Mathematical learning disabilities and attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder: A study of the cognitive processes involved in arithmetic problem solving.
ADHD math problems stem from weak planning and attention, while MLD problems stem from weak simultaneous and successive memory—so tailor your assessment battery to the profile, not the label.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Iglesias-Sarmiento et al. (2017) compared three groups of Spanish fifth-graders: kids with ADHD, kids with math learning disability (MLD), and kids with both. They gave each child a short IQ test and then a set of PASS tasks. PASS stands for planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processing.
The team wanted to know which thinking skills link to math trouble in each group. No teaching was done; this was pure assessment research.
What they found
ADHD-only students scored lowest on planning and attention tasks. MLD-only students scored lowest on simultaneous and successive tasks. Kids with both disorders showed a mix of both weak spots.
In plain words: ADHD math issues look like executive-function holes, while MLD math issues look like memory-pattern holes.
How this fits with other research
Kanevski et al. (2023) extends these results. They added developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to the mix and still found that visuospatial working memory, not executive function, predicted math scores in ADHD+DCD kids. The twist: those kids kept up in math despite poor WM, hinting they use back-door strategies.
Poon et al. (2014) is a clear predecessor. They showed that delinquent teens with ADHD plus reading disability had unique interference-control deficits, matching the ADHD-plus pattern Valentín saw. Both papers warn that comorbid groups need sharper cognitive probes.
Maehler et al. (2016) looks contradictory at first—they say working memory alone predicts school failure. But they studied kids with intellectual disability, not ADHD or MLD. Different base, different driver.
Why it matters
Stop giving the same math assessment to every kid with attention or learning issues. If the child has ADHD, test planning and inhibition first. If the child has MLD, test simultaneous and successive memory. When both labels are present, probe both domains and watch for masked strengths like the visuospatial work-around Margarita found. Match your intervention to the cognitive profile, not the diagnosis alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of cognitive functioning to arithmetic problem solving and to explore the cognitive profiles of children with attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). METHODS: The sample was made up of a total of 90 students of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade organized in three: ADHD (n=30), MLD (n=30) and typically achieving control (TA; n=30) group. Assessment was conducted in two sessions in which the PASS processes and arithmetic problem solving were evaluated. RESULTS: The ADHD group's performance in planning and attention was worse than that of the control group. Children with MLD obtained poorer results than the control group in planning and simultaneous and successive processing. Executive processes predicted arithmetic problem solving in the ADHD group whereas simultaneous processing was the unique predictor in the MLD sample. CONCLUSIONS: Children with ADHD and with MLD showed characteristic cognitive profiles. Groups' problem-solving performance can be predicted from their cognitive functioning.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.12.012