Objective: Recently, transcranial direct electrical stimulation (tDCS) has been the focus of research to improve phonological awareness. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of transcranial direct electrical stimulation (tDCS) on the phonological awareness of dyslexic children. Method:This study used a pretest-posttest control group design with one-month follow-up.The statistical population consists of all dyslexic students (8–12 years old) were referred to Baharestan Education and Training Consulting Center (Tehran Province) during November 2023 and April, among which 40 students (27 boys and 13 girls) were selected by convenience sampling method.The students were randomly assigned into two experimental (active stimulation; n=20) and control (sham stimulation; n=20) groups. Bilateral tDCS was applied over the temporal-parietal cortex (anode electrode between TP7 and P7; cathode electrode between TP8 and P8).The experimental and control groups received 12 sessions (20 minutes) of active and sham stimulation, respectively.The List of teacher's dyslexia symptoms, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SBIS-5), and phonological awareness were used to collect data. Results: The results showed that tDCS led to the improvement of phonemic awareness (Phonetic composition, intersectionof phonemes, recognition of words with the same initial and final phonemes,naming and deletion of the initial and initial phonemes, and eliminating the middle vowel) (p<0.01). But it had no significant effect on syllabic intersection, rhyme recognition, and homogeneity detection (p>0.05). Conclusion:tDCS is thus a promising intervention that strengthens phonological awareness abilities and clinical therapists can use it as a complementary intervention.
Rezaei M, Peigodari F, Asadi Younesi M R. Effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on phonological awareness of dyslexic children. JOEC 2025; 25 (1) : 6 URL: http://joec.ir/article-1-1902-en.html