[Symptoms diagnosis and treatment of dyscalulia]

Academic motivation at early ages: Spanish validation of the Elementary School Motivation Scale (ESMS-E)

The Elementary School Motivation Scale (ESMS) is the only validated and adapted instrument to assess motivation in early ages and in specific domains using the Self-Determination Theory. The present study aims to validate the ESMS in Spanish population (ESMS-E). To this end, 1,190 students from the first half of Elementary education (6-10 years old) filled in the ESMS-E. To translate the instrument the back translation method was used. Internal consistency was assessed through composite reliability (CR), correlations among the dimensions and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to analyze the theoretical structure proposed by the original instrument. Results showed optimal internal consistency in the different dimensions (CR = 0.701-0.901) and showed a great fit for the model (RMSEA = 0.064, CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.913), confirming the original model with nine dimensions and the self-determination continuum. The ESMS-E is valid and reliable in the Spanish version. This validation offers a tool for researchers interested in exploring the motives that drive students in early stages in relation to specific learning domains (i.e., reading, writing and mathematics).

Improving Reading Skills Using a Computerized Phonological Training Program in Early Readers with Reading Difficulties

In the last years, there has been a big effort to identify risk factors for reading difficulties and to develop new methodologies to help struggling readers. It has been shown that early intervention is more successful than late intervention, and that intensive training programs can benefit children with reading difficulties. The aim of our study is to investigate the effectiveness of an intensive computerized phonological training program designed to improve reading performance in a sample of children with reading difficulties at the early stages of their reading learning process. Thirty-two children with reading difficulties were randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups: RDIR (children with reading difficulties following a computerized intensive remediation strategy) (n = 20) (7.01 ± 0.69 years), focused on training phonemic awareness, decoding and reading fluency through the computational training; and RDOR (children with reading difficulties following an ordinary remediation strategy) (n = 12) (6.92 ± 0.82 years), which consisted of a reinforcement of reading with a traditional training approach at school. Normal readers (NR) were assigned to the control group (n = 24) (7.32 ± 0.66 years). Our results indicate that both the RDIR and RDOR groups showed an increased reading performance after the intervention. However, children in the RDIR group showed a stronger benefit than the children in the RDOR group, whose improvement was weaker. The control group did not show significant changes in reading performance during the same period. In conclusion, results suggest that intensive early intervention based on phonics training is an effective strategy to remediate reading difficulties, and that it can be used at school as the first approach to tackle such difficulties.

Boosting Numerical Cognition in Children and Adolescents with Mathematical Learning Disabilities by a Brain-Based Intervention: A Study Protocol for a Randomized, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial

Numbers are everywhere, and supporting difficulties in numerical cognition (e.g., mathematical learning disability (MLD)) in a timely, effective manner is critical for their daily use. To date, only low-efficacy cognitive-based interventions are available. The extensive data on the neurobiology of MLD have increased interest in brain-directed approaches. The overarching goal of this study protocol is to provide the scientific foundation for devising brain-based and evidence-based treatments in children and adolescents with MLD. In this double-blind, between-subject, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial, transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) plus cognitive training will be delivered to participants. Arithmetic, neuropsychological, psychological, and electrophysiological measures will be collected at baseline (T0), at the end of the interventions (T1), one week (T2) and three months later (T3). We expect that tRNS plus cognitive training will significantly improve arithmetic measures at T1 and at each follow-up (T2, T3) compared with placebo and that such improvements will correlate robustly and positively with changes in the neuropsychological, psychological, and electrophysiological measures. We firmly believe that this clinical trial will produce reliable and positive results to accelerate the validation of brain-based treatments for MLD that have the potential to impact quality of life.

The Diagnosis and Treatment of Dyscalculia

BACKGROUND

3-7% of all children, adolescents, and adults suffer from dyscalculia. Severe, persistent difficulty performing arithmetical calculations leads to marked impairment in school, at work, and in everyday life and elevates the risk of comorbid mental disorders. The state of the evidence underlying various methods of diagnosing and treating this condition is unclear.

METHODS

Systematic literature searches were carried out from April 2015 to June 2016 in the PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, MEDLINE, ProQuest, ERIC, Cochrane Library, ICTRP, and MathEduc databases. The main search terms on dyscalculia were the German terms "Rechenstörung," "Rechenschwäche," and "Dyskalkulie" and the English terms "dyscalculia," "math disorder, and "math disability." The data from the retrieved studies were evaluated in a meta-analysis, and corresponding recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of dyscalculia were jointly issued by the 20 societies and associations that participated in the creation of this guideline.

RESULTS

The diagnosis of dyscalculia should only be made if the person in question displays below-average mathematical performance when seen in the context of relevant information from the individual history, test findings, clinical examination, and further psychosocial assessment. The treatment should be directed toward the individual mathematical problem areas. The mean effect size found across all intervention trials was 0.52 (95% confidence interval [0.42; 0.62]). Treatment should be initiated early on in the primary-school years and carried out by trained specialists in an individual setting; comorbid symptoms and disorders should also receive attention. Persons with dyscalculia are at elevated risk of having dyslexia as well (odds ratio [OR]: 12.25); the same holds for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and for other mental disorders, both internalizing (such as anxiety and depression) and externalizing (e.g., disorders characterized by aggression and rule-breaking).

CONCLUSION

Symptom-specific interventions involving the training of specific mathematical content yield the best results. There is still a need for high-quality intervention trials and for suitable tests and learning programs for older adolescents and adults.

[Differential diagnosis of primary and secondary mathematical learning disability – indications from the dyscalculia test Basis-Math 4–8]

Studies in children with AD(H)D without mathematical learning disability (MLD) as well as studies on the effects of methylphenidate on arithmetic have shown that most deficits in mathematics and most error types commonly described as specific to developmental dyscalculia (e. g., finger-counting, fact-retrieval deficit, complex counting, difficulties with carry/borrow procedures, self-corrections) cannot be classified as such and should thus not be used for the differential diagnosis of primary dyscalculia and secondary MLD. This article proposes using the overall score in the dyscalculia test Basis-Math 4-8 (Moser Opitz et al., 2010) as well as implausible subtraction errors as a marker for dyscalculia and the number of self-corrections made during the test as a cognitive marker for attention deficits. Hierarchical cluster analyses were calculated in a sample of 51 clinically referred children with normal IQ and suspicion of MLD, using IQ, years of schooling, overall score of the Basis-Math 4–8 and number of self-corrections in this test as variables. The results revealed a subgroup with primary dyscalculia as well as three subgroups with secondary MLD (two with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, one with depression and one small subgroup with high IQ). In conclusion, the Basis-Math 4–8 (Moser Opitz et al., 2010) can offer substantial information for the differential diagnosis of dyscalculia and secondary deficits in mathematics due to attention problems and enable optimization of treatment decisions for the different groups.

Bewegtes Lernen numerischer Kompetenzen

Zusammenfassung. Nicht nur in Konzepten wie der Bewegten Schule ist körperliche Bewegung zur Unterstützung des Lernens von großer Bedeutung. Inzwischen liegen erste empirische Befunde zum positiven Einfluss spezifischer körperlicher Bewegungen vor, wie zum Beispiel dem Einsatz der Finger beim Erstrechnen oder dem Laufen entlang eines Zahlenstrahls. Diese aktuellen Studien deuten darauf hin, dass Bewegung den Erwerb numerischer Konzepte unterstützen kann. Neue bewegungssensitive Eingabemedien (z. B. Tanzmatte, Kinect Sensor) ermöglichen nicht nur solche Bewegungen in der Interaktion mit einer Lernumgebung, sondern machen diese mess- und damit spezifisch nutzbar. Dadurch können Trainings realisiert werden, die gezielt den Zusammenhang von Zahlen und Raum und damit für die Ausprägung des mentalen Zahlenstrahls relevante Prozesse trainieren. Die Entwicklung solcher Trainings ist von besonderer Bedeutung, weil der mentale Zahlenstrahl wichtig für eine erfolgreiche numerisch-mathematische Entwicklung zu sein scheint. In diesem Artikel stellen wir neben den theoretischen Grundlagen eine Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse verschiedener eigener Arbeiten zu verkörperlichten numerischen Trainings vor.

Lernschwierigkeiten. Wie man einen pädagogisch-psychologischen Dauerbrenner immer wieder aufs Neue befeuern kann

Zusammenfassung. Ausgehend von definitorischen Überlegungen werden Häufigkeiten und Ursachen von Lernschwierigkeiten thematisiert sowie Erkenntnisse über evidenzbasierte Interventionen. Neben bereichsspezifischen Dysfunktionen gelten für Minderleistungen beim Lesen und in der Rechtschreibung sowie im Rechnen Defizite in bereichsübergreifenden kognitiven Grundfunktionen als ursächlich. Metaanalysen weisen auf eine Überlegenheit symptomspezifischer Interventionsmaßnahmen im Vergleich zu symptomunspezifischen Funktionstrainings hin. Mit dem Konzept der Instruktionsresponsivität (RTI) und einer Hinwendung zu formativer (Lernverlaufs-)Diagnostik existiert eine Alternative zur herkömmlichen Kategorisierungsdiagnostik.

Interventions for Children With Mathematical Difficulties

The purpose of this study was to meta-analyze the effectivity of interventions for children with mathematical difficulties. Furthermore, we investigated whether the fit between characteristics of participants and interventions was a decisive factor. Thirty-five evaluation studies that used pre-post-control group designs with at least 10 participants per group were analyzed. Using a random-effects model, we found a high, significant mean effect ( [Formula: see text] = 0.83) for the standardized mean difference. Moreover, a significant effect was found for studies that used direct or assisted instruction, that fostered basic arithmetical competencies, and that used single-subject settings. Effect size was not moderated by administration mode (computer-based vs. face-to-face intervention) or by whether interventions were derived from theory. Interventions for children with at-risk dyscalculia were effective on average. Results of the fit between characteristics of the participants and intervention characteristics are provided. In summary, mathematics interventions are found to be effective for children with mathematical difficulties, though there was a high effect size variance between studies.

Developmental dyscalculia

Numerical skills are essential in our everyday life, and impairments in the development of number processing and calculation have a negative impact on schooling and professional careers. Approximately 3 to 6 % of children are affected from specific disorders of numerical understanding (developmental dyscalculia (DD)). Impaired development of number processing skills in these children is characterized by problems in various aspects of numeracy as well as alterations of brain activation and brain structure. Moreover, DD is assumed to be a very heterogeneous disorder putting special challenges to define homogeneous diagnostic criteria. Finally, interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology, neuroscience and education can contribute to the design for interventions, and although results are still sparse, they are promising and have shown positive effects on behaviour as well as brain function.

CONCLUSION

In the current review, we are going to give an overview about typical and atypical development of numerical abilities at the behavioural and neuronal level. Furthermore, current status and obstacles in the definition and diagnostics of DD are discussed, and finally, relevant points that should be considered to make an intervention as successful as possible are summarized.