Concepts of therapy for children with dyslexia

Numerous methods based on very different concepts are available to treat children with dyslexia. Basically, symptomatic and causal principles can be distinguished. Among the symptomatic methods are systematic programmes based on learning theory, in which reading and spelling or precursors of these abilities are directly trained. Causal methods promise pronounced and persistent improvement of reading and spelling abilities through elimination of the postulated reason underlying the learning disabilities. Among the causal methods are treatment programmes that train low-level functions. Such training is based on the assumption that deficits of auditory, visual or kinesthetic perception, of motor skills or of the coordination of cerebral functional areas are at the bottom of specific learning disabilities. Concepts of other causal methods act on the assumption that learning processes are blocked or that abnormal medical conditions or psychiatric disorders constitute the background of dyslexia. Reviewed in the article are treatment concepts for children with dyslexia in the German-speaking countries and the methods of treatment derived from the different concepts. Results of evaluation studies are summarized and characteristics of effective treatment methods are listed. It is stressed that efficacy is proven only for symptomatic training programmes but not for causal methods.