Sood Mariam R, Toornstra Annet, Sereno Martin I, Boland Mark, Filaretti Daniele, Sood Anuj
Synergation Limited, Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Work and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.
JMIR Res Protoc. 2018 May 17;7(5):e135. doi: 10.2196/resprot.9583.
Dyslexia, a specific learning difficulty and a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010, is a lifelong condition that affects a child from the start of education. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in language processing (reading, spelling, and writing) which do not correspond with the child's general intellectual abilities. Although dyslexia cannot be cured, there is a consensus that interventions are more effective and have greater impact the earlier they are administered. Effective interventions start with diagnosis. Currently, formal diagnosis requires an assessment by a dyslexia specialist or educational psychologist. These assessments are expensive and are not easy for a non-specialist teacher or parent to interpret. Consequently, formal assessments are normally performed at a much later age, when interventions are less likely to be effective. Combining the latest in scientific research, expertise of dyslexia practitioners and real-time interactivity facilitated by digital technologies, we aim to provide a cost-effective and convenient solution that focuses on early dyslexia detection and management.
We discuss the rationale and protocol for the design and development of a digital health solution aimed at improving the early detection, monitoring and management of dyslexia (DIMMAND) in young children (4-8 years). The primary objective is to create a game-based digital solution aimed at children, parents, and teachers that firstly assesses, then monitors and manages progress in a convenient, cost-effective and private environment.
The proposed solution will be designed and developed in phases. In the initial phase, the full functional specification of the games that constitute the app will be designed, together with the overall architecture of the solution. Prototype proof-of-concept implementation for few of these games, and commercialization strategies will also be developed. The follow-on phases will see the design implemented into a validated solution.
In the initial phase, we worked closely with dyslexia specialists, adult dyslexics, teachers of special-needs children, parents of dyslexic children, and senior dyslexia representatives for large organizations. These interactions provided insights into the range of language difficulties faced by dyslexics, which solutions are used by teachers and professionals, and an overall understanding of the market. We comprehensively defined the ethical, privacy, and data security issues. The detailed design spec of the games, the methodology to be followed to interpret the results, and flow diagrams illustrating how the game screens will be presented was completed. As proof of concept, a few reading, visual, and auditory games were developed and successfully tested by stakeholders on different digital devices. The stakeholders provided regular feedback and confirmed the viability of our game-based solution.
DIMMAND has the potential to provide significant positive health care and economic impact. It is expected to reduce intervention costs, improve dyslexia detection at an early age and aid self-management.
RR1-10.2196/9583.
阅读障碍是一种特定的学习困难，属于2010年《平等法案》中定义的残疾，是一种从儿童开始接受教育起就会影响其一生的状况。阅读障碍的特征是在语言处理（阅读、拼写和写作）方面存在困难，而这些困难与儿童的一般智力能力不相符。虽然阅读障碍无法治愈，但人们一致认为，干预措施实施得越早，就越有效且影响越大。有效的干预始于诊断。目前，正式诊断需要阅读障碍专家或教育心理学家进行评估。这些评估费用高昂，非专业教师或家长也不易解读。因此，正式评估通常在孩子年龄较大时进行，而此时干预措施可能效果不佳。结合最新的科学研究、阅读障碍从业者的专业知识以及数字技术带来的实时交互性，我们旨在提供一种经济高效且便捷的解决方案，专注于早期阅读障碍的检测和管理。
我们讨论设计和开发一种数字健康解决方案的基本原理和方案，该方案旨在改善幼儿（4 - 8岁）阅读障碍的早期检测、监测和管理（DIMMAND）。主要目标是创建一个面向儿童、家长和教师的基于游戏的数字解决方案，该方案首先在便捷、经济高效且私密的环境中进行评估，然后监测和管理进展情况。
拟议的解决方案将分阶段设计和开发。在初始阶段，将设计构成该应用程序的游戏的完整功能规格以及解决方案的整体架构。还将为其中一些游戏开发原型概念验证实施方案以及商业化策略。后续阶段将把设计转化为经过验证的解决方案。
在初始阶段，我们与阅读障碍专家、成年阅读障碍者、特殊需求儿童教师、阅读障碍儿童家长以及大型组织的高级阅读障碍代表密切合作。这些互动让我们深入了解了阅读障碍者面临的各种语言困难、教师和专业人员使用的解决方案以及对市场的整体认识。我们全面界定了伦理、隐私和数据安全问题。完成了游戏的详细设计规格、解读结果应遵循的方法以及说明游戏屏幕将如何呈现的流程图。作为概念验证，开发了一些阅读、视觉和听觉游戏，并由利益相关者在不同数字设备上成功测试。利益相关者定期提供反馈，并确认了我们基于游戏的解决方案的可行性。
DIMMAND有可能带来重大的积极医疗保健和经济影响。预计它将降低干预成本，改善早期阅读障碍检测并有助于自我管理。
RR1 - 10.2196/9583
