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Arithmetic skills and their cognitive correlates in children with acquired and congenital brain disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2005

LAUREN K. AYR ,
KEITH OWEN YEATES  and
BENEDICTA G. ENRILE
LAUREN K. AYR
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Center for Biobehavioral Health, Columbus Children's Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio
KEITH OWEN YEATES
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Ohio Center for Biobehavioral Health, Columbus Children's Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio
BENEDICTA G. ENRILE
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Ohio Section of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
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Abstract

Arithmetic skills and their cognitive correlates were studied in 24 children with myelomeningocele and shunted hydrocephalus (MM), 27 children with severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and 26 children with orthopedic injuries (OI). Their average age was 11.56 years (SD = 2.36). They completed the WRAT–3 Arithmetic subtest and a subtraction task consisting of 20 problems of varying difficulty, as well as measures of working memory, declarative memory, processing speed, planning skills, and visuospatial abilities. The MM group performed more poorly on the WRAT–3 Arithmetic subtest and the subtraction task than the other two groups, which did not differ from each other on either measure. The groups did not differ in the number of math fact errors or visual-spatial errors on the subtraction task, but the MM group made more procedural errors than the OI group. The five cognitive abilities explained substantial variance in performance on both arithmetic tests; processing speed, working memory, declarative memory, and planning accounted for unique variance. Exploratory analyses showed that the cognitive correlates of arithmetic skills varied across groups and ages. Congenital and acquired brain disorders are associated with distinct patterns of arithmetic skills, which are related to specific cognitive abilities. (JINS, 2005, 11, 249–262.)

Keywords

ArithmeticChildrenBrain disorder
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , May 2005 , pp. 249 - 262
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

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