Summer Reading Intervention Study

Screening & enrollment for the 2023-2024 Summer Reading Intervention Project is now OPEN! You are welcome to sign up to be screened for eligibility for the intervention project as well as for others.

This project requires a commitment of 4 visits to Stanford in 2023-2024 followed by an 8-week summer intervention program provided by Lindamood-Bell Learning Center specialists (provided for free in the summer of 2024 following the final Stanford visit).

Please write “Summer Reading Intervention Project” in the How did you hear about us? section of the screening form. Feel free to email us at readingresearch@stanford.edu if you have any questions or if you have not received an invitation to a screening session and would like to see if your child is eligible!

Project Background:

This research project will be conducted by the Stanford Reading and Dyslexia Research Program (RDRP) in collaboration with Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers. This project looks at how the brain changes as children learn to read.

Because this is a research project, eligibility for the study depends on multiple factors. The reading instruction is designed for children with a certain range of performance on a varieties of tasks. Interested families will have the opportunity to complete a screening session with a member from our team.

General Overview:

This project involves 4 in-person sessions across 2023 and 2024 at Stanford University and virtual testing sessions leading up to the summer intervention. Following the final Stanford visit, the project involves commitment to 8 consecutive weeks of reading instruction (which can be conducted virtually or in-person) over your child’s summer break (4 hours a day, 5 days a week, over 8 weeks) through Lindamood-Bell Learning center. In between the time frames, we may ask you and your child to do other activities at home (like surveys and online games). Please see the below graphic for a depiction of the project’s timeline.

Stanford Visits

There will be a total of 4 time frames for your child to complete the Stanford visits and virtual testing sessions. Each time frame will require 1-2 Stanford visits for MRI and behavioral testing.

Your child will be rewarded $120/ time frame and we are happy to have a conversation about transportation cost reimbursements if needed (please request ahead of time).

The Stanford visits will include the following:

  • Behavioral testing using assessments
  • Cognitive/ thinking activities
  • Child surveys/ interviews about attitudes toward reading and school
  • Parent surveys to be completed by the same parent at each time frame
  • Brain imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

In between these visits, we may ask you and your child to complete activities at home.

More about MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common imaging method that is widely used by scientists and doctors. Using a strong magnetic field, MRI allows scientists to study brain structure and brain activity. MRI does not use radiation. 

The Reading and Dyslexia Research Program has years of experience working with children at the MRI center. We make MRI visits child-friendly. Your child will have the chance to get acclimated with the MRI visit by using an MRI simulator that looks similar to the real MRI scanner and makes the same noises. At the end, they will receive a picture of their own brain!

During the MRI session, your child will be asked to lie down still in an MRI scanner while completing tasks or watching movies. This study is not suited for children who are claustrophobic or have a hard time staying still. Your child must also be free of metal (including braces) throughout the whole study period from May 2023 – May 2024. We cannot run MRI sessions with children who have metal on or in them.

Summer Reading Intervention at Lindamood-Bell Learning Center

Reading instruction will start the summer immediately following your last Stanford Visit (summer 2024). Exact start dates will depend on your child’s school schedule. Your child must be able to commit to 8 consecutive weeks of reading instruction over the summer. By being a participant in this research study, your child will receive this instruction free of charge. Further scheduling details will be coordinated by the team at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers.

Want to sign up to be considered?

Sign up to join our participant pool and be considered for this study! 

Our team will follow up with next steps.

Questions? Contact the Stanford RDRP team at readingresearch@stanford.edu

Sign up to join our participant pool and be considered for this project!