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Is a specific disorder of arithmetic skills as common as reading/spelling disorder?Background: Referring to the prevalence rates of learning disorders in the research literature, the numbers of mathematics disorder and reading/ spelling disorder are often reported to be identical. However, the correlation between intelligence level and reading/ spelling skills is much weaker than between intelligence and arithmetic skills. If the same definition criterion is applied to both disorders, a lower prevalence rate for mathematics disorder should be expected. Objective: Are there differences in the prevalence estimates for learning disorders depending on the definition criterion? Method: A large representative sample of German students (N = 1970) was used to review the hypothesis. Results: Depending on the definition criterion, we could show a prevalence range of mathematics disorder between 0.1% and 8.1% in the same sample. Using the same definition criterion for both learning disorders, there are two to three times as many students with reading/spelling disorder than those with mathematics disorder. Discussion: Whenever children with reading/spelling disorder are compared to children with mathematics disorder, the same definition criterion has to be applied.
Background:
Children’s spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) is related to numerical skills. This study aimed to examine (1) the developmental trajectory of SFON and (2) the interrelations between SFON and early numerical skills at pre-school as well as their influence on arithmetical skills at school.
Method:
Overall, 1868 German pre-school children were repeatedly assessed until second grade. Nonverbal intelligence, visual attention, visuospatial working memory, SFON and numerical skills were assessed at age five (M = 63 months, Time 1) and age six (M = 72 months, Time 2), and arithmetic was assessed at second grade (M = 95 months, Time 3).
Results:
SFON increased significantly during pre-school. Path analyses revealed interrelations between SFON and several numerical skills, except number knowledge. Magnitude estimation and basic calculation skills (Time 1 and Time 2), and to a small degree number knowledge (Time 2), contributed directly to arithmetic in second grade. The connection between SFON and arithmetic was fully mediated by magnitude estimation and calculation skills at pre-school.
Conclusion:
Our results indicate that SFON first and foremost influences deeper understanding of numerical concepts at pre-school and—in contrast to previous findings –affects only indirectly children’s arithmetical development at school.