Addressing learning difficulties in writing in Spanish: A systematic review

Writing is a complex, multidimensional skill that is central both in and out of school. Learning difficulties in writing (LDW) have a negative impact on emotional well-being and performance. This paper systematically reviews intervention proposals developed between 2004 and 2023 for Spanish-speaking children with or at risk for LDW, with the aim of improving their transcription and/or composition skills. Seventeen studies meeting the inclusion criteria and reporting a total of eight intervention proposals were identified, mostly implemented in educational settings. The cognitive approach prevails in all of them, with a variety of instructional strategies deployed to intervene on the components identified as central in various theoretical models of writing. Consistent with previous studies, the lexical and sublexical levels are addressed with a focus on linguistic aspects, while proposals oriented toward the textual level emphasize instruction in cognitive strategies and self-regulation. Considering that all the proposals were developed with a Spanish population, this review highlights the need to investigate the characteristics of LDW intervention with a Latin American population.