A team of researchers at University College London (UCL) are interested to know about the support for mathematical development at home and school for children with Down syndrome and children with Williams syndrome aged between 5 and 11 years old.
The current study investigates and compares what parents/caregivers and school staff (teachers and teaching assistants) consider to be the key issues in supporting mathematical abilities and learning for children with Down syndrome and those with Williams syndrome.
This information will be collected through a short (15 minute) online questionnaire. The online questionnaire will cover questions in three main areas:
- The strengths and difficulties in mathematics for children with Down syndrome and Williams syndrome
- What parents and school staff use at home or school to support mathematical learning
- Potential challenges and/or supports in implementing a mathematical intervention at home or school.
Participants can access the questionnaire through a smartphone, tablet, or computer via an anonymous link.
We are looking for parents/caregivers as well as teachers and teaching assistants working with children with Down syndrome between the age of 5 and 11 years. Findings from this study will help inform a follow-up research project, which will involve the collaboration of parents, teachers, and researchers in creating a maths intervention.
Click the image below to download the flyer for parents:
How to find out more and get involved
Contact details:
Social media
Survey link
Research team
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Unta Taiwo is a first year PhD student with 18 years’ experience as a teacher in education. Her interests are in child development and measuring the success of carefully designed interventions. For her PhD she is co-designing a maths intervention to improve learning outcomes for children with Down syndrome and children with Williams syndrome. |
Erica Ranzato is a third-year PhD student. Since 2016 she has collaborated with families, therapists, and school staff to support the development of number skills of students with DS. One of her research interests is the development of mathematical abilities of individuals with developmental disorders. | Dr Jo Van Herwegen is the director of the Child Development and Learning Difficulties lab at University College London. Jo’s research focuses on improving educational outcomes and wellbeing for typically developing children and those with Special Educational Needs using evidence from cognitive and developmental psychology as well as neuroscience. |
Michael S. C. Thomas is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck University of London. Michael is one of the Principal Investigators for UK’s largest Down syndrome study: Neurocognitive phenotypes of infants with Down syndrome: potential to predict protective/risk markers for Alzheimer’s disease. |