This paper describes the results from a case study into the effects of intensive reading training on a patient with acquired pure alexia disorder. The training targeted the various stages of the basic reading process based on the theories of the psycholinguistic language model as a mixture of bottom-up and top-down training.
The training material was developed in accordance to the principles of experience-based plasticity within the rehabilitation of language ability. Firstly, the training was constantly adjusted to challenge the patient at the limit of his functional capability. Secondly, the training was conducted over a short but intensive period of time and thirdly, the training was focused on regaining reading abilities without the use of compensatory techniques by targeting the various areas of the reading process according to the psycholinguistic model.
The study demonstrated that there is a potential for substantial improvements in reading speed using an intensive training method.