Capabilities and limitations of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder in terms of mastering numeracy skills

Abstract

The first part of the article briefly reviews studies on the mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Inconsistencies in the image of the mathematical aptitudes of this group of children have been revealed. One of the studies found that children with ASD with an average IQ score show higher math skills compared to children with the same IQ without ASD. The other study shows that there were no significant differences in the early numeracy skills among preschoolers. The differences reappeared after a year, when the children were re-examined when they were already first graders. Children with ASD in all examined areas scored lower than typically developing children. However, despite the generally lower scores obtained by the children with autism compared to the control group, the scores of children with ASD were within the average range. Therefore, the main purpose of the presented research was to find out the level of the mathematical skills in preschoolers diagnosed with ASD. The research used diagnostic experiments created by Edyta Gruszczyk-Kolczyńska (Gruszczyk-Kolczyńska, Zielińska, 2013). 36 children aged 3 to 6 were examined, including 18 children with ASD and 18 children in the broadly understood intellectual norm. It has been shown that out of 18 children diagnosed with ASD, every fourth preschooler shows the level of the numeracy and calculation skills well above their age (four examined children – one five-year-old and 3 six-year-olds). At the same time, in some of the examined children, significantly lower level of mathematical abilities was observed compared to children in the broadly understood intellectual norm (even 2–3 years of delay in the level of numeracy and calculation skills). The results of the presented studies can help to adapt the learning process to the intellectual potential of the surveyed children and to plan corrective or supportive actions.