A tool developed with the involvement of UVic-UCC improves the early detection and treatment of dyslexia and dyscalculia

Current estimates suggest that between 5 and 7% of the Spanish population has dyslexia - a learning disorder that affects a person's ability to process written language, and which manifests itself in difficulties recognising letters, words and symbols. Meanwhile, between 3.5 and 5.5% of the population is also thought to have dyscalculia, which is a learning disorder that affects a person's ability to understand and perform mathematical operations. And according to further estimates, 80% of students with learning difficulties do not receive the support they need, as they are either not diagnosed, or they receive their diagnosis at a very late stage. This situation has an impact on these children's performance at school, as well as on their mental and emotional health. 

As a contribution to improving the early detection of these disorders, the Digital Care research group at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), which specialises in the application of digital technologies in the fields of health, social care and education, is working on the "Tecla Osona" project, with NeurekaLAB, a spin-off from the University of Barcelona and UVic-UCC, which is leading the project. This project aims to identify and offer support to children who have learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, as well as to students in general. International Dyscalculia Day, which aims to raise awareness of this learning impairment, falls on 3 March.

A digital tool for early detection and personalised support

The "Tecla Osona" project is implementing a tool which enables the early identification of these conditions, which can affect students' academic performance and emotional health. It also provides personalised resources to help them overcome their difficulties and improve their skills. The project is based on the Response-to-Intervention (RTI) methodology, and it uses a digital platform composed of a web application and an app for tablets. These can be used to assess all the students, and can provide a personalised intervention for each child. The children access the project using a computer or tablet, and the only experience they are aware of involves carrying out digital activities; they are unaware of being assessed or subject to personalised intervention at any time. They can do the activities as part of their language and mathematics classes, as well as outside the classroom, while working at home with their families. The methodology means that some traditional activities in mathematics and language teaching can be replaced by the tools that the platform offers. These personalised activities last for 15 minutes a day, and the information gathered by the tool is used to provide assessments of all the students, and to personalise learning pathways that provide all the students with support during their initial stages involving reading and processing numbers.

Universal assessments in schools and centres for vulnerable groups

In its early stages, the research project developed tools for boys and girls who had already been diagnosed with dyslexia or dyscalculia, in order to improve their performance and their reading and mathematics skills respectively. In the wake of this experience, NeurekaLAB's objective since last January has been to roll the project out in schools on a universal basis, working mainly with children in the first and second year of primary school, and at social facilities that provide children with informal educational support, including foster homes and family centres, among other institutions. 

This initiative aims to identify these learning difficulties at an early stage, among all students in general. According to Sergi Grau, the principal researcher of the project and the founder of NeurekaLAB, the application could become "an initial tool for identifying and working with learning difficulties," although he adds that "subsequent referral to psychology specialists may be necessary for students do not experience significant improvement, despite a personalised intervention." The project can also identify talented students, and by doing so objectively determine those with high ability levels.

Improving skills for all students

The methodology offers personalised activities for all students. If students spend about fifteen minutes a day on solving the challenges posed by the programme, either at home or at school, it offers an inclusive solution that not only helps to improve the performance of students with these learning difficulties. 

The tool accelerates the learning processes involved in reading and numerical processing during these early years of primary school. In addition, "it stimulates talented students, offering challenges adapted to them, and it provides early support for students with learning difficulties, with no need for them to wait for a diagnosis at a later stage in their school career, which increases their likelihood of overcoming their difficulties," says Grau. This means "it is an effective way to optimise learning for everyone," he concludes.

Schools participating in the "Tecla Osona" project

The "Tecla Osona" project began in the Osona region in 2023, with a pilot test at the Vall del Ges school in Torelló, which was carried out with the Antiga Caixa Manlleu Foundation. The project aims to reduce academic failure and lower early school leaving rates by applying scientifically validated methodologies and tools, and fostering improved academic performance among all students. 

This methodology is currently being implemented at various different schools in several regions across Catalonia. 

"Tecla Osona": a multimedia project 

Projects like this one, in which the Digital Care research group at UVic-UCC is participating, highlight how research related to the bachelor's degree in Multimedia. Applications and Video Games at UVic-UCC can be applied. Students on this degree course can study how to create innovative digital tools and solutions that can help meet society's demands in the field of health, social care and education. Two students on industrial doctoral programmes at UVic-UCC are also working with NeurekaLAB. They are preparing their doctoral thesis within the framework of this project.