Atypical trajectories of number development: a neuroconstructivist perspective

Despite the fact that number deficits are as prevalent as literacy deficits, research on basic numerical skills lags seriously behind the successful studies identifying low-level deficits in dyslexia. We review current debates on number, discussing how the competing theories pertain to mathematical disabilities in normal children and numeracy deficits in genetic disorders. We stress the need to consider these issues within the framework of a developing system rather than from the neuropsychological perspective of focal damage. The earlier the exploration of atypical trajectories in very basic numerical skills, the better we will be able to chart their developmental impact on subsequent, higher-level arithmetic abilities.