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A longitudinal study of the role of fingers in the development of early number and arithmetic skills in children with Apert syndrome

Hilton, Caroline; (2024) A longitudinal study of the role of fingers in the development of early number and arithmetic skills in children with Apert syndrome. Journal of Anatomy , 245 (6) pp. 914-929. 10.1111/joa.14111. Green open access

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Abstract

This paper discusses a longitudinal study with children with Apert syndrome aged between 4 and 11 years. There has long been an interest in the role of fingers in the development of early number skills and arithmetic. As children with Apert syndrome are born with complex fusions of their fingers, they have to undergo several surgical procedures in order to obtain individuated fingers. This has implications for their finger mobility and finger awareness. It has been suggested that children with Apert syndrome have specific difficulties with early number and arithmetic activities. The findings from this study suggest that engaging children with Apert syndrome in activities that develop finger awareness (finger gnosis) and finger mobility (fine motor skills) may have a positive impact on their ability to engage with appropriate mathematics curricula at school. This is relevant to all those involved in the care of children with Apert syndrome and will be of particular relevance to those involved in early childhood and primary education. This study also provides new insights into the role of finger use in the development of skills and understanding in early number and arithmetic.

Type: Article
Title: A longitudinal study of the role of fingers in the development of early number and arithmetic skills in children with Apert syndrome
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/joa.14111
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14111
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author(s), 2025. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Apert syndrome, arithmetic, counting, early number, finger gnosis, fine motor skills working, memory
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10211415
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