Longitudinal behavioral and ERP evidence for domain-general working memory deficits in children with mathematical difficulties

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This study investigated numerical and non-numerical working memory (WM) deficits in children with Mathematical difficulties (MD) using a novel WM task that integrates both domains. This prospective longitudinal cohort study initially recruited 500 preschool children. All participants underwent comprehensive cognitive, behavioral, and electrophysiological screening. After multi-stage assessments a final sample of 54 children was selected. This sample comprised 27 children diagnosed with mathematical difficulties (27 MD children; mean age = 76 ± 4 months; 9 girls) and (27 control; mean age = 77 ± 5 months; 10 girls). Behaviorally, children with MD exhibited lower hit rates, higher false alarm (FA) rates, and significantly reduced signal detection sensitivity (d′) scores, indicating widespread WM impairments. Event-related potential (ERP) analyses revealed that the Late Posterior Negativity (LPN) component—a neural marker of WM processing—was significantly diminished in children with MD across both numerical and non-numerical WM tasks. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses demonstrated that combining behavioral (d′) and electrophysiological (LPN amplitude) indices significantly predicted group membership with considerable accuracy, underscoring their potential utility in early identification of MD. These findings support the domain-general impairment hypothesis in MD and suggests that WM deficits extend beyond numerical processing to affect broader cognitive functions.

Read the study HERE

A digital serious game improves the mathematical performance of children with dyscalculia

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Dyscalculia, characterized by deficits in number sense and calculation skills, affects approximately 5–7% of the population and often persists into adulthood. A team from the University of Barcelona and the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) has developed and validated a digital serious game to address mathematical difficulties in children with this disorder in the early and middle stages of primary education.

Read all about it HERE

The morning I decided not to send my 14-year-old daughter back to school

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My daughter has dyslexia, dyscalculia and inattentive ADHD. Still, on paper, she wasn’t “failing.” She was getting by. But the cost of getting by had become brutal. Daily nausea. Crying every morning. Crippling fatigue. Anxiety that had her frozen in her seat, running on adrenaline just to survive each day, then collapsing at home where it felt safe to fall apart.

Read the full story HERE

What Accommodations Help Dyscalculia In Homeschool Math?

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Dyscalculia research revealed

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Welcome to the Dyscalculia Network’s Research Webpage, ‘Dyscalculia Research Revealed’

Here you will find a range of research paper summaries alongside interviews with world-leading researchers in the field of dyscalculia.

Although dyscalculia research has been growing for decades, we know that much of it is still difficult for many people to access.

Many research papers are behind paywalls, meaning that the people who can read them freely are usually those studying or working at universities. Researchers often conduct their work to make a practical difference in education, but this becomes challenging if educators cannot access the findings. Adults with dyscalculia, parents, and family members may also want to understand the science behind dyscalculia yet often cannot easily access the papers.

Even when access is available, research papers can be challenging to understand. Many studies include complex statistical analyses and report large numbers of findings, not all of which are relevant to every reader. Without experience in research methods or scientific language, it can be difficult to identify the most important points and understand how they impact you or your practice.

We created Dyscalculia Research Revealed as a starting point to bridge this gap.

See the whole webpage HERE