Abstract
Numerical abilities are fundamental in our society. As a consequence, poor numerical skills might have a great impact on daily living. This study analyzes the extent to which the numerical deficit observed in young adults with Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) impacts their activities of everyday life. For this purpose, 26 adults with DD and 26 healthy controls completed the NADL, a standardized battery that assesses numerical skills in both formal and informal contexts. The results showed that adults with DD had poorer arithmetical skills in both formal and informal settings. In particular, adults with DD presented difficulties in time and measure estimation as well as money usage in real-world numerical tasks. In contrast, everyday tasks regarding distance estimation were preserved. In addition, the assessment revealed that adults with DD were aware of their numerical difficulties, which were often related to emotional problems and negatively impacted their academic and occupational decisions. Our study highlights the need to design innovative interventions and age-appropriate training for adults with DD to support their numerical skills as well as their social and emotional well-being.
Highlights
This study investigated the extent to which the numerical deficit observed in adults with Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) impacts their activities of everyday life
Our findings confirm that formal numerical deficits in people with developmental dyscalculia do not resolve with age
The present findings suggest that, no formal diagnosis or clinical assessment of the deficit was made during their childhood, the participants with DD were generally aware of their numerical deficits in adulthood
Summary
The ability to deal with numbers is fundamental in our modern society. From managing money to remembering PIN numbers or codes, numerical skills are continuously needed during an adult’s daily life. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-5) edited by the American Psychiatric Association, people with DD have mathematical skills substantially and quantifiably below those expected for the individual’s chronological age in the domain of number sense (processing and understanding quantities), arithmetical facts retrieval, calculation, and mathematical reasoning [4] These mathematical difficulties have the following characteristics: (1) persist for at least 6 months, despite the provision of specific interventions; (2) appear during school age and can last until adulthood, interfering with the individual’s academic or occupational performance; (3) cannot be explained as a consequence of brain damage or diseases, neurogenetic disorders, premature birth, visual or hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities, or poor psychoeducational stimulation [4]
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