A Growth Mindset Intervention to Increase the Efficacy of Dyslexia Treatment: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Children with dyslexia struggle to master reading and writing. This impacts their academic development, motivation, and well-being. While dyslexia treatment can improve reading and spelling skills, there is a gap in addressing psychosocial factors that could further enhance these outcomes. Recent studies have highlighted the beneficial role of a growth mindset in fostering resilience and learning outcomes in clinical settings. We present the protocol for a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel superiority randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effects of a growth mindset intervention against an active control condition on dyslexia treatment outcomes. The study will include Dutch-speaking children (age 8–11) diagnosed with dyslexia. The growth mindset intervention consists of two 45 min sessions, in which children learn about neuroplasticity and mindset through age-appropriate, playful interactions with the trainer using learning activities such as connect-the-dots, brain mazes and a mindset storyboard. The control intervention includes psychoeducation activities matched on time and activity type. Mindset is measured through questionnaires and reading and spelling outcomes through validated tests before and one year after treatment. Additional moderating and mediating effects will be investigated, such as the impact of parental mindset on intervention effects, in line with the mindset*context hypothesis. Trial registration: NL-009390.