Early numerical cognition in deaf and hearing children: Closer than expected? / Cognición numérica temprana en niños sordos y oyentes: ¿más cercana de lo esperado?

Abstract Deaf students show a significant delay in their understanding of numeracy and measurement concepts as well as verbal problem solving. There is still no consensus about the origin of this delay but several studies have shown that deaf people show differences in basic numerical skills and executive function (EF), which could underlie the differences in the way they learn and develop their cognitive abilities. Children have the innate ability to estimate and compare numerosities without using language or numerical symbols. The ability to discriminate large numerosities depends on the approximate number system (ANS), a cognitive system believed to be governed by a neural circuit within the intraparietal sulcus. Researchers hypothesize that the ANS underlies the development of arithmetic and there is data supporting the contribution of the ANS for math achievements. Little is known about the approximate number system of deaf children at early ages. Deaf and hearing preschool children were compared in terms of specific cognitive functions shown to be important for success in mathematics. Executive functions and symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison abilities of 7 deaf children and 14 hearing children aged 4-7 years (M = 69.90 months, SD = 11.42), were compared. To do so, neuropsychological assessments for school-aged children were adapted into Portuguese Sign Language. Significant group differences were found in abstract counting as well as in symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparisons. These findings suggest that deaf children are less competent in these early numeracy skills than are their hearing peers.

Resumen La cognición de los sordos ha sido objeto de numerosos estudios que buscan comprender cómo los niños y adultos sordos procesan la información. Dichos estudios han demostrado que las personas sordas muestran diferencias en las habilidades numéricas y la función ejecutiva (FE), lo que podría ser la base de las diferencias conocidas en la forma en que las personas sordas aprenden y desarrollan sus habilidades cognitivas. Se han encontrado diferencias entre estudiantes sordos y oyentes en varias áreas de razonamiento numérico, en matemática y en la eficiencia en el procesamiento de representaciones numéricas como la comparación de magnitud. En las tareas de comparación de magnitud, los resultados dependían de si se estaban haciendo comparaciones simbólicas (números arábigos) o no simbólicas (puntos). En un estudio, los niños sordos fueron más lentos que sus compañeros oyentes en las tareas de comparación de magnitud simbólica, pero no en las tareas no simbólicas. Sin embargo, en un estudio más reciente, también se encontraron diferencias en las tareas no simbólicas. Se considera que la capacidad para comparar y discriminar grandes numerosidades depende del sistema numérico aproximado (ANS, Approximate Number System), un sistema cognitivo que se cree está gobernado por un circuito neuronal dentro del surco intraparietal. Los investigadores plantean la hipótesis de que el ANS subyace en cierta medida al desarrollo de la aritmética. Hay algunos datos que apoyan esta hipótesis: por ejemplo, las diferencias individuales en la agudeza del ANS se correlacionan positivamente con las habilidades numéricas y los logros futuros en matemática. Por otro lado, se ha encontrado un deterioro en la agudeza del ANS en niños con discapacidades de aprendizaje matemático. En consecuencia, los investigadores han propuesto que el ANS contribuye a la aparición de conceptos numéricos que los niños requieren para la competencia básica en el conteo y las comparaciones de magnitud simbólica. Otros han sugerido que la asociación entre la agudeza en la comparación de magnitud no simbólica y el rendimiento en matemática está moderada por factores de dominio general como las funciones ejecutivas (FE), en particular el control inhibitorio. En general, no está claro si existen diferencias en la agudeza de comparación de magnitud simbólica y no simbólica en niños sordos más pequeños y en qué medida se relacionan con las FE. El estudio actual examina la agudeza de las representaciones numéricas simbólicas y no simbólicas en niños sordos en edad preescolar e investiga la posible influencia del funcionamiento ejecutivo en estas habilidades matemáticas básicas. Se recolectaron datos de 21 niños portugueses del área de Lisboa, siete de los cuales eran sordos congénitamente y 14 tenían audición normal; los niños tenían entre 4 y 7 años de edad (M = 69.9 meses, DT = 11.42). Se seleccionaron tareas para medir lo siguiente: (a) FE, (b) memoria de trabajo, (c) lenguaje y (d) habilidades numéricas tempranas. Se empleó la tarea Shape School Task para evaluar FE. Se administró la versión portuguesa de la tarea de tapping de bloques de Corsi para evaluar la amplitud visuoespacial. Se desarrolló una tarea de comparación de puntos para examinar la capacidad de los niños de decidir instantáneamente cuál de las dos matrices de puntos es más grande utilizando el software Panamath. Se utilizaron dos tareas para evaluar la capacidad de los niños para producir palabras numéricas en un contexto cardinal y el Numeracy Screener para medir su capacidad para comprender la magnitud numérica simbólica. Los resultados indicaron que los niños sordos mostraron retrasos en las capacidades de comparación de magnitud simbólica y no simbólica. En las FE solo se encontraron diferencias en una tarea que implicaba una combinación de conmutación e inhibición; por lo demás, su función ejecutiva era comparable a la de los niños no sordos.

Looking for the Brain Inside the Initial Teacher Training and Outreach Books in Portugal.

The fascination with brain research is widespread, and school teachers are no exception. This growing interest, usually noticed by the increased supply of short-term training or books on how to turn the brain more efficient, leads us to think about their basic training and outreach resources available. Little is known about what the official Initial Teacher Training (ITT) offers concerning the brain literature and if it meets scientific standards. Also, what are the science communication materials that teachers can access to learn about the developing brain remain undiscussed. First, we examined the ITT courses taught in Portuguese Higher Education, both in public and private institutions, to identify the syllabus with updated neuroscientific knowledge. Second, we searched for the neuroscience-related books published in the last 6 years through the National Library of Portugal database. Thirty ITT courses and 35 outreach publications were reviewed through a rapid review methodology. Our results showed an absence of curricular units indicating in their programs that brain research, and its relationship with learning, would be taught in a representative and updated way. In contrast, the number of brain-related books for educators increased in Portugal, corroborating the demand for this field of study by these professionals. Based on the literature that shows how misunderstandings about the brain have increased in school contexts, our discussion recognizes that science outreach could be a way to increase the scientific literacy of school teachers with the research community working more in this direction, but, since a previous problem seems to be unsolved, there is an urgent need for specialized attention to the development of training curricula for future kindergarten and elementary school teachers.

Unveiling teachers' beliefs on visual cognition and learning styles of deaf and hard of hearing students: A Portuguese-Swedish study.

Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to learn, and, naturally, they recognize themselves as visual learners. This assumption also seems widespread among schoolteachers, which led us to analyse the intersection between teachers' beliefs on deaf and hard of hearing students' academic achievement, visual skills, attentional difficulties, and the perceived importance of image display in class. An online survey was designed to analyse the beliefs of the schoolteachers about the deaf and hard of hearing students learning in educational settings from Portugal and Sweden. Participated 133 teachers, 70 Portuguese and 63 Swedish, from the preschool to the end of mandatory education (ages 3-18) with several years of experience. The content analysis and the computed SPSS statistical significance tests reveal that surveyed teachers believe that deaf and hard of hearing students have better visual skills when compared with their hearing peers yet show divergent beliefs about visual attentional processes. Within the teachers' perceptions on learning barriers to DHH students, the distractibility and cognitive effort factors were highlighted, among communicational difficulties in class. Conclusions about the prevalence of learning misconceptions in teachers from both countries analysed, corroborate previous studies on neuromyths in education, and bring novelty to Deaf Education field. The work of translation of scientific knowledge, teacher training updating, and partnership between researchers and educators are also urgently needed in special education.

Stuttering Impact: A Shared Perception for Parents and Children?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Previous research has provided information about how school-aged children perceive their own stuttering; however, less is known about how stuttering is perceived by their parents. The ways that parents view their children's stuttering could influence how the children themselves react to it. This study proceeds to assess how parents' perceptions of the impact of stuttering relate to the perceptions of children. METHOD: Participants were 50 children who stutter aged 7-12 years (mean = 9.10; SD = 1.7) and their parents, recruited from different cities in Portugal. The European Portuguese version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering was administered to the children, and an adapted version of the tool was administered to their parents. RESULTS: Both parents and children showed generally similar overall impact ratings, typically falling in the mild and moderate ranges. Differences were observed in families with a history of stuttering: for those families, a comparison of parents' and children's scores revealed, in some domains, that parents perceived the impact of stuttering to be greater than the children did, especially related with children's reactions to stuttering and their quality of life. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about how parents perceive the impact of stuttering on their children is important because families can play a key role in helping children cope with stuttering. These findings highlight the benefits of using an individualized treatment approach for each child that focuses on their perceptions, as well as on those of the parents, in order to address negative attitudes toward children's stuttering.

Temperament, Executive Functioning, and Anxiety in School-Age Children Who Stutter.

The purpose of this study was to examine temperament dimensions, executive functioning ability, and anxiety levels in school-age children who stutter and their non-stuttering peers. Participants were 100 Portuguese children aged 7 to 12 years (M = 9.13; SD = 1.70), including 50 children who stutter and 50 children who do not stutter. Analyses, which were performed separately for younger and older participants, sought to identify correlations between key variables. Temperament was evaluated through a parent questionnaire, executive functioning was evaluated through children's responses on a performance test, and anxiety level was assessed through a self-perception scale. On the temperament measure, comparisons between children who stutter and their non-stuttering peers revealed that older children who stutter exhibited significantly higher scores on the Anger/Frustration, Impulsivity, and Sadness subscales, and lower averages on the Attention/Focusing, Perceptual sensitivity, and Soothability/Falling Reactivity subscales. On the executive functioning task, comparisons revealed that the group of younger children who stutter exhibited significantly higher average execution times than their non-stuttering peers. There were no statistically significant differences in anxiety between children who stutter and children who do not stutter, and there were no statistically significant correlations between temperament factors and measures of executive functioning. Children who stutter experienced lower ability to orient attention and greater emotional reactivity compared with their non-stuttering peers. Significant correlations were found between executive functioning and age and among the temperament factors themselves. These results, which support the need for a multidimensional view of stuttering, were interpreted in the context of the Dual Diathesis - Stressor model. Findings indicate that temperament and executive functioning abilities may contribute to the development of stuttering.