Psychoeducational Tutoring for Reading Disabilities

(SPARK Trial)

The Study of Psychoeducation and Reading for Kids (SPARK) is a trial of a broad-spectrum psychoeducational tutoring intervention. The goal of the study is to assess how much the intervention affects reading skills and psychological functioning. Children ages 6 through 10 who are in need of improvement in reading skills and/or psychological skills will be recruited. The intervention consists of 30 minute telephone sessions delivered 5 or 6 times a week, for at least a year, by trained tutors, who are not therapists, counselors, or other licensed health care providers. The intervention makes use of manuals to be read aloud (in "alternate reading") by tutors and students, psychological skills exercises carried out by tutor and student together, and social conversation between tutor and student. The curriculum covers psychological health skills, such as productivity, joyousness, kindness, fortitude, decision-making, conflict-resolution, friendship-building, self-discipline, courage, and others. The psychological skills approach is a "strength-based" approach to mental health. This approach emphasizes the positive patterns that are the opposites of the maladaptive patterns that lead to psychiatric diagnoses.

Children's reading about these skills furnishes practice in reading, which in itself is seen as a psychological competence that increases a child's positive experience of school, and therefore of life. For children not ready to practice by reading text, the intervention also includes a curriculum for teaching reading, including, if necessary, phonemic and spatial awareness, which are important foundation skills. Once the students are capable of reading connected text, all the readings in the curriculum are meant to teach them psychological skills as well as to provide reading practice.

Every six months, measures will be taken of the child's behavioral and emotional well-being and of reading skill.

This is a single-arm study, meaning that all research participants will receive the same intervention -- there is no random assignment and no inactive treatment group.