title: Can we predict mathematical learning disabilities from symbolic and non-symbolic comparison tasks in kindergarten? Findings from a longitudinal study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The ability to compare numbers, as the most basic form of number sense, has been related to arithmetical achievement.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study addressed the predictive value of non-symbolic and symbolic (number word (NW) and Arabic number (AN)) comparison for arithmetics by means of a longitudinal design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen children with mathematical disabilities (MD), 64 low achievers (LA), and 315 typical achieving (TA) children were followed from kindergarten till grade 2.
  
  
  METHODS
  The association of comparison skills with arithmetical skills in grades l and 2 was studied. The performances of MD, LA and TA children were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression analyses showed that non-symbolic skills in kindergarten were predictively related to arithmetical achievement 1 year later and fact retrieval 2 years later. AN comparison was predictively related to procedural calculation 2 years later. In grade 2, there was an association between both symbolic tasks and arithmetical achievement. Children with MD already had deficits in non-symbolic and symbolic AN comparison in kindergarten, whereas in grade 2 the deficits in processing symbolic information remained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of non-symbolic and symbolic deficits represents a risk of developing MD.
authors.affiliation: University Ghent, Belgium. desoete@ugent.be
authors.forename: Annemie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desoete
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ceulemans
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Weerdt
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pieters
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D011594:Psychometrics; D013561:Symbolism