Determining the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy in Regulating Emotion and Academic Adjustment of Students with Dyslexia

Introduction: Emotional regulation plays an important role in students' academic adjustment, therefore. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral play therapy in emotion regulation and academic adjustment of students with dyslexia. Methods: The present study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. From the statistical population that included all second grade elementary school male and female students with dyslexia in district one of Karaj city in the academic year 2020-2021, 30 were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.. And responded to the Gross and John (2003) Regulation Questionnaire and the Academic Adjustment Questionnaire by Troop et al. (1953). The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of educational intervention of cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the control group was on the waiting list. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of analysis of covariance showed that cognitive behavioral play therapy improved emotion regulation and increased academic adjustment of students with dyslexia (P <0.01). Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral play therapy in improving emotion regulation and academic adjustment of students with dyslexia, it is recommended to use this method along with formal school curricula.