The Effectiveness of The Self-Monitoring of Attention Educational Program on Concentration and Cognitive Flexibility in Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-monitoring attention training program on improving concentration and cognitive flexibility among elementary school students diagnosed with mathematical learning disabilities. Methods and Materials: The research method employed a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with experimental and control groups, followed by a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population consisted of female students with mathematical learning disabilities in the first grade who were referred to the Boroujerd City Disorders Center during the 2023-2024 academic year. The research sample consisted of 30 female students who were randomly selected based on the entry criteria and divided into experimental and control groups (15 students in each group). The experimental group received 12 sessions of the attention self-monitoring training program. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS 27 software. Findings: The results indicated a statistically significant difference in the scores of concentration and cognitive flexibility between the experimental and control groups in students with specific learning disabilities (p ≤ 0.01). This finding persisted during the three-month follow-up period. Conclusion: Overall, the results of the present study highlight self-monitoring of attention as a promising strategy and point of improvement for concentration and cognitive flexibility, which can be utilized to address cognitive problems (specifically, concentration and cognitive flexibility) in students with specific learning disabilities.