Mathematical skills assessment in children with Downs syndrome and typical development

Abstract:

Mathematical knowledge is considered essential for anyone to have an independent life and is considered a discipline it is difficult to learn for both people with normal development, as well as those with intellectual disabilities. This study assessed the math skills of 11 children with Downs Syndrome (DS) and 10 typically developing young people, aged six and ten years both in discrete and continuous aspects. A survey procedure for basic math skills was developed and applied. There was the creation of the instrument in the form of a protocol, and a test. The results indicate the lowest performance of participants with Downs syndrome compared to those with typical development. Such lower performance can be linked to difficulties in skills requiring attention, memory, reasoning, and abstraction and are fundamental to academic learning in general.

Keywords:
Intellectual Disability; Math Skills; Early Childhood Education; Special Education; Down's syndrome