Anneliesje Ceulemans

Can we predict mathematical learning disabilities from symbolic and non‐symbolic comparison tasks in kindergarten? Findings from a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND The ability to compare numbers, as the most basic form of number sense, has been related to arithmetical achievement. AIMS The current study addressed the predictive value of non-symbolic and symbolic (number word (NW) and Arabic number (AN)) comparison for arithmetics by means of a longitudinal design. SAMPLE Sixteen children with mathematical disabilities (MD), 64 low achievers (LA), and 315 typical achieving (TA) children were followed from kindergarten till grade 2. METHOD The association of comparison skills with arithmetical skills in grades l and 2 was studied. The performances of MD, LA and TA children were compared. RESULTS Regression analyses showed that non-symbolic skills in kindergarten were predictively related to arithmetical achievement 1 year later and fact retrieval 2 years later. AN comparison was predictively related to procedural calculation 2 years later. In grade 2, there was an association between both symbolic tasks and arithmetical achievement. Children with MD already had deficits in non-symbolic and symbolic AN comparison in kindergarten, whereas in grade 2 the deficits in processing symbolic information remained. CONCLUSIONS The combination of non-symbolic and symbolic deficits represents a risk of developing MD.

Preschool predictors of mathematics in first grade children with autism spectrum disorder

Up till now, research evidence on the mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been scarce and provided mixed results. The current study examined the predictive value of five early numerical competencies for four domains of mathematics in first grade. Thirty-three high-functioning children with ASD were followed up from preschool to first grade and compared with 54 typically developing children, as well as with normed samples in first grade. Five early numerical competencies were tested in preschool (5-6 years): verbal subitizing, counting, magnitude comparison, estimation, and arithmetic operations. Four domains of mathematics were used as outcome variables in first grade (6-7 years): procedural calculation, number fact retrieval, word/language problems, and time-related competences. Children with ASD showed similar early numerical competencies at preschool age as typically developing children. Moreover, they scored average on number fact retrieval and time-related competences and higher on procedural calculation and word/language problems compared to the normed population in first grade. When predicting first grade mathematics performance in children with ASD, both verbal subitizing and counting seemed to be important to evaluate at preschool age. Verbal subitizing had a higher predictive value in children with ASD than in typically developing children. Whereas verbal subitizing was predictive for procedural calculation, number fact retrieval, and word/language problems, counting was predictive for procedural calculation and, to a lesser extent, number fact retrieval. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Cognitive phenotype of mathematical learning disabilities: what can we learn from siblings?

The sensitivity of number sense as cognitive phenotype for mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) was assessed in siblings of children with MLD (n = 9) and age matched children without family members with MLD (n = 63). A number line estimation paradigm was used as a measure of childrens early number sense. In line with the triple code model of Dehaene (1992), three different presentation formats were presented. The results of the study confirmed that number line estimation was related to early arithmetic achievement in kindergarten. In addition siblings were less proficient in number line placements compared to non-siblings, with a larger effect size for symbolic and especially number word estimation compared to the non-symbolic results. Siblings also differed from non-siblings on procedural and conceptual counting skills and logical thinking in kindergarten. Moreover MLD had a familial aggregation, since about three out of five sibling girls had clinical scores on an Early Numeracy Test in kindergarten, pointing to a risk to develop MLD themselves. Implications of the study to our understanding of MLD are discussed.

Small Number Discrimination in Early Human Development: The Case of One versus Three

The current study aims to investigate in infants the discrimination of the number set 1 versus 3. This number set has not been studied before within the field of early number discrimination. Participants were 16 full term 8-month-olds. They were assessed for their number discrimination ability with a computerized habituation task in combination with an eye tracking device as an accurate measure for looking time in infants. The stimuli (dots) were controlled for continuous variables. Attention was given to different approaches to analyse data retrieved from the habituation paradigm. The main results showed that 8-month-olds discriminated 1 from 3 dots by looking longer at a novel number after habituation to another number. This supports small number discrimination in infancy. Results retrieved through other analyse approaches are discussed.

Early Numerical Competencies in 5- and 6-Year-Old Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research Findings: To date, studies comparing the mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children are scarce, and results remain inconclusive. In general, studies on this topic focus on mathematical abilities learned from elementary school onward, with little attention for possible precursors at younger ages. The current exploratory study focused on the important developmental period of preschool age, investigating 5 early numerical competencies in 30 high-functioning children with ASD and 30 age-matched control children: verbal subitizing, counting, magnitude comparison, estimation, and arithmetic operations. Children were examined at 5 or 6 years of age, attending the 3rd and final year of preschool. Overall, rather similar early number processing was found in children with and without ASD, although marginally significant results indicated a weaker performance of children with ASD on verbal subitizing and conceptual counting. Practice or Policy: Given the pervasiveness and impact of ASD on other domains of functioning, it is important to know that no general deficits in early numerical competencies were found in this study. However, some downward trends in mathematics performance were identified in children with ASD, which can serve as the basis for additional research in this field.