Parent-based training of basic number skills in children with Down syndrome using an adaptive computer game.
Parents can raise basic math scores in Down syndrome by running a 20-minute adaptive game twice a week under remote BCBA watch.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents to run a 20-minute math game on a tablet twice a week. The game, called The Number Race, moves faster when the child answers correctly and slows down when they struggle.
Kids with Down syndrome played at home while parents logged on for weekly Zoom check-ins with a BCBA. The study lasted several weeks and checked if the children still knew the math facts three months later.
What they found
Children got better at counting, reading numbers, and picking the bigger set. Gains stayed put at the three-month mark.
Harder skills like mental addition grew too, but not as much as when a trained tutor ran the game.
How this fits with other research
Margari et al. (2013) said kids with Down syndrome can’t quickly see “how many” when looking at one, two, or three dots. The new study still found gains because it trained bigger numbers and counting, not lightning-fast dot naming.
Lanfranchi et al. (2015) used the same game but delivered by experts. Parent delivery worked almost as well, so you can send the game home instead of keeping the child at the clinic.
Lemons et al. (2015) reviewed every math study for Down syndrome and found none met strict research rules. This 2021 paper adds a cleaner design and shows parents can run it, raising the bar for future work.
Why it matters
You now have an evidence-based homework tool. Prescribe The Number Race, teach parents how to open the app, and meet them online for twenty minutes each week to check graphs. You save clinic hours, the family keeps bedtime math stress-free, and the child keeps the skills.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Numeracy is an area of difficulty for children with Down syndrome (DS). It has been demonstrated that The Number Race, a non-commercial adaptive computer game designed to foster basic mathematical abilities, represents a promising instrument to enhance these skills in children with DS when delivered by an expert in a clinical setting. AIMS: In the present study, we assessed the efficacy of The Number Race when administered at home by properly instructed and remotely supervised parents. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Basic numerical skills were assessed before and after training, as well as at three-months follow-up. Performance of children with DS who worked at home with the parent (PG) was compared with that of children who received the training by an expert (EG). For both groups, the training lasted ten weeks, with two weekly sessions of 20-30 min. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results show that both groups improved across various measures of numerical proficiency, including the overall score of the numeracy assessment battery, while only the EG showed an improvement in a measure of mental calculation. The improvements were maintained three months after the end of the training. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings confirm the efficacy of The Number Race and extend it to an home-based setting, whereby parents administer the training with external supervision.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103919