A Multisensory Music Intervention for Children With Reading Disorders (RitMoZ)

RitMoZ Training: A Randomized Control Trial Study to Assess a Multisensory Music Intervention for Children With Reading Disorders in Hungary

With this study, we wish to test how effective/ beneficial music activities can be for children with dyslexia.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Reading Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Music Training (RitMoZ Training); Behavioral: Spelling Training

Detailed Description

Studies have shown that music in the form of training (i.e., intervention) is able to facilitate linguistic processes (e.g., phonological encoding/decoding, categorical perception) and cognitive functions (e.g., working memory) in children that have dyslexia or reading difficulties. In addition to this, music trainings with a focus on entrainment can improve phonological as well as reading skills.

In line with the above, we have designed and developed a music training programme. This programme, which is called RitMoZ Training (i.e., from Ritmus és Mozgás és Zene: meaning Rhythm and Movement and Music in Hungarian language), is designed for (Hungarian) children who have dyslexia or reading difficulties.

In order to assess the efficacy of the music training, we are going to conduct a randomized controlled trial which consists of a pre-training phase, a training phase and a post-training phase.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 51
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hungary
  • Budapest, Hungary, 1117
    • Research Centre for Natural Sciences

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 8 years to 12 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosis of reading disorder
• Hungarian as native language

Exclusion Criteria:

• comorbidities (e.g., Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD))
• sensory impairment (e.g., hearing loss, low vision)
• cognitive impairment (e.g., panic disorder, low IQ)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Music Training (RitMoZ Training); 12 sessions spread in the course of 1.5 months: each session has a duration of 90 minutes; each week will have 2 sessions	Behavioral: Music Training (RitMoZ Training); This training is inspired by intervention concepts followed in SUVAG Polyclinic in Zagreb, Croatia and Kodaly pedagogy in Hungary. RitMoZ Training programme consists of 6 main activities: matching activity, nursery rhymes, rhythmic stimulations, music shapes, music writing and music reading. The training focuses on the perceptual overlap between language and music, embodiment and entrainment. The aim of the training is to improve characteristic features of reading disorders such as phonological awareness, perception of rhythm, phonological working memory and perception of speech sounds.
Active Comparator: Spelling Training; 12 sessions spread in the course of 1.5 months: each session has a duration of 90 minutes; each week will have 2 sessions	Behavioral: Spelling Training; This training consists of activities which focus on practicing spelling words in a computer task; the aim is to train orthographic processing which is suggested to improve phonological awareness and phonological working memory.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reading test	For the assessment of the ability to read aloud series of high frequency words, low frequency words and pseudowords, is applied from the shortened 3DM-H (Differential Diagnostics of Dyslexia Maastricht - Hungarian adaptation). With this test, reading speed, fluency and accuracy and pseudoword accuracy are measured.	4 minutes
Spelling test	For the assessment of spelling, the present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H. Both spelling accuracy and reaction time are measured.	4-7 minutes
Phoneme deletion test	For the assessment of phoneme deletion, the present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H. Both accuracy and reaction time are measured.	3-7 minutes
Letter-sound identification test	For the assessment of letter-sound identification, the present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H. Both accuracy and reaction time are measured.	2-3 minutes
Letter-sound discrimination test	For the assessment of letter-sound discrimination, the present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H. Both accuracy and reaction time are measured.	2 - 4 minutes
Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) test	To assess rapid naming of letters, digits and objects, the present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H. Here, the processing speed is measured.	3-5 minutes
Choice reaction time test	The present subtest is applied from the shortened version of the 3DM-H; here, the reaction time is measured.	1 - 2 minutes
Lexical decision task	To assess lexical decision, the present test is applied. Here, accuracy is measured.	12- 15 minutes
Auditory discrimination of acoustic and phonetic alteration of pseudowords	This is an Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) task where a speech multifeature paradigm is applied. In the current task, the amplitudes of the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) responses - which are elicited in certain time windows - are measured in every condition.	20 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Research Centre for Natural Sciences
• Collaborators: University of Rijeka
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ferenc Honbolygó, PhD, Research Centre for Natural Sciences

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• This is the website which provides information and details about the intervention and the study procedure.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 15, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): August 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 28, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 28, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): November 30, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 27, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 25, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: music intervention; reading disorders; rhythmic stimulations; phonological processing; Event-Related Brain Potentials
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Learning Disabilities; Disease; Dyslexia
• Other Study ID Numbers: Neo-Prism-C ESR-10 project; H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018 813546 (Other Grant/Funding Number: MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE INNOVATIVE TRAINING NETWORK (ITN))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No