Previous research has indicated that children with attention deficits and/or ADHD perform better on cognitive tests. This was revealed when they were exposed to auditory white noise. However, this is the first time that a link between visual white noise and cognitive functions has been formed. They include remembering, reading, and non-word decoding in children with reading and writing challenges, as has been proven.
Göran Söderlund, senior lecturer in education at the University of Gothenburg and professor of special education at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, explains
The white noise to which we exposed the children, also called visual pixel noise, can be compared with giving children glasses. The effect on reading and memory was immediate.
Testing 11-Year-Olds Tested Under Visual Pixel Noise
The study included approximately eighty students from the Smland region of southern Sweden. Following a word recognition test, the children were divided into three groups. They were good readers, children with minor reading difficulties, and children with substantial reading difficulties (i.e., having phonological deficits).
In the study, the children were challenged to read twelve words. Furthermore, they were exposed to four different degrees of visual white noise, ranging from zero to high. The test comprised determining how many words the youngsters properly read and how many words they could recollect afterwards.
When exposed to visual pixel noise, the group with considerable reading challenges, particularly phonological difficulties, fared significantly better. In moderate-noise settings, they read more words correctly and remembered more words. White noise had no effect or had a detrimental effect on good readers and those with minor reading difficulties.
Göran Söderlund said,
This is the first evidence of visual white noise having effects on higher-level cognition, in this case, both reading and memory,
The youngsters were subjected to various degrees of white noise. Moreover, the results indicated that the amount of noise is important for reading and remembering.
Göran further added,
You can compare it with being shortsighted and needing glasses. We saw that when we exposed the children to a medium level of white noise, their reading improved. However, their reading skills were less good when there was no noise or a high level of noise,
These results show that children with reading and writing difficulties can be helped with an incredibly simple intervention. By adjusting screens in school or at home, we hope to be able to resolve their problems at a stroke. This is the first study of its kind, and replications are needed.
Göran Söderlund now wants to look into the impacts of white noise further. He expects that additional research will be able to answer the question of whether practicing with white noise over an extended period of time can result in long-term gains.
It’s worth exploring, as we just don’t know. This first study of ours is basic research. But our results show that the children improved immediately, so it’s important to continue with new studies to establish whether this simple measure, which everyone can do on their own laptop, will actually provide enduring help for these children.
The study is called “Sensory white noise improves reading skills and memory recall in children with reading disability.” It is published in the scientific journal Brain and Behavior.
