Subtypes of mathematical difficulties and their stability.

Abstract

Some children struggle with mathematics. Among these children, some of them may be learners with mathematical difficulties. While research has revealed multiple deficits as candidate causes for mathematical difficulties and probable subtypes, the cognitive profiles of these subtypes are not fully understood. Moreover, we have yet to discover whether children may move in or out of these subtypes over time. This study set out to identify the subtypes of mathematical difficulties as well as their stability. Using cluster analyses, we discovered 5 distinctive subtypes among children with mathematical difficulties over the first 2 years of elementary school: the number sense deficit subtype, the numerosity coding deficit subtype, the symbolic deficit subtype, the working memory subtype, and a mild difficulty group. These subtypes showed moderate stability. While some subtypes appeared to be somewhat stable over time, some developed into another profile of deficits and still some emerged only at later points in the development. Understanding the cognitive profiles of different subtypes of mathematical difficulties can better help researchers and educators to devise intervention strategies that build on what the children are able to do and improve what they are still struggling.

Two Dyscalculia Subtypes With Similar, Low Comorbidity Profiles: A Mixture Model Analysis

“…In contrast to many other studies with data-driven designs (e.g., Bartelet et al, 2014;Chan and Wong, 2020), no large number of subtypes in CwD was identified in this methodically advanced study. Two subgroups of children with dyscalculia were consistently found, and this result was robust regardless of whether (a) only complete data sets or imputed data sets were used, (b) the clustering was carried out at the level of subtests (e.g., dot enumeration, magnitude comparison) or aggregated constructs (e.g., basic numerical processing) or (c) different dyscalculia assessments were used (HRT 1-4 or ZAREKI-R).…”

Can abacus course eradicate developmental dyscalculia

“…Students with DD or arithmetic learning disabilities may experience early academic failures in schools, have lower mathematical scores, and have deficits in various numbers and number-related processing (Chan & Wong, 2020;Kucian et al, 2011). The current findings provided a new approach for Tier 1 DD instruction, suggesting that F I G U R E 3 Group comparisons among the estimated marginal means in arithmetic computation and character reading after controlling for gender, age, grade, and cognitive variables.…”

“…Students with DD or arithmetic learning disabilities may experience early academic failures in schools, have lower mathematical scores, and have deficits in various numbers and number‐related processing (Chan & Wong, 2020; Kucian et al, 2011). The current findings provided a new approach for Tier 1 DD instruction, suggesting that the abacus course could be incorporated into the general school curriculum, helping to prevent the severity of symptoms and academic deficits in students at risk of DD while they are in their early school years.…”

“…Future studies could recruit children with DD, and directly investigate the effect of the abacus course on their cognitive abilities, mathematical achievement, and brain plasticity, and to investigate whether abacus course can be used for DD intervention in schools. Previous neurological studies have shown that students with DD exhibit abnormal brain structure and activation in frontalparietal areas (e.g., Chan & Wong, 2020; Michels et al, 2018), which are the main brain areas that can be modified by abacus training (e.g., Weng et al, 2017; H. Zhou et al, 2019). Thus, further studies are needed to investigate whether the abacus course can be helpful for brain development in children with DD.…”

“…Early DD diagnosis is challenging (Chan & Wong, 2020; Fuchs et al, 2007; Sousa et al, 2017). When students first entering school, some of them might already be at the risk of DD and showed low mathematic performances (X. Zhang et al, 2020).…”