Developmental dyscalculia and basic numerical capacities: a study of 8–9-year-old students

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2003.11.004
• Publication Date: 2004-03-17T10:36:05Z
• Authors: Karin Landerl; Anna Bevan; Brian Butterworth
• Keywords: Developmental Disabilities; 4. Education; 05 social sciences; Brain; Neuropsychological Tests; Severity of Illness Index; Child, Preschool; Reaction Time; Humans; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Cognition Disorders; 10. No inequality; Mathematics

Thirty-one 8- and 9-year-old children selected for dyscalculia, reading difficulties or both, were compared to controls on a range of basic number processing tasks. Children with dyscalculia only had impaired performance on the tasks despite high-average performance on tests of IQ, vocabulary and working memory tasks. Children with reading disability were mildly impaired only on tasks that involved articulation, while children with both disorders showed a pattern of numerical disability similar to that of the dyscalculic group, with no special features consequent on their reading or language deficits. We conclude that dyscalculia is the result of specific disabilities in basic numerical processing, rather than the consequence of deficits in other cognitive abilities.