A Study On The Development Of Early Mathematical Ability And Its Influencing Factors In Children With Autism

Famous mathematician Gauss once said,"Mathematics is the queen of sciences." Mathematics plays a crucial role in individual cognitive development and has made significant contributions to human civilization.Modern society increasingly values the education of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD),and mathematics is one of the subjects that deserves particular attention for this group.Early math ability in children not only predicts future math achievement but also has far-reaching effects on their lives and careers.Among the many factors that influence children’s math ability,cognitive factors are worth exploring,which can be divided into domain-specific abilities and domain-general abilities.Therefore,this study focused on 3-7-year-old children with ASD,conducting two studies to investigate their early math ability and influencing factors.Study 1 used the Test of Early Mathematics Ability(TEMA-3)to examine the development status of early math ability in children with mild,moderate,and severe ASD and age-matched typically developing children.Study 2 built on Study 1 by testing domain-general abilities(such as executive function,language,spatial ability,and intelligence)and domain-specific abilities(such as approximate number system)that may affect early math ability in children.This study included two experiments:Experiment 1 used Bayesian factor analysis to identify key predictors of early math ability in children with ASD,while Experiment 2 constructed a path model based on the key predictors identified in Experiment 1.The results showed that:(1)Children with ASD had deficiencies in early math ability and other cognitive abilities,and the degree of deficiency increased with the severity of symptoms;(2)Key predictors of early math ability in children with ASD included language ability,intelligence,and working memory;(3)Working memory not only directly predicted early math ability in children with ASD but also significantly predicted it through the mediating effects of language ability and intelligence.This study discovered deficiencies in early math ability in children with ASD and explored the mechanism of its influencing factors.It suggests that special education practitioners should strengthen training interventions in working memory and also pay attention to the important roles of language ability and intelligence when providing mathematical education for children with ASD,helping them improve their math ability and reduce the possibility of math learning difficulties.