Effectiveness of a Multimodal Intervention using Movement, Mental Exercise and Dietary Approaches on Children with Specific Learning Difficulties

Abstract

Since 2006, Care Corner Educational Therapy Service has been running the KidsBright multimodal intervention programme for children aged 5-13 with specific learning difficulties and developmental delays. The programme is a novel integration of mental, movement, and dietary approaches, and is aimed at enhancing the neurodevelopmental, learning and academic abilities of children. In this study, the purported effectiveness and feasibility of the programme is examined through test-retest analysis of 368 parent-rated forms of their child's ability level on ten outcomes over a six-month period in the programme-(i) Reading; (ii) Spelling; (iii) Handwriting; (iv) Verbal Skill; (v) Concentration; (vi) Ability to Sit Still; (vii) Memory; (viii) Motor Coordination; (ix) Social Interaction; (x) Mathematics. Findings indicated that there was indeed a significant improvement in the average ability level of children enrolled in the programme over time according to parental ratings. Subsequent analyses revealed that while parents' facilitation of home-based movement exercises were associated with improvements in many ability domains, there were no improvements associated with the child's consumption of fish oil supplements. The results also suggested that issues of service user attrition and their compliance to programme requirements may also need to be worked on in order for the programme to be more effective.