Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model on reading performance and executive functions among students with reading disorder.
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group, using a simple mixed factorial analysis of variance. The statistical population consisted of all students referred to the Learning Disabilities Center of Varamin during the 2023–2024 academic year. A total of 30 students were selected through convenience sampling and assigned to two groups of 15 participants each (experimental and control). The experimental group received a 12-session intervention based on the Response to Intervention (RTI) model (Aminabadi et al., 2022), administered three sessions per week, whereas the control group received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Dyslexia Test (Moradi & Karami-Nouri, 2002) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.
Results: The findings indicated that the Response to Intervention (RTI) model had a statistically significant effect on the executive functions of students with reading disorder (p<0.05). Improvements were observed across multiple executive function domains, including inhibition, attentional shifting, emotional control, initiation, working memory, planning, organization of materials, and monitoring. The results further demonstrated that the RTI model significantly improved students' reading performance (p<0.05), including word reading, word chains, rhyming, picture naming, text comprehension, word comprehension, phoneme deletion, nonword reading, letter recognition, and category recognition.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the Response to Intervention (RTI) model is an effective approach for enhancing both reading performance and executive functions among students with reading disorder. Therefore, RTI-based intervention programs may be recommended for therapists, teachers, and educational specialists as an evidence-based strategy to improve dyslexia and strengthen executive functioning in students with reading difficulties.