comprehension	296	81.9 (11.9)	89.6 (11.9)	<0.001*	0.79

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni adjusted alpha p < 0.004. Effect sizes are shown as Cohen’s d.

Table 2 Age-Equivalent Change in Reading Skills

Reading Measure	n	Pre (SD)	Post (SD)	Change in Years	p	d
Phonological Awareness	3527	9.0 (3.0)	14.8 (7.2)	5.8 (5.9)	0.000*	0.97
Word Attack	3527	8.6 (2.2)	11.5 (5.1)	2.9 (3.9)	0.000*	0.73
Spelling	3527	9.4 (3.2)	11.6 (4.9)	2.2 (3.7)	<0.001*	0.60
Phonetic Coding	3527	13.2 (6.0)	18.7 (6.2)	5.5 (5.2)	0.000*	1.05
Comprehension	296	9.3 (2.8)	11.8 (5.2)	2.4 (3.5)	<0.001*	0.69

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni adjusted alpha p < 0.01. Effect sizes are shown as Cohen’s d.

Table 3 Predictors of Change in Phonological Awareness Scores

	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	p	sr^2	Goodness of Fit
	B	SE	β			Model F	p	R^2
(Constant)	9.392	3.359		0.005		252.17	0.000	0.474
Pretest Score	0.593	0.021	0.475	<0.001*	0.204
ADHD Status	0.119	0.485	0.003	0.806	0.000
Age	0.160	0.084	0.027	0.057	0.001
Sex	0.503	0.461	0.014	0.275	0.000
Pretest IQ	0.361	0.061	0.258	<0.001*	0.011
Pretest LTM	−0.005	0.019	−0.005	0.800	0.000
Pretest VP	0.032	0.026	0.020	0.224	0.000
Pretest LR	−0.007	0.030	−0.006	0.812	0.000
Pretest PS	0.013	0.018	0.013	0.466	0.000
Pretest WM	−0.001	0.023	−0.001	0.974	0.000
Pretest Attn	0.068	0.028	0.041	0.015	0.002

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni corrected alpha p<0.004.

Table 4 Predictors of Change in Word Attack Scores

	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	p	sr^2	Goodness of Fit
	B	SE	β			Model F	p	R^2
(Constant)	40.169	2.015		<0.001		184.12	0.000	0.397
Pretest Score	0.478	0.013	0.544	<0.001*	0.311
ADHD Status	0.121	0.261	0.007	0.642	0.000
Age	−0.023	0.045	−0.007	0.620	0.000
Sex	−0.056	0.248	−0.003	0.822	0.000
Pretest IQ	0.016	0.032	0.023	0.611	0.000
Pretest LTM	0.015	0.010	0.029	0.138	0.000
Pretest VP	0.038	0.014	0.047	0.006	0.002
Pretest LR	0.007	0.016	0.013	0.651	0.000
Pretest PS	0.047	0.009	0.096	<0.001*	0.008
Pretest WM	0.054	0.013	0.089	<0.001*	0.006
Pretest Attn	−0.012	0.015	−0.014	0.421	0.000

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni corrected alpha p<0.004.

Table 5 Predictors of Change in Spelling Scores

	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	p	sr^2	Goodness of Fit
	B	SE	β			Model F	p	R^2
(Constant)	53.309	2.674		<0.001		102.97	<0.001	0.269
Pretest Score	0.367	0.014	0.422	<0.001*	0.182
ADHD Status	−0.167	0.359	−0.007	0.642	0.000
Age	−0.191	0.063	−0.050	0.002	0.003
Sex	−0.612	0.342	−0.028	0.074	0.001
Pretest IQ	0.184	0.044	0.209	<0.001*	0.006
Pretest LTM	−0.039	0.014	−0.059	0.006	0.002
Pretest VP	−0.024	0.019	−0.023	0.223	0.000
Pretest LR	−0.015	0.022	−0.021	0.493	0.000
Pretest PS	0.029	0.013	0.048	0.024	0.002
Pretest WM	0.022	0.017	0.029	0.207	0.000
Pretest Attn	−0.007	0.021	−0.006	0.742	0.000

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni corrected alpha p<0.004.

Table 6 Predictors of Change in Phonetic Coding Scores

	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	p	sr^2	Goodness of Fit
	B	SE	β			Model F	p	R^2
(Constant)	45.424	3.142		<0.001		193.00	0.000	0.408
Pretest Score	0.483	0.018	0.524	<0.001*	0.193
ADHD Status	0.439	0.387	0.016	0.257	0.000
Age	0.068	0.067	0.015	0.316	0.000
Sex	−0.713	0.368	−0.027	0.053	0.001
Pretest IQ	0.230	0.062	0.217	<0.001*	0.004
Pretest LTM	−0.023	0.017	−0.029	0.173	0.000
Pretest VP	0.006	0.021	0.005	0.780	0.000
Pretest LR	−0.007	0.028	−0.008	0.811	0.000
Pretest PS	−0.027	0.015	−0.036	0.075	0.001
Pretest WM	0.019	0.021	0.021	0.371	0.000
Pretest Attn	0.018	0.022	0.014	0.420	0.000

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni corrected alpha p<0.004.

Table 7 Predictors of Change in Comprehension Scores

	Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	p	sr^2	Goodness of Fit
	B	SE	β			Model F	p	R^2
(Constant)	20.623	7.974		0.010		28.03	<0.001	0.531
Pretest Score	0.544	0.051	0.542	<0.001*	0.295
ADHD Status	3.131	1.102	0.122	0.005	0.029
Age	0.414	0.194	0.097	0.034	0.016
Sex	−0.588	1.026	−0.024	0.567	0.001
Pretest IQ	0.258	0.146	0.236	0.080	0.011
Pretest LTM	0.097	0.043	0.127	0.023	0.019
Pretest VP	−0.048	0.072	−0.037	0.503	0.002
Pretest LR	0.033	0.072	0.040	0.644	0.000
Pretest PS	−0.022	0.038	−0.033	0.563	0.001
Pretest WM	−0.092	0.057	−0.091	0.107	0.009
Pretest Attn	0.009	0.052	0.008	0.870	0.000

Note: *Significant at Bonferroni corrected alpha p<0.004.

Table 8 Qualitative Themes and Subthemes

Themes	Subthemes	Comments n	Comments %
Psychosocial Changes		1913	42.4
	More confidence	932	48.7
	Better mood or attitude	415	21.7
	Improved independence, responsibility, or self-discipline	237	12.4
	Better social skills	148	7.7
	More persistence or effort	99	5.2
	Improved behavior	82	4.3
Academic Performance		1713	37.9
	Improved reading skills	784	45.8
	Improved grades	475	27.7
	Improved math skills	180	10.5
	Better attitude about reading	143	8.3
	Improved spelling or writing	131	7.6
Cognition		705	15.6
	Better attention, focus, or concentration	286	40.5
	Improved memory	261	37.0
	Better visual and auditory processing and/or processing speed	97	13.8
	Increased logic and understanding	61	8.7

Figure 4 Percentage of students with and without ADHD reporting improvements in each qualitative theme.

Figure 5 Percentage of each age group reporting improvements in each qualitative theme.

Carpenter D, Ledbetter C, Moore AL. LearningRx cognitive training effects in children ages 8–14: a randomized controlled study. Appl Cogn Psychol. 2016;30(5):815–826. doi:10.1002/acp.3257

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Gibson K, Carpenter DM, Moore AL, Mitchell T. Training the brain to learn: beyond vision therapy. Vision Dev Rehabil. 2015;1(2):120–129.

 Google Scholar