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Individuals with Mathematics Learning Disabilities have persistent mathematics underperformance but vary with respect to their cognitive profiles. The present study examined mathematics ability and achievement, and associated mathematics-specific numerical skills and domain-general cognitive abilities, in young children with Turner syndrome compared to their matched peers. We utilized two independent peer groups so that group comparisons would account for verbal skills, a hypothesized strength of girls with Turner syndrome, and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison skills, a hypothesized difference of girls with Turner syndrome. This individual matching approach afforded characterization of mathematics profiles of girls with Turner syndrome and girls without Turner syndrome that share potential key features of the Turner syndrome phenotype. Results indicated differences in mathematics ability and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison tasks between girls with Turner syndrome and peers with similar levels of verbal skill. Mathematics ability and mathematics achievement scores of girls with Turner syndrome did not differ significantly from their peers with similar levels of accuracy on a nonsymbolic magnitude comparison task. Cognitive correlates of mathematics outcomes showed disparate patterns across groups. These quantitative and qualitative differences across profiles enhance our understanding of variation in mathematics ability in early childhood and inform how mathematics skills develop in young children with or without Turner syndrome.

Individuals with Mathematics Learning Disabilities have persistent mathematics underperformance but vary with respect to their cognitive profiles. The present study examined mathematics ability and achievement, and associated mathematics-specific numerical skills and domain-general cognitive abilities, in young children with Turner syndrome compared to their matched peers. We utilized two independent peer groups so that group comparisons would account for verbal skills, a hypothesized strength of girls with Turner syndrome, and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison skills, a hypothesized difference of girls with Turner syndrome. This individual matching approach afforded characterization of mathematics profiles of girls with Turner syndrome and girls without Turner syndrome that share potential key features of the Turner syndrome phenotype. Results indicated differences in mathematics ability and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison tasks between girls with Turner syndrome and peers with similar levels of verbal skill. Mathematics ability and mathematics achievement scores of girls with Turner syndrome did not differ significantly from their peers with similar levels of accuracy on a nonsymbolic magnitude comparison task. Cognitive correlates of mathematics outcomes showed disparate patterns across groups. These quantitative and qualitative differences across profiles enhance our understanding of variation in mathematics ability in early childhood and inform how mathematics skills develop in young children with or without Turner syndrome.

Background The number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood. Aims This large‐scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of genes and environments on: (1) individual variation in number line estimation and (2) the covariation of number line estimation with mathematics. Samples We used over 3,000 8‐ to 16‐year‐old twins from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Russia, and a sample of 1,456 8‐ to 18‐year‐old singleton Russian students. Methods Twins were assessed on: (1) estimation of numerical magnitudes using a number line task and (2) two mathematics components: fluency and problem‐solving. Results Results suggest that environments largely drive individual differences in number line estimation. Both genes and environments contribute to different extents to the number line estimation and mathematics correlation, depending on the sample and mathematics component. Conclusions Taken together, the results suggest that in more heterogeneous school settings, environments may be more important in driving variation in number line estimation and its association with mathematics, whereas in more homogeneous school settings, genetic effects drive the covariation between number line estimation and mathematics. These results are discussed in the light of development and educational settings.