Number processing skill trajectories in children with specific language impairment / Trayectorias del procesamiento de habilidades numéricas en niños con trastorno específico del lenguaje

BACKGROUND: A number of contrasting hypotheses have been put forward concerning mathematical performance deficits in children with specific language impairment (SLI). However, debate as to the nature of this deficit continues. The present study analyzed whether the trajectories of SLI-children may be attributed to the use of symbolic vs. linguistic assessment tasks, or to a deficit in the magnitude system. METHOD: SLI-children (N=20) and typically achieving children (N=20) were monitored between kindergarten and first grade. Four tasks were designed, each with varying demands on language, symbolic, and domain-specific skills. RESULTS: The groups only differed in the trajectories of those numerical tasks involving high language demand. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that SLI children present an early deficit in the development of numerical skills that require retrieval from long term memory and articulation of a phonological representation. Number skills involving greater language demand should be included as part of SLI early detection and intervention protocols

ANTECEDENTES: diferentes hipótesis sobre las dificultades en matemáticas de niños con trastorno específico del lenguaje (TEL) han sido contrastadas, sin embargo, el debate sobre la naturaleza de este déficit todavía perdura. El presente estudio analizó si las trayectorias de los niños con TEL en habilidades numéricas pueden atribuirse a la naturaleza simbólica de las tareas utilizadas, a la demanda lingüística de las mismas, o a un déficit en el sistema de magnitud. MÉTODO: niños con TEL (N = 20) y con rendimiento típico (N = 20) fueron monitoreados entre Educación Infantil y el primer curso de Educación Primaria. Se diseñaron cuatro tareas, cada una con una demanda variable de habilidades de lenguaje, información simbólica y de dominio específico. RESULTADOS: los grupos se diferenciaron únicamente en las trayectorias de aquellas tareas numéricas que implicaban una alta demanda de lenguaje. CONCLUSIONES: estos hallazgos indican que los niños con TEL presentan un déficit temprano en el desarrollo de aquellas habilidades numéricas que requieren recuperación rápida de una representación fonológica de la memoria a largo plazo y su articulación. Las habilidades numéricas que implican una mayor demanda de lenguaje deben incluirse como parte de los protocolos de detección e intervención temprana de TEL

Number processing skill trajectories in children with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND: A number of contrasting hypotheses have been put forward concerning mathematical performance deficits in children with specific language impairment (SLI). However, debate as to the nature of this deficit continues. The present study analyzed whether the trajectories of SLI-children may be attributed to the use of symbolic vs. linguistic assessment tasks, or to a deficit in the magnitude system. METHOD: SLI-children (N=20) and typically achieving children (N=20) were monitored between kindergarten and first grade. Four tasks were designed, each with varying demands on language, symbolic, and domain-specific skills. RESULTS: The groups only differed in the trajectories of those numerical tasks involving high language demand. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that SLI children present an early deficit in the development of numerical skills that require retrieval from long term memory and articulation of a phonological representation. Number skills involving greater language demand should be included as part of SLI early detection and intervention protocols.

Adherence predictors in an Internet-based Intervention program for depression.

Internet-delivered psychotherapy has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of depression. Nevertheless, the study of the adherence in this type of the treatment reported divergent results. The main objective of this study is to analyze predictors of adherence in a primary care Internet-based intervention for depression in Spain. A multi-center, three arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 194 depressive patients, who were allocated in self-guided or supported-guided intervention. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were gathered using a case report form. The Mini international neuropsychiatric interview diagnoses major depression. Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess depression severity. The visual analogic scale assesses the respondent's self-rated health and Short Form Health Survey was used to measure the health-related quality of life. Age results a predictor variable for both intervention groups (with and without therapist support). Perceived health is a negative predictor of adherence for the self-guided intervention when change in depression severity was included in the model. Change in depression severity results a predictor of adherence in the support-guided intervention. Our findings demonstrate that in our sample, there are differences in sociodemographic and clinical variables between active and dropout participants and we provide adherence predictors in each intervention condition of this Internet-based program for depression (self-guided and support-guided). It is important to point that further research in this area is essential to improve tailored interventions and to know specific patients groups can benefit from these interventions.

Data-driven heterogeneity in mathematical learning disabilities based on the triple code model.

Many classifications of heterogeneity in mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) have been proposed over the past four decades, however no empirical research has been conducted until recently, and none of the classifications are derived from Triple Code Model (TCM) postulates. The TCM proposes MLD as a heterogeneous disorder, with two distinguishable profiles: a representational subtype and a verbal subtype. A sample of elementary school 3rd to 6th graders was divided into two age cohorts (3rd - 4th grades, and 5th - 6th grades). Using data-driven strategies, based on the cognitive classification variables predicted by the TCM, our sample of children with MLD clustered as expected: a group with representational deficits and a group with number-fact retrieval deficits. In the younger group, a spatial subtype also emerged, while in both cohorts a non-specific cluster was produced whose profile could not be explained by this theoretical approach.

Alphabet Writing and Allograph Selection as Predictors of Spelling in Sentences Written by Spanish-Speaking Children Who Are Poor or Good Keyboarders.

This study examined the relationship and degree of predictability that the fluency of writing the alphabet from memory and the selection of allographs have on measures of fluency and accuracy of spelling in a free-writing sentence task when keyboarding. The Test Estandarizado para la Evaluación de la Escritura con Teclado ("Spanish Keyboarding Writing Test"; Jiménez, 2012) was used as the assessment tool. A sample of 986 children from Grades 1 through 3 were classified according to transcription skills measured by keyboard ability (poor vs. good) across the grades. Results demonstrated that fluency in writing the alphabet and selecting allographs mediated the differences in spelling between good and poor keyboarders in the free-writing task. Execution in the allograph selection task and writing alphabet from memory had different degrees of predictability in each of the groups in explaining the level of fluency and spelling in the free-writing task sentences, depending on the grade. These results suggest that early assessment of writing by means of the computer keyboard can provide clues and guidelines for intervention and training to strengthen specific skills to improve writing performance in the early primary grades in transcription skills by keyboarding.

Syntactic Awareness and Arithmetic Word Problem Solving in Children With and Without Learning Disabilities.

Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in elementary education were formed: children with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD), children with reading learning disabilities (RLD), and children with comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD). Mediation analysis confirmed that SA was a mediator variable for both groups of children with reading disabilities when solving AWPs, but not for children in the ALD group. All groups performed below the control group in the problem solving task. When SA was controlled for, semantic structure and position of the unknown set were variables that affected both groups with ALD. Specifically, children with ALD only were more affected by the place of the unknown set.