Query: dyscalculia

title: Persistent Differences in Brain Structure in Developmental Dyscalculia: A Longitudinal Morphometry Study
abstract: Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a learning disability affecting the acquisition of numerical arithmetical skills. Affected people show persistent deficits in number processing, which are associated with aberrant brain activation and structure. Reduced gray matter has been reported in DD for the parietal cortex including the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) but also the frontal and occipito temporal cortex. Furthermore, dyscalculics show white matter differences for instance in the inferior (ILF) and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) However, the longitudinal development of these structural differences is unknown. Therefore, our goal was to investigate the developmental trajectory of gray and white matter in children with and without DD. In this longitudinal study, neuropsychological measures and T1 weighted structural images were collected twice with an interval of 4 years from 13 children with DD (8.2 10.4 years) and 10 typically developing (TD) children (8.0 10.4 years) Voxel wise estimation of gray and white matter volumes was assessed using voxel based morphometry for longitudinal data. The present findings reveal for the first time that DD children show persistently reduced gray and white matter volumes over development. Reduced gray matter was found in the bilateral inferior parietal lobes including the IPS, supramarginal gyri, left precuneus, cuneus, right superior occipital gyrus, bilateral inferior and middle temporal gyri, and insula. White matter volumes were reduced in the bilateral ILF and SLF, inferior fronto occipital fasciculus (IFOF) corticospinal tracts, and right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) Behaviorally, children with DD performed significantly worse in various numerical tasks at baseline and follow up, corroborating persistent deficits in number processing. The present results are in line with the literature showing that children with DD have reduced gray and white matter volumes in the numerical network. Our study further sheds light on the trajectory of brain development, revealing that these known structural differences in the long association fibers and the adjacent regions of the temporal and frontoparietal cortex persist in dyscalculic children from childhood into adolescence. In conclusion, our results underscore that DD is a persistent learning disorder accompanied by deficits in number processing and reduced gray and white matter volumes in number related brain areas.

title: Excessive visual crowding effects in developmental dyscalculia
abstract: Visual crowding refers to the inability to identify objects when surrounded by other similar items. Crowding like mechanisms are thought to play a key role in numerical perception by determining the sensory mechanisms through which ensembles are perceived. Enhanced visual crowding might hence prevent the normal development of a system involved in segregating and perceiving discrete numbers of items and ultimately the acquisition of more abstract numerical skills. Here, we investigated whether excessive crowding occurs in developmental dyscalculia (DD) a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty in learning the most basic numerical and arithmetical concepts, and whether it is found independently of associated major reading and attentional difficulties. We measured spatial crowding in two groups of adult individuals with DD and control subjects. In separate experiments, participants were asked to discriminate the orientation of a Gabor patch either in isolation or under spatial crowding. Orientation discrimination thresholds were comparable across groups when stimuli were shown in isolation, yet they were much higher for the DD group with respect to the control group when the target was crowded by closely neighbouring flanking gratings. The difficulty in discriminating orientation (as reflected by the combination of accuracy and reaction times) in the DD compared to the control group persisted over several larger target flanker distances. Finally, we found that the degree of such spatial crowding correlated with impairments in mathematical abilities even when controlling for visual attention and reading skills. These results suggest that excessive crowding effects might be a characteristic of DD, independent of other associated neurodevelopmental disorders. Bullet points People with DD have difficulty learning about numbers and arithmetics. Perception of non symbolic number seems to be modulated by visual crowding. Can stronger than normal crowding effects contribute to the origin of DD? We measured crowding with orientation discrimination tasks using Gabor gratings. Abnormal crowding characterizes DD independently of other developmental deficits.

title: Developmental Dyscalculia in Adults
abstract: Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a chronic condition that poses not only a barrier to employment and socio emotional wellbeing but that also persists into adulthood. Thus, understanding

title: Exploring Teachers' Knowledge and Students' Status about Dyscalculia at Basic Level Students in Nepal
abstract: Dyscalculia refers to a specific and lifelong difficulty in learning mathematics. Dyscalculia has been observed among students from even basic levels of mathematical studies, and its effects regarding mathematical learning are serious. This study explores teacher knowledge and student status of dyscalculia at a basic level schools in Nepal. It was constructed by using the descriptive survey design. The study consists of 150 basic level school teachers and 500 students from Ilam Municipality, Ilam by using simple random sampling. To explore the teachers' knowledge about dyscalculia a mathematics learning difficulty test questionnaire has been used. Similarly, the status of dyscalculic students was measured by a dyscalculia screening test. The teachers were found to have inadequate knowledge regarding dyscalculia. The association between the teachers' knowledge and the demographic variables of gender, school type, and educational qualifications on dyscalculia were not found significant, except teaching experience. Consequently, the study revealed 6.8 percent of students were dyscalculic. Therefore, the concerned authority is recommended to improve teacher knowledge regarding dyscalculia for the proper identification, guidance, and intervention of the dyscalculic learner.

title: Detection of Dyscalculia Using Machine Learning
abstract: The detection of learning disabilities is still tedious and time consuming and a deep research is required for the simplification of the same. Dyscalculia is one of the Specific learning Disorders (SLD) with a specific impairment in Mathematics. Early detection of Dyscalculia is one of these tedious, time consuming tasks. Detection of Dyscalculia is carried out by conducting various tests where every individual test has to be conducted and evaluated manually as the scores of these individual tests alone are not sufficient for detection. For some cases, the scores from these tests are not sufficient. Some extra tests like Curriculum Based Test [CBT's] and/or Wide Range Achievement Test [WRAT] are to be administered. Artificial intelligence (AI) for health care involves the use of complex algorithms to emulate human cognition in the perusal of complicated medical data. The derivatives of Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievements are used to determine learning disabilities. These tests are conducted by the doctors.

title: Efficacy of a Computer Based Learning Program in Children With Developmental Dyscalculia. What Influences Individual Responsiveness?
abstract: This study presents the evaluation of a computer based learning program for children with developmental dyscalculia and focuses on factors affecting individual responsiveness. The adaptive training program Calcularis 2.0 has been developed according to current neuro cognitive theory of numerical cognition. It aims to automatize number representations, supports the formation and access to the mental number line and trains arithmetic operations as well as arithmetic fact knowledge in expanding number ranges. Sixty seven children with developmental dyscalculia from second to fifth grade (mean age 8.96 years) were randomly assigned to one of two groups (Calcularis group, waiting control group) Training duration comprised a minimum of 42 training sessions a 20 min within a maximum period of 13 weeks. Compared to the waiting control group, children of the Calcularis group demonstrated a higher benefit in arithmetic operations and number line estimation. These improvements were shown to be stable after a 3 months post training interval. In addition, this study examines which predictors accounted for training improvements. Results indicate that this self directed training was especially beneficial for children with low math anxiety scores and without an additional reading and/or spelling disorder. In conclusion, Calcularis 2.0 supports children with developmental dyscalculia to improve their arithmetical abilities and their mental number line representation. However, it is relevant to further adapt the setting to the individual circumstances.

title: Validity and reliability of the Arabic dyscalculia test in diagnosing Egyptian dyscalculic school age children
abstract: Mathematical skills have an important role in progress of the educational level of nations. Unfortunately, there are still some pupils in school with normal intellectual function, but they have different degrees of mathematical disabilities that really can fall apart their whole life. Dyscalculia is called number blindness. It is the name given to the condition that affects our ability to acquire arithmetical skills. In the Arabic language, there is a deficiency in tools for diagnosis of dyscalculia, so we conducted this study to formulate a test suitable for diagnosis of dyscalculia in Egyptian children via translation and modification of an American test (TOMA 3 test) The modified test was highly significant in discriminating dyscalculic from non dyscalculic Egyptian pupils regarding all items of the test. The Arabic version of TOMA 3 is valid and reliable for diagnosis of dyscalculia in Egyptian school age children.

title: The Causes, Prevalence and Interventions for Dyscalculia in Malaysia
abstract: Children with Dyscalculia show deficits in the basic understanding of quantities and numbers, which cause difficulties in math skills acquisition despite adequate schooling. This study summarizes the current knowledge regarding causes, diagnosis and treatment of Dyscalculia in Malyasia from a clinician's perspective. The findings reveal that Dyscalculia is a brain based specific learning disability, which often co exist with other neurological disorders such as Dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) Symptoms of Dyscalculia include difficulty in reading, writing, counting, arithmetic calculation, direction co ordination, finger counting agnosia and time management. A computer based Diagnosis of Dyscalculia should measure all the possible difficulties that are faced by Dyscalculic patient along with other disorders that might co exist with Dyscalculia and IQ. Care can be provided to Dyscalculia children using one on one intervention and the implementation of a standard policy based on health professionals, teachers, parents for diagnosis and treatment. The study also shows the need for more research into the current situation, diagnosis and intervention of dyscalculic cases in Malaysia to help meet the needs of these dyscalculic children.

title: Game Cards Helps Dyscalculia To Understand The Addition Concepts
abstract: Students who have difficulty in Mathematics can be classified as dyscalculia. The type of difficulty Mathematics (dyscalculia) actually consists of a combination of dyslexia and increment. Akalkulia refers to the problem faced by children who cannot perform operations involving numbers and mathematical symbols. Therefore, this study focuses on the use of the Game Cards as a tool and material to help increase the mastery of addition concepts among dyscalculia pupils. The population of study is Year 6 Cempaka students from the Sekolah Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi (PPKI) Sekolah Kebangsaaan Pekan Beaufort, Sabah. Four pupils from the population were taken as samples in this study. This study is a Action Research which uses qualitative design research types. The data collection method used is the collection of pre post test scores, observations and document analysis of pupils' answers. The results of the analysis show that the use of the Game Cards has a positive impact on the ability to master of addition concepts among pupils on the effectiveness of teaching and learning sessions in theclassroom.

title: Design and Development of Dyscalculia Checklist Instrument
abstract: The purpose of this study is to design and develop Dyscalculia Checklist Instrument (DCI) for dyscalculic pupils in primary schools. Dyscalculia is a learning disability in mathematics. Unlike dyslexia, there is still no checklist available in our country to detect these dyscalculic pupils. If they are not being detected, these pupils will continue being left out and labelled, with no proper intervention or diagnosis given to them. This study will employ Design and Development Research (DDR) approach. During phase one, needs analysis will be carried out to 90 teachers and 90 parents. This is to identify whether there is a need to develop a checklist for dyscalculic pupils in primary schools. During phase two, Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) will be carried out by inviting 11 experts in the fields of dyscalculia, special education, and instrumentation. During phase three, Nominal Group Technique (NGT) will be implemented. The experts will vote and rank for the constructs and items in DCI. Purposive sampling method will be employed in this study. The data will be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. T test will be used to compare the data of needs to develop DCI between teachers and parents. ANOVA will be used to compare the data of needs to develop DCI between Malay Medium National School (SK) National Type Chinese Primary School (SJKC) and National Type Tamil Primary School (SJKT) Then, the researcher will obtain the threshold, d value and experts' consensus value to design, develop and evaluate the constructs and items in DCI.