The Counting Abilities of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Abstract

This study examined the counting abilities of preschool children with specific language impairment compared to language-matched and mental-age-matched peers. In order to determine the nature of the difficulties SLI children exhibited in counting, the subjects participated in a series of oral counting tasks and a series of gestural tasks that used an invented counting system based on pointing to body parts. Despite demonstrating knowledge of many of the rules associated with counting, SLI preschool children displayed marked difficulty in counting objects. On oral counting tasks, they showed difficulty with rote counting, displayed a limited repertoire of number terms, and miscounted sets of objects. However, on gestural counting tasks, SLI children’s performance was significantly better. These findings suggest that SLI children have a specific difficulty with the rote sequential aspect of learning number words.

Impact of Language Abilities on Exact and Approximate Number Skills Development: Evidence From Children With Specific Language Impairment

“…For instance, Fazio (1996Fazio ( , 1999 found that children with SLI evaluated at the age of 7 were still less efficient three years later. Furthermore, they made more errors and were slower than age-matched children at solving more complex calculation problems, and they tended to use a higher proportion of immature calculation strategies (e.g., finger counting) for a longer period of time than their age-matched peers (Cowan et al, 2005;Donlan et al, 2007;Fazio, 1994Fazio, , 1996Koponen et al, 2006). Nonetheless, the language components which were used to perform these tasks were not clearly identified.…”

“…for a longer period of time than their age-matched peers (Cowan et al, 2005;Donlan et al, 2007;Fazio, 1994Fazio, , 1996Koponen et al, 2006). Nonetheless, the language components which were used Number Skills in Children with SLI 8 to perform these tasks were not clearly identified.…”

“…The ability of the children with SLI to manipulate the verbal counting sequence is also less developed than that of their peers matched for chronological age, as indicated by a difficulty to count up from a given number to any other given number and to count backwards (Cowan, Donlan, Newton, & Lloyd, 2005;Donlan, Cowan, Newton, & Lloyd, 2007;Fazio, 1996;Koponen, Mononen, Rasanen, & Ahonen, 2006). Despite the limitation of their verbal counting sequence, children with SLI know however that one and only one number word must be assigned to each counted object in a set, and that the number word applied to the last object in the set represents the quantity of objects of the set (Camos, Fayol, Lacert, Bardi, & Laquière, 1998;Fazio, 1994). This indicates that the understanding of the counting principles is preserved in children with SLI and suggests a lag between their verbal and conceptual development.…”

Cognitive predictors of single-digit and procedural calculation skills and their covariation with reading skill

“…Fluent and accurate counting is demanded to form associations in long-term memory between the problem presented and the answer and in helping to shift from counting-based strategies to fact retrieval, which is the fastest calculation strategy. Children with language impairment have also been found to have severe difficulty in counting (Donlan et al, 2007;Fazio, 1994Fazio, , 1999Koponen et al, 2006), which, in turn may explain their delay in developing calculation skill (Donlan et al, 2007). In addition, both counting and fact retrieval skills may share common processes (Donlan et al, 2007).…”

Number Skills and Knowledge in Children With Specific Language Impairment.

“…Fazio (1994Fazio ( , 1996Fazio ( , 1999 suggests that working memory deficits are mainly responsible for the deficits in counting and knowledge of number facts that children with SLI show.…”