Objectives: Children with learning disabilities have problems with processing speed, reaction inhibition, attention and perception, hearing, and visual clarity. Accordingly, this study examines the effects of cognitive rehabilitation on processing speed, response inhibition, attention, and Perceptual Reasoning in students with mathematics learning disabilities.
Methods: This was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included all third-grade students with mathematics problems in Tehran City, Iran, in 2017. They were referred to Roozbeh Counseling and Rehabilitation Clinic for treatment and met the inclusion criteria. A total of 30 students were selected from among these individuals using the purposive sampling method. The participants were assigned to experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=15). The participants in the experimental group underwent a 20-session cognitive rehabilitation program. The Grant and Beck Wisconsin test (1948), the Wechsler intelligence test (2003), the fourth edition, the Sarrold continuous achievement test (1956), and the Toulouse-Piron attention test (1986) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of variance and the SPSS software, version 22.
Results: Cognitive rehabilitation strategies effectively affect information processing speed, responsiveness, attention and perceptual reasoning in children with math learning disabilities (P<0.001). Furthermore, the results showed that learning cognitive rehabilitation strategies had a considerable impact on perceptual reasoning (P<0.001) according to the resulting Eta coefficient (η2=0.92).
Discussion: Cognitive rehabilitation is a practical approach to improving information processing speed, reaction inhibition, attention, and Perceptual Reasoning skills in students with special mathematical learning disabilities.