Considerable recent work suggests that mathematical abilities in children correlate with the ability to estimate numerosity. Does math correlate only with numerosity estimation, or also with other similar tasks? We measured discrimination thresholds of school-age (6- to 12.5-years-old) children in 3 tasks: numerosity of patterns of relatively…

Children's number competencies over 6 time points, from the beginning of kindergarten to the middle of 1st grade, were examined in relation to their mathematics achievement over 5 later time points, from the end of 1st grade to the end of 3rd grade. The relation between early number competence and mathematics achievement was strong and significant…

In this study, the author aimed at measuring how much limited working memory capacity constrains early numerical development before any formal mathematics instruction. To that end, 4- and 5-year-old children were tested for their memory skills in the phonological loop (PL), visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSSP), and central executive (CE); they also…

Examines the ability of 30 normal and 30 learning disabled children across a three-year period to understand a sequence of instructions, communicate the steps in a sequence to others, and rephrase their verbal messages through a referential communication task. (HOD)

The counterintuitive developmental trend in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) illusion (that false-memory responses increase with age) was investigated in learning-disabled and nondisabled children from the 6- to 14-year-old age range. Fuzzy-trace theory predicts that because there are qualitative differences in how younger versus older children…

Discusses the Human Genome Project and the identification of Fragile X Syndrome, the most common inherited cause of mental retardation. Fragile X Syndrome is caused by an abnormal gene on the bottom of the X chromosome. Examined the phenotype of Fragile X Syndrome in males and females and the spectrum of learning difficulties caused by the…

Studied was the development of a variety of grammatical-sensitivity and phonological skills in normally achieving, reading-disabled, arithmetic-disabled, and attention deficit disordered children 7 to 14 years old. (PCB)

Adolescents and young adults with developmental dyslexia and matched normal and disabled controls were asked to tap in time to a metronome at three rates by moving the index fingers of both hands in unison, in rhythmical alternation, or in more complex bimanual patterns. Dyslexic subjects showed significant deficits on asynchronous, but not…

A series of possible explanations for learning disabilities (LDS) couched in terms of information processing capabilities was tested by comparing the performance of LDS children on several types of information processing tasks with that of a control group. Subjects were 28 LDS children (10-11 years old) and 24 elementary school students of the…

Gifted-, normal-, and math-disabled children solved addition problems. Their problem-solving strategies and solution times were recorded. The gifted group showed the most mature distribution of strategy choices, and a verbal counting rate less than 50 percent of the rate of the other groups. (BC)

Compares performance of 172 children aged 7 to 13 years on tasks involving visual or auditory presentation of rhyming and nonrhyming letters and an oral or written response. Results indicate insensitivity to phonological similarity for young children with disabilities; sensitivity improves with age, but deficits in short-term memory remain at…

Investigates the role of operative schemes in explaining older children's superior memory on past Piagetian memory tasks. Contrasts were made between the performance of normal v learning disabled grade school children, and between preschool children who either possessed or lacked seriation schemes. (Author/SS)

Compared two forms of word identification training to promote transfer of learning by dyslexic children. One program taught phonological analysis and blending skills and provided direct instruction of letter-sound correspondences; the other taught the acquisition, use, and monitoring of four metacognitive decoding strategies. Both approaches were…

Over a 10-month period, normal children showed an increased reliance on memory retrieval and a decreased reliance on counting when they solved addition problems. There was an increase in speed of counting and of retrieving addition facts from long-term memory. Children with a mathematical learning disability showed no change in problem-solving…