Counseling Needs of Students with Dyslexia and the Effect of Counseling on Psychological Well-being of the Students

Background: Specific learning disabilities are known as the neurodevelopmental problems affecting the brain’s ability to receive and process verbal and nonverbal information effectively, leading to some persistent problems in students’ academic skills. The present study aimed to study the counseling needs of students with dyslexia and investigate the effect of counseling on psychological well-being of these students. Methods: This is a mixed method study conducted quantitatively and qualitatively. The statistical population comprised all the dyslexic students aged 8 to 12 years old in Kerman, Iran who had referred to learning disorders centers in the academic year of 2019-2020. The research sample included 40 students with dyslexia selected using a purposive sampling method. We randomly assigned them to experimental and control groups. The children in the experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of education based on consulting needs. For data collection, students’ reading impairment test and students’ psychological wellbeing test were utilized. The data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The qualitative findings resulted in an educational package consisting of a three-stage assessment of educational needs of students with learning disabilities, namely the identification of counseling needs in the phases of identification, coordination, action and control. Additionally, ANCOVA indicated that among the components of dyslexia, word reading test (0.40±0.50 vs. 0.80±0.41; P=0.001), rhyme test (0.20±0.41 vs. 0.75±0.44; P=0.001), word comprehension test (0.10±0.30 vs. 0.55±0.51; P=0.021), and voice removal test (0.05±0.22 vs. 0.65±0.48; P=0.001 (had significant changes. Conclusions: Based on the quantitative and qualitative results of the research, it can be inferred that identifying counseling needs, preparing counseling packages, and providing rehabilitation interventions based on those needs can be effective in reducing students’ dyslexia-related problems.