From numeracy to arithmetic: Precursors of arithmetic performance in children with cerebral palsy from 6 till 8 years of age.
Boost working memory and fine-motor skills first to unlock math growth in CP kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team followed the kids with cerebral palsy for two years. .
They tested early counting, adding, and subtracting every year.
They also checked working memory and fine-motor skills like stacking blocks.
What they found
All kids got better at counting and simple math over the two years.
Kids with stronger working memory and better fine-motor skills improved the most.
These two skills were the best early clues for later math success.
How this fits with other research
Keawutan et al. (2014) showed that better motor skills lead to more daily movement in CP. Perez et al. (2015) adds that those same motor skills also predict math growth.
Robertson et al. (2013) warned that we lack solid tools to measure activity in CP kids. The new study used simple pegboard and memory tasks that are easy to give in clinic.
Clements et al. (2021) taught numeral naming to kids with autism using matrix training. Perez et al. (2015) shows that for CP kids, you may first need to boost working memory and hand skills before such teaching pays off.
Why it matters
If you serve elementary kids with CP, screen working memory and fine-motor skills first. Strengthen these areas with brief daily drills. Better memory and hand control pave the way for faster math gains later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are generally delayed in arithmetic compared to their peers. The development of early numeracy performance in children with CP is not yet evident, nor have the factors associated with change over time been identified. Therefore, we examined the development of numeracy in children with CP over a two year period and studied which cognitive factors were predictive of arithmetic performance. A longitudinal study with three measurement waves separated by one year was conducted. 56 children participated (37 boys, M=6.0 years, SD=.58). Standardized tasks were used to assess verbal- and visual-spatial working memory, executive functioning, fine motor skills and early numeracy performance. In addition, experimental tasks were developed to measure counting and arithmetic. The results showed that early numeracy performance of children with CP increased between 6 and 8 years of age. Structural equation modelling showed that early numeracy was strongly related to arithmetic performance at the consecutive year. Working memory, counting and fine motor skills were all positively related to early numeracy performance a year later. Furthermore, working memory and fine motor skills were precursors of the development of early numeracy. Considering the importance of numeracy and arithmetic in daily life and in academic and work success, children with CP could substantially benefit from intervention programs aimed at increasing working memory and early numeracy performance.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.07.001