Cognitive intervention in unemployed individuals with reading and writing disabilities.
Sixty native-born Swedish unemployed participants with reading and writing disabilities (R&WD) participated in a 20-week educational program aimed at improving reading and writing, verbal memory, self-confidence, and flexibility of perspectives. They were tested with a comprehensive battery (interviews, questionnaires, neuropsychological tests, and tests of academic achievement) before and after the intervention. Sixteen controls, matched for sex, age, education, and nonverbal IQ, participated in the pre- and posttest sessions but received only standard unemployment interventions. The educational program participants' performance in tests assessing spelling, decoding of letters, self-confidence, and flexibility improved significantly in comparison with the controls after the intervention. A significantly larger number of the participants had obtained work or started a regular education than expected. A substantial proportion of unemployed participants have R&WD and it appears that an intensive but fairly short educational program can improve their accessibility to the labor market and their motivation for study.
Jensen
J
J
Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, and Department of Psychiatry, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Lindgren
M
M
Andersson
K
K
Ingvar
D H
DH
Levander
S
S
D000368:Aged; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*; D014705:Verbal Behavior