The Essential Role of Innovative Technologies in Assessment and Rehabilitation Settings

Abstract

The paper is focused on the significance of Assistive Innovative Technologies to Neuropsychological Assessment and Neurorehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of Technology in clinical assessment and rehabilitation practice for children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD). Participants and Methods: 45 third-, and fourth-grade students with DD and a matched control group (n = 45) participated in this study. At the beginning, students underwent a clinical assessment, including both Electrophysiological [i.e. Event Related Potentials (ERPs) esp. P300 wave-form] and Neuropsychological tests, being conducted in Laboratory of Neuropsychology, at University of Thessaly, in Volos, Greece. Children with DD scored a statistically significant lower performance, compared to that of the typical readers. After assessment, a subgroup of children with dyslexia received Rehabilitation Services. The Rehabilitation Program was specifically designed for children and included digitized musical activities, being converted to sound files, via music training auditory Software programs. Results: The electrophysiological results, obtained after the rehabilitation program revealed that children had similar P300 latency values to that of the typical readers, thus children addressed their difficulties and became successful readers. Conclusions: The outcomes of the current study suggest not only that Technology plays a vital role in both Assessment and Rehabilitation approaches but also, as it continues to move forward, more and more assessment and intervention environments could be designed, providing significant benefits to individuals, thus making humans realize the new opportunities of Science and Technology. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.