The remediation of executive functions in children with cognitive disorders: the Vygotsky-Luria neuropsychological approach.
A 1997 theory paper gives a clear, talk-aloud number game that can bootstrap executive skills in kids with ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
V (1997) wrote a theory paper. It explains how to fix executive functions in kids with intellectual disability.
The paper uses the Vygotsky-Luria idea. Kids first talk out loud to guide themselves. Later the talk becomes silent.
The author shows one tool: the Numerical Sequence method. No new data are given.
What they found
The paper gives no test scores. It only describes the steps of the method.
The claim is that the steps should help planning, memory, and self-checking.
How this fits with other research
Rodríguez-Prieto et al. (2024) later used a full program built on the same theory. Two preschoolers with delay got better at executive tasks after the games.
Glaser et al. (2012) tried a computer emotion program instead of numbers. Kids still improved, showing the idea works across topics.
Gao et al. (2026) pooled many studies and found small gains from video-game training. Their review counts the 1997 paper inside its scope, so the old theory now sits inside modern meta-analysis.
Why it matters
You now have a ready-made script. Ask the child to say the next number, then the next two numbers, then check aloud if it is right. Fade your voice as the child takes over the job. The chain—speech shared, speech private, action—maps onto any self-management goal you target.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The demands of methods of effective remediation arising from the Vygotsky-Luria approach to the structure and development of higher mental functions are discussed. These demands suggest the structuring of a therapeutic interaction in accordance with the rules of the internalization process, taking into account a weak component of the child's functional systems and the emotional involvement of a child in that interaction. In order to provide a theoretical framework for developing methods of executive function remediation, the approaches of Vygotsky and Luria, as well as modern views on the structure and development of executive functions, are discussed. The Method of Numerical Sequence is presented as an example of the application of the general principles discussed above. The Method of Numerical Sequence provides a background for following the development of successive processing, programming and planning, and can be considered as a complement to the development of the metacognitive aspects of self-regulation. This method was verified experimentally in groups of 5-8-year-old children with intellectual disability.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1997 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1997.tb00691.x