According to a recent study, action-oriented video games could help kids at risk for developmental dyslexia by enhancing their phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds that make up words. The study published in Nature found that 2009’s Space Invaders Extreme 2 for the Nintendo DS works surprisingly well.
Researchers took 79 preschoolers who were at risk for developmental dyslexia and divided them into four groups. One group played Space Invaders four times a week for a month and a half. The other played a series of unspecified non-action-oriented mini-games for the same stretch. The third group didn’t play games at all; instead, they underwent the usual training with a speech therapist that any child diagnosed with dyslexia would undergo. A fourth group just kinda sat around doing nothing.
The kids who played Space Invaders significantly improved their phonemic awareness compared to the other groups, including those who underwent speech therapy. The researchers attribute this to the fast-paced, attention-demanding nature of the game that activates the cognitive processes necessary for language development and the processing of sounds and words.
The researchers suggest a novel approach of adding a doctor-recommended dose of such action-y video games in the early stages of childhood dyslexia to help accelerate the development of phonological skills. Just keep them out of online multiplayer matches so they don’t start using their sharpened communication skills to be vile little racist monsters.
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