Performance Profile Analysis in Calculation Difficulties
Emiliano Pizzicannella, Pierluigi Abbruzzese, Elena Aldinucci, Christina Bachmann, Pierluigi Zoccolotti
The study evaluated the applicability of single-case statistics to examine the presence of significant deficits in different mathematical skills, and to compare the various performances of the same subject to highlight any performance dissociations. Participants: six girls suspected of calculation disorder were examined and given five tests from the BDE2 Battery for Developmental Dyscalculia, Writing Numbers; Insertions; Mental Calculations; Written Operations; and Mental Multiplication. The individual response profile was analysed using the T-test (Crawford and Howell, 1988) to identify a deficit in each mathematical area, and the BSDT (Crawford and Garthwaite, 2007) to compare performance in different mathematical skills in the same child. The integrated use of these two tests made it possible to show both dissociated profiles and a girl with a general disorder. Classifying performance differences according to the terminology proposed by Crawford and Garthwaite (2005) into classic or strong dissociations allows us to quantify the heterogeneity typical of arithmetic skills disorder. How single-case statistics may prove useful in planning targeted rehabilitation interventions is discussed.
Keywords
Calculation disorder, Disorder of arithmetic skills, Dissociation, Single cases, Diagnosis.
