Comparing the Effects of Tomatis Sound Therapy, Vestibulo-Cerebellar Training, and Their Combination on Executive Functions in Children with Reading-Specific Learning Disorder
Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Infinite Tomatis sound therapy, vestibulo-cerebellar skills training, and their combination on executive functions—specifically attention and concentration—in students diagnosed with reading-related specific learning disorder. Methods and Materials: Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-follow-up design with a control group, 60 children aged 8–12 were selected via convenience sampling and randomly assigned to one of four groups (n=15 each): (1) sound therapy, (2) vestibulo-cerebellar training, (3) combined therapy, and (4) control. Interventions were delivered over multiple sessions, and assessments included the IVA-2, Go/No-Go, and N-Back tests—repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze changes over time. Findings: All three intervention groups demonstrated significant improvements in auditory and visual attention from pretest to posttest and follow-up (p < .001). The combined intervention group showed significantly greater gains compared to single-method groups and the control group. No adverse effects were reported. Conclusion: Multimodal interventions combining auditory and vestibular stimulation may offer superior benefits for enhancing executive functions in children with reading-specific learning disorders. These findings support the integration of multisensory approaches into educational and therapeutic programs. Future studies should explore long-term outcomes and larger, more diverse samples.
Authors
- Mahdieh Salehi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9169-6247)
- Ashayeri Hasan
- Mahnaz Estaki
- Somayeh Abedi
Institutions
- Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch (IR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International journal of body, mind and culture
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.61838/ijbmc.v12i4.1034
- Primary Topic
- Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00