title: Distinctive Role of Symbolic Number Sense in Mediating the Mathematical Abilities of Children with Autism.
abstract: Despite reports of mathematical talent in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about basic number processing abilities in affected children. We investigated number sense, the ability to rapidly assess quantity information, in 36 children with ASD and 61 typically developing controls. Numerical acuity was assessed using symbolic (Arabic numerals) as well as non-symbolic (dot array) formats. We found significant impairments in non-symbolic acuity in children with ASD, but symbolic acuity was intact. Symbolic acuity mediated the relationship between non-symbolic acuity and mathematical abilities only in children with ASD, indicating a distinctive role for symbolic number sense in the acquisition of mathematical proficiency in this group. Our findings suggest that symbolic systems may help children with ASD organize imprecise information.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.|Human Centered Design and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiniker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford, CA, 94305-5778, USA. miriamrl@stanford.edu.|Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. miriamrl@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenberg-Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford, CA, 94305-5778, USA. menon@stanford.edu.|Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. menon@stanford.edu.|Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. menon@stanford.edu.|Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. menon@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Vinod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Menon
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics
keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Math ability; Number sense