The Effectiveness of Multisensory Educational Intervention on Information Processing Speed in Elementary Students with Processing Speed Deficits

Salehi Nejad, Nasrin; Kamyabi, Mitra; Dortaj, Zohre

doi:10.22034/iepa.2026.572480.1581

The Effectiveness of Multisensory Educational Intervention on Information Processing Speed in Elementary Students with Processing Speed Deficits

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Nasrin Salehi Nejad ¹

Mitra Kamyabi ²

Zohre Dortaj ³

¹ Department of Psychology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran.

² Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran.

³ General Practitioner, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2026.572480.1581

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a multisensory educational intervention based on the Fernald method on the information processing speed of elementary school students with processing speed deficits.
Method: This research was applied in terms of purpose and employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest and a control group. The statistical population included all third- to sixth-grade students enrolled in public schools in Kerman during the 2024–2025 academic year. Following screening using the Processing Speed Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition (WISC-V), the required sample size was estimated using G*Power software (version 3.1). Based on this analysis, 30 eligible students (with scores below 85 on this index) were selected through multistage cluster sampling and assigned to either the experimental group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 15) through simple random assignment. The experimental group received the Fernald (1921) multisensory educational intervention for one and a half months, consisting of 15 sessions of 45 minutes each, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS version 26.
Results: The results of MANCOVA, after controlling for pretest scores, indicated a statistically significant difference between the two groups in posttest mean scores of information processing speed (F = 96.52, p < .01). The adjusted mean of information processing speed in the experimental group (M = 105.72) was significantly higher than that of the control group (M = 84.67). In addition, the calculated effect size (η² = .598) indicated a strong effectiveness of the Fernald multisensory educational intervention.
Conclusions: The Fernald multisensory educational intervention is effective in increasing the information processing speed of elementary school students with deficits in this domain. By simultaneously engaging visual, auditory, tactile, and motor modalities and relying on neural plasticity, this method can be used as an effective educational strategy in educational settings and rehabilitation centers to improve core cognitive functions.

Keywords

Multisensory education

Fernald method

Information processing speed

Elementary school students

Subjects

Learning

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