Session 9, Individual Papers: School and School Age Group

Systematic review of mathematical abilities in Down syndrome

Unta Taiwo¹, Vic Simms², Michael S. C. Thomas³, Jo Van Herwegen¹

1. Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, London, UK
2. School of Psychology. Ulster University.
3. Centre for Educational Neuroscience. Birkbeck, University of London.

Contact: unta.taiwo.14@ucl.ac.uk

Understanding the mathematical abilities of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and what abilities relate to good mathematical abilities has been of increasing interest since the 1980s (Casey et al., 1988; Caycho et al., 1991; Gelman, 1988; Lister et al., 1989). Recently, several review papers have attempted to systematically synthesize this topic to examine the ability of individuals with DS to discriminate magnitudes (Porter, 2019), how mathematical abilities in DS compare to other populations (King et al., 2017) and what mathematical interventions might be successful (Lemons et al., 2015). However, reviews thus far have not considered how abilities change over age and time. Furthermore, there is a need for studies to focus on the underlying mechanisms associated with mathematical abilities in DS across the developmental trajectory. This systematic review addresses these gaps and reviews what types of mathematical skills in DS have been examined, the nature of mathematical development in DS, the quality of research, and identified further gaps. Our pre-registered (https://osf.io/gcqxv/?view_only=693c2bd13ea541fba3f13a7c39ef25f5) systematic review has identified 45 articles that will be summarized. Of the fifty studies 3149 individuals with DS participated across the studies, ages ranged from 2 to 53 years (mean age = 11,7 years). Counting was the most common outcome measure used in 47% of the studies, followed by magnitude comparison (38%) and then arithmetic (27%). Five studies examine the relationship between different domain-specific abilities, whereas 9 studies (20%) investigate associations between domain-general and -specific abilities. We will present the theoretical and practical implications from these findings.

Evaluating the Maths For Life program for students with Down Syndrome: A pilot study

Karen McGuigan¹, Katie Gilligan-Lee², Holly Snellgrove³ , Jo Van Herwegen⁴

1. Founder and Author of the Maths For Life program (learn@mathsforlife.com).
2. School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Ireland (katie.gilligan-lee@ucd.ie)
3. School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guilford (holly.snellgrove@surrey.ac.uk)
4. Department for Psychology and Human Development, IOE UCL's Faculty of Education and Society. (j.vanherwegen@ucl.ac.uk)

Contact: j.vanherwegen@ucl.ac.uk

Background: Maths is key for independent living, and it is more than just adding and subtracting and memorizing times-tables. Maths should be part of everyday life. Although, there is very little information on mathematical performance, beyond arithmetic skills, in young people with Down Syndrome (DS), most studies have found that mathematical abilities are delayed. Maths For Life program is an intervention programme specifically designed for individuals with DS. This study explored whether the Maths For Life program can improve the mathematical abilities of hose with DS compared to a business as usual control group.

Methods: Participants included 32 children and young people with Down syndrome aged 5 to 24 years (Mage = 155 months, SD = 69.6). The study had a pre-post intervention design with an intervention group (n=15) who completed the Maths For Life programme and a business as usual control group (n=17) who completed their normal in school mathematics classes. Both groups completed a mathematics assessment before and after the 4-month intervention period. Overall accuracy, independence and non-attempt scores were calculated at both time points.

Results: Although here were no differences for accuracy or non-attempt scores, the intervention group had higher independence scores compared to the business as usual control group, after controlling for age and Time 1 scores.

Conclusions: This first pilot study shows that Maths For Life programme can help individuals with DS to develop their mathematical abilities beyond what is delivered in a typical curriculum. However, we will discuss the role of age as well as the need for future studies with independent mathematical abilities.

Developing social inclusion for pupils with Down syndrome: A feasibility project

Sam Wood¹, Kate Dale¹ and Rebecca Baxter¹

1. LETS Go UK, Hampshire, UK

Contact: swood@letsgouk.org

Background: Education best-practice guidelines highlight the importance of equal access and participation in extra-curricular and social activities, including lunch and break times (Faragher et al., 2020). Participation in these activities is essential in order to build friendships and develop social skills (Cuckle & Wilson, 2002). A UK survey of educational experiences of pupils with Down syndrome in the UK reported pupils with Down syndrome in primary and secondary school in the UK were reported to receive a high level of adult support at break and lunch times (Hargreaves et al, 2021).

Research Questions: The aims of this feasibility study were 1) to investigate the play times and lunch times of pupils with Down syndrome in mainstream junior school (Year 4-5), 2) to improve the social opportunities and interactions with peers at these times and 3) reduce the amount of adult support provided at these times.

Method: A total of 10 schools were recruited from Hampshire and the surrounding boarders. At the beginning of the study each school identified 3-4 Friendship Ambassadors (pupils from the participating class including a pupil with Down syndrome). Each school completed questionnaires and carried out observations of break/lunchtimes. In addition, Friendship Ambassadors completed child friendly questionnaires. At the end of the study the observations and questionnaires were repeated.

Results: Results showed an overall increase in the amount of time pupils with Down syndrome spent interacting with peers. In. addition, an improvement in asking to play, initiating communication and asking questions was reported for the pupils with Down syndrome as well as a reduction in the amount of adult support provided.

Conclusions: Pupils with Down syndrome benefit from structured activities and supports for communication to facilitate peer interaction and social inclusion at break/lunchtimes in schools.

The Experience of Irish-Medium and English-Medium Primary Schools for Children with Down Syndrome and their Parents

Catriona Kennedy (Doctorate student), Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

Contact: 20108214@micstudent.mic.ul.ie

Recent studies indicate that learners with Down syndrome can become competent bilinguals and biliterates. However, less is known about whether immersion education is a suitable and beneficial education setting for these learners, as previous studies have included participants from bilingual home backgrounds rather than students who acquire additional languages through school programmes. Underpinned by the transformative paradigm, this study aimed to investigate whether there were differences in the verbal communication of 13 primary school students with Down Syndrome who attend English-medium mainstream (N = 4), English-medium special setting (N = 5) and Irish-medium mainstream (N = 4) primary schools in Ireland. Additionally, the study aimed to gather the views of these students, and 13 linked parents, regarding their experiences of the aforementioned three types of primary schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parent participants to explore their experiences and to gather information regarding their child's verbal communication development. The Mosaic approach, including use of cameras and picture-story activities, was employed to investigate the experiences of child participants. A mixed-methods analysis of findings from parental interviews highlighted the influence of a range of bioecological factors on verbal communication development and that there were no significant differences between the verbal communication abilities of child participants attending the three types of primary schools. Themes generated in relation to parental experiences included choosing a primary school, parental responsibilities and fostering inclusion and facilitating success at primary school. Children's experiences, captured through photographs, interviews and picture-story activities, revolved around learning, relationships, important places and fun activities at primary school. The implications of the findings for practice and research are also presented.

Exploring speech and language therapy provision for children with Down syndrome and the use of teaching assistants to deliver intervention

Rebecca Baxter^1,2, Rachel Rees¹ and Alexandra Perovic^1,2

1. University College London, London, UK
2. LETS Go UK, Hampshire, UK

Contact: rbaxter@letsgouk.org

Background: Individuals with Down syndrome experience difficulties with a range of speech and language skills including; speech (e.g., Burgoyne et al., 2021), vocabulary acquisition (e.g., Berglund et al, 2001; Stoel-Gammon, 2001), pragmatic language skills (e.g., Abbeduto, 2008) and syntax (e.g., Frizelle et al., 2018), particularly morphosyntax (e.g., Chapman et al, 1998; Laws & Bishop, 2003).

Research questions: This study investigated the speech and language therapy provision for a group of children with Down syndrome aged 7-11 years based in Hampshire and the surrounding borders. In addition, the factors associated with gains on an intervention delivered by trained teaching assistants were explored.

Method: A total of 52 children with Down syndrome participated in a study evaluating an intervention targeting morphosyntax. Parents completed a background history questionnaire which asked for information about; the frequency of speech and language provision received, the speech and language therapy provider and the child's current speech and language targets. The intervention was delivered by trained teaching assistants who were visited fortnightly by a speech and language therapist. Each visit was recorded and the TA was scored on a scale of 1-4 on the following five criteria; organization, tailoring to individual needs, compliance, behavior, enjoyment.

Results: Therapy was most commonly provided by the NHS (51.4%), although the frequency of provision ranged dramatically (fortnightly-yearly). Therapy targets most commonly covered syntax (82.6%), vocabulary (69.6%) and speech (60.8%). A number of baseline measures were associated with gains on the intervention including non-verbal mental age, expressive language, word reading and letter sound knowledge. There was a significant correlation between TA mean scores and the intervention gains.

Conclusions: Speech and language therapy input covered a range of targets, however targets relating to morphosyntax were rare (only two participants). Teaching assistants were able to effectively deliver intervention targeting morphosyntax following training, supervision and guidance.

Parent choices regarding mainstream vs special education settings. An Internal Down Syndrome Ireland Research Project

Nicola Hart, Fidelma Brady Down Syndrome Ireland

Contact: Nicola@downsyndrome.ie

Increasing numbers of queries from families of children with Down syndrome regarding special classes and special schools suggests that progress towards mainstream education in Ireland is being eroded. In order to investigate this, DSI initially put a request out to all parents of children in any form of schooling aged between seven and 18 to attend an online focus group and discuss two key questions:

1. What factors influence their decision when considering the various schooling options?
2. What needs to change in order for them to feel confident that their child's needs could be met in a mainstream setting?

• 45 Parents expressed an interest in participating, and follow up information was sent by email.
• 29 parents responded with consent and preferred time of day.
• 17 Parents attended 5 small focus groups held online over two days, with daytime and evening options to facilitate as broad a range of participants as possible.

Conversations were transcribed and analyzed.

Key themes which emerged are being used to inform the design of a questionnaire to gather a larger number of responses.

Results will be analyzed and presented to education stakeholders in Ireland to better understand the reasons parents are opting for special education settings, and to inform changes needed to facilitate Ireland's goal for fully inclusive education under the UNCRPD and UNCRC.

Reduced Timetables and Reduced School Days. An Internal Down Syndrome Ireland Research Project

Fidelma Brady, Head of Education – Down Syndrome Ireland

Contact: fidelma@downsyndrome.ie

The issue of ‘reduced timetables' or ‘reduced school days' has been highlighted by our members over a number of years. We have been contacted by members whose children are only being offered school for an hour or two, or who are finishing at lunchtime every day. We are also aware of parents who are being phoned to collect their child early most days. Finishing school an hour or so early might not seem like a big issue, but over the course of a school year, that amounts to almost 200 hours of school missed. Children with Down syndrome need more time to learn, not less, and parents need to be aware that the Department of Education considers a reduced school day to be a rolling suspension which should only used as a last resort, and only when there is a plan to reintegrate.

In May 2019, the Oireachtas Joint Education Committee met to hear from advocacy groups, including representatives from Down Syndrome Ireland, about the issue of reduced school days. An interim report was issued in June 2019 on the Committee's Examination on the Current Use of Reduced Timetables. In October of the same year, we conducted research internally with members of Down Syndrome Ireland on their children's experiences with reduced timetables and reduced school days. Given that Guidelines have since been issued by the Department of Education (September 2021), we are currently engaging in a follow-up internal research project with our members. The purpose of this research is to compare current experiences for children with Down syndrome with reduced school days against the findings from our original research piece conducted in 2019.

Every child has the right to an education. The Department of Education has clear policies on how many hours a child needs to attend school, along with statutory procedures which schools must follow if the child misses too many days. From Junior Infants until the end of first class, children are entitled to at least 4 hours and 40 minutes of school each day including breaks. For the rest of primary school, a child is entitled to 5 hours and 40 minutes a day. At post primary school, the focus shifts to teaching time, and every student is entitled to 28 hours instruction per week (not including breaks and study time).

Findings from this current research will be shared with the Department of Education, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the Oireachtas Committees on Education & Progressing Disabilities.

The effect of retrieval practice on word learning in children with Down syndrome

Emily Croft, Laura Boundy, and Kelly Burgoyne

Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

Contact: kelly.burgoyne@manchester.ac.uk

Background: Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that involves deliberate recall of information. Considerable evidence points to the benefits of retrieval for learning and retention, including learning new words (e.g. Churches et al., 2020). Whilst much of this evidence comes from studies of typical development, recent evidence suggests retrieval practice may have similar benefits for clinical populations with language and/or memory impairments (Leonard et al., 2021; Felipe Rodrigues de Lima, 2020). The current study examines the effects of retrieval practice on word learning in children with Down syndrome.

Research Questions: Does retrieval hold a learning advantage over restudy for children with Down syndrome? Do children with Down syndrome benefit as much as or more than typically developing children? Are any benefits seen from retrieval still evident 1-week after learning? Are the advantages seen on different types of outcome measures?

Method: This is an online study in which children with Down syndrome (aged 8-12 years) and typically developing children (aged 4-6 years) are taught novel words using retrieval or restudy. Children are taught the label and a semantic feature for each item. Learning is tested using recall tasks administered 5-minutes after learning, and after 1-week, at which point a recognition task is also administered. Children also completed measures of vocabulary knowledge and sentence imitation.

Results: Data collection is ongoing for this study at the time of writing. Data will be presented and analyzed using a series of mixed-effect models comparing accuracy scores in each learning condition (retrieval vs restudy) and test session (5-min vs 1-week).

Conclusions: Conclusions and implications for theory and practice will be discussed. If findings suggest that retrieval benefits word learning in children with Down syndrome, it may provide better understanding of how children with Down syndrome learn language which would have significant practical implications.