Rev. CEFAC. 2019;21(1):e2518 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216/20192112518 Original articles Digital version of the Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN): a contribution to early detection of reading problems in children Davino Silva Junior1 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1649-9814 Luciana Cidrim1 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7503-7508 Antonio Roazzi2 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6411-2763 Francisco Madeiro1 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6123-0390 1 Universidade Católica de Pernambuco – ABSTRACT UNICAP, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil 2 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – Purpose: to present a digital version of the Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) test, UFPE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil designed to be used as an auxiliary tool for early detection of reading problems in Research support source: Coordenação children. de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES. Methods: the application was designed to provide resources, such as: a) registration; b) information security with the online authentication system - individuals are only Conflict of interests: Nonexistent seen by the person who registered them and, c) history of the results. In order to know the impressions of speech therapists and professionals of children’s education area about this digital version of RAN test, a public opinion survey was conducted with unidentified participants by Google Forms. Results: the application has an automatic speech recognition and allows registering and accessing the history of the application, including statistical evaluation of the results. The application features a responsive interface that adapts to the dimensions of the mobile device with soft colors, and offers a variety of text font options. The images of the objects of the digital version were elaborated by a designer. Conclusion: the application presents itself as a useful digital tool that assists professionals to evaluate, early, children with reading difficulties, highlighting the following elements: exclusive and appropriate images to children’s universe and the function of storing the results of users tested. Keywords: Reading; Learning; Technology Received on: February 28, 2018 Accepted on: December 19, 2018 Corresponding address: Luciana Cidrim Calado Meira Rua Padre Carapuceiro, 752/303 - Boa Viagem CEP: 51020-280 - Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil E-mail: [email protected] 1/9 2518 Silva Junior D, Cidrim L, Roazzi A, Madeiro F Digital version of RAN to detect reading problems 2/9 | Silva Junior D, Cidrim L, Roazzi A, Madeiro F INTRODUCTION test measures the speed in the sequential naming of Reading involves a variety of processes that begin stimuli, that is, the speed at which the child sequen- with the visual identification of letters and go as far as tially names symbols (colors, letters, digits, or objects) understanding the content and context of the written distributed randomly, traditionally on a card or sheet of word1-5. The reading activity is a complex process, paper. The performance in the test is then compared to and children who present learning disorders, such as standardized values according to the child’s age and dyslexia, are the ones that suffer the most to fit in the educational level, values collected from the application school environment1,3. of the aforementioned test in groups of children without any difficulties with reading. Dyslexia is a learning disorder of neurological With the improvement and widespread use of infor- origin characterized by difficulties with fluency and mation and communication technologies (ICTs), in word recognition in reading, as well as problems with particular of smartphones and tablets, in the rehabili- decoding and spelling skills6,7. As a specific learning tation of individuals with language and/or learning diffi- disorder, it affects the recognition of words in reading, culties19-21, it is natural that tasks previously performed spelling and writing resulting from a deficit in phono- with the use of resources such as paper and pen be logical processing1. replaced by applications aimed at mobile devices, In several national and international studies, thus, simplifying the accomplishment of the tasks in perceptual, linguistic and cognitive processes involved question. in reading has been highlighted8-12. Researchers have The main objective of this work is to present the been investigating assessment procedures to verify the construction of a digital version of the RAN test for the use of skills such as phonological awareness, working Android platform to be used as a simple, modern and memory and rapid naming in populations of proficient easy-to-use auxiliary tool for professionals involved in readers or with alterations in the learning process in the area of children’s learning, among them, speech reading11,13,14. One of the most studied phonological therapists, and pedagogues. The work also aims to processing skills has been the rapid naming10. The apply a public opinion survey to know the impressions naming speed of stimuli is closely related to the speed of speech therapists and education professionals about of access to short-term memory and to phonological the digital version of the RAN test. naming, which directly influence the development of reading and writing8,15. It is known that children with dyslexia, for the most METHODS part, exhibit poor performance in schools’ activities, This study contemplates the development of an as well as psychoemotional and behavioral problems, application. This digital version of the RAN test was such as low self-esteem16. In terms of learning, evaluated through a public opinion survey with uniden- therefore, dyslexia can have an impact on school tified participants. Therefore, it was not necessary to performance, with all the resulting consequences, and submit it to the Research Ethics Committee. may even lead to dropping out of school. Reading The application was produced for the Android slowly may indicate a deficit in the acquisition of phono- platform using the Integrated Development logical skills and low functioning short-term or opera- Environment (IDE) Android Studio with the Software tional memory, which makes it difficult to understand Development Kit (SDK) in version 25. The application the text, since the reader’s attention is focused only was developed based on standards widely used in the on the decoding of words, and not the processing of area of software development such as Gang of Four information3. Schoolchildren with dyslexia have phono- (GOF)22 design standards, as well as best practices for logical deficits that make their reading less automatic, the development of mobile applications in general, such slower, requiring more and more effort7. as the reuse of visual components and the encryption The need to diagnose dyslexia early is thus evident of sensitive data (e.g. audio recorded in the test). in order to, once identified, have an intervention suffi- The choice of platform is due to the fact that it is ciently capable of minimizing the symptoms faced constituted 85% of the smartphones present in the by the child. Early detection can be done by means market23 and 68% of tablets22, combining low cost to of tests used as predictors of reading17. An example more and more accessible devices. of such methods, discussed in the present work, is Services such as Firebase and Google Speech - the Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN)18. The RAN Application Programming Interface (API) were used Rev. CEFAC. 2019;21(1):e2518 | doi: 10.1590/1982-0216/20192112518 Digital version of RAN to detect reading problems | 3/9 to offer a form of follow-up of the profile by the profes- ball, doll, pan and scissors, which ensures familiarity for sional examiner, as well as to enable the automatic children without compromising the test. recognition of words (speech recognition) from the The application was designed to provide resources recorded audio in the RAN test. In-app tests were to the professional examiner, such as: a) register of conducted with Asus Zen-fone 2 and Samsung Galaxy individuals to be tested, including name, age, schooling S4 handsets, containing Android 5 (Lollipop) and 6 and gender, as well as information of the person in (Marshmallow) versions respectively. The application charge; b) information security of the information to uses appropriate usability standards, adapting the the examiner with the use of an online authentication layout components according to different screen sizes system - each individual is only visualized by the of the user’s smartphone. In addition, the application person who registered them, in this case, the profes- has been developed with state-of-the-art technologies sional examiner; c) history of results (such as total such as Firebase, which provides a fast response time time of naming, time of naming by stimulus, number during use, for example, when loading profiles of users of correct answers, number of errors) of the individual who have already used the application. tested, offering the examiner the chance to revisit the The database used is maintained in the cloud tests performed. The application also has an automatic using the infrastructure provided by Google through speech recognition and allows registration and access Firebase. The platform was chosen because it enables to the application history of the test, including statistical the storage and synchronization of data between users evaluation of results obtained. and devices in real time with NoSQL database hosted From a previous study on applications aimed at in the cloud. Data is synced across all connected dyslexic children25-28, a graphical interface was elabo- devices and remains available if the application goes rated with elements such as: soft colors by means offline, providing a better user experience. of shades of blue, text font for children with dyslexia The application features a responsive interface that and dimensions suitable for buttons and textual fields adapts to mobile device dimensions, soft colors and on the screen. Dyslexic children perform better when 29 the following textual font options: Arial, Calibri, Times submitted to blue filters and softer contrasts . New Roman and OpenDyslexic24.