Psychoeducational Challenges of Dyslexic Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Dyslexic students faced psychological and educational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and online learning, including increased anxiety, low self-esteem, reduced reading interest, limited access to educational technologies, insufficient teacher support, and difficulties with reading fluency and concentration. Examining these challenges is crucial for implementing effective measures and enhancing post-pandemic learning. This study investigates the psycho-educational challenges of dyslexic children during the pandemic, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support them in current and future contexts. This systematic review identified relevant articles through electronic searches of PubMed, Wiley, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, supplemented by the snowballing technique, which involved examining the bibliographies of retrieved references. The study identified two main categories of challenges for dyslexic children: psychological (mental health, emotional well-being, behavioural issues, parental stress) and educational (socioeconomic status, technology access, special educational needs, teacher support, remote learning difficulties) affecting children with learning disabilities. The research results show that dyslexic children faced various psychological and educational difficulties identified in this review during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, targeted, evidence-based strategies—such as teacher training, family–school collaboration, adaptive learning technologies, and psychological support—are needed to mitigate these challenges in the post-pandemic period.