Category Archives: 500 SOL Learning & Language

2026 Active Learning WINTER Intensive Program Registration

Date: December 16, 2025 (Tue) ~ February 28, 2026 (Sat) - A total of 11 weeks

A legacy of treating learning difficulties through psychological intervention since Dr. Witmer in 1896
The Tree Group’s Active Learning Team
offers small yet meaningful breakthroughs
for children and parents who have struggled to see progress
in language aquisition and learning.
the Tree Group l School of Life - Active Learning Center

2026 Active Learning WINTER Intensive Registration

For the past 20 years, the Tree Group’s Active Learning Program emerged from working with children and adolescents whose learning, language, and emotional–behavioral difficulties deeply interconnected. When substantial effort across various educational services does not lead to meaningful change, it is often because underlying clinical factors require a deeper level of psychological, psycho-educational, or neuropsychological intervention. For these children, understanding how learning challenges and emotional–behavioral patterns shape one another, and identifying the precise points at which functional difficulties arise, is essential in developing a treatment plan that is both responsible and effective.
 
The Active Learning Program integrates clinical treatment with specialized psycho-educational strategies designed to support children with delayed language development, limited learning progress, or complex developmental needs. Rather than focusing solely on surface-level concerns such as grades or observable behaviors, we work to understand each child’s underlying language, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. This approach allows us to identify the child’s clinical trajectory and to design a treatment plan that is individualized, data-driven, and therapeutically meaningful.
 
The Active Learning Winter Intensive Program provides a chance to engage in this clinical approach in a more concentrated and immersive setting. Throughout the program, children strengthen language development, individualized learning skills, and self-regulation abilities, while practicing emotional and behavioral strategies within real, everyday contexts. The daily routine—built around each child’s individualized plan—is not limited to academic improvement. Instead, it is designed to promote balanced, coordinated growth across interconnected domains including cognitive, neuropsychological, emotional, behavioral, social, and functional development.
 
At the core of the Tree Group’s philosophy is a commitment to respecting each child’s unique developmental rhythm and learning style. Every child learns differently, and every child progresses at their own pace. By integrating data from professional psycho-educational assessments with ongoing clinical observations, we help children establish meaningful turning points in their development, supporting progress that is measurable, stable, and aligned with their long-term well-being.
 
The Active Learning Winter Intensive Program is not simply aimed at improving academic abilities. It is a comprehensive, clinically grounded program designed to understand and strengthen the whole child—their development, functioning, and ability to engage with the world. For more than twenty years, our program has offered children and families a consistent, trustworthy, and professionally guided clinical framework, opening new directions and possibilities for those who have not found sufficient support elsewhere.
 

 

Program Registration Information
 
Date
December 16, 2025 (Tue) ~ February 28, 2026 (Sat) [11 weeks]
* For the WINTER Intensive Program, the participation period may vary for each student due to school or individual schedules.
 
Schedule
5 days a week from Tuesday to Saturday / 5 or 6 hours per day
 
Weekly Program Structure
Clinical therapy sessions: 1 hour (or more, depending on the individual)
Active learning sessions: 12-15 hours
Learning behavior modification sessions and self-directed learning (ABCMM): 9-14 hours
Total of 25-30 hours per week
Since the program is tailored to individuals, the time allocation may vary.
 
Registration inquiries
info@thetreeg.com / 02-557-8823
 
For more details about the Active Learning Program, you can visit the website below.
School of Life – Active Learning Center Main Website: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/
Choose Active Learning Programs: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/solprogram/
Recent News from the Active Learning Center: https://thetreeg.com/ko/lou/learninglanguage/solb/
 
The Tree Group / Active Learning Center

2025 Active Learning SUMMER Intensive Program Registration

Date: June 17, 2025 (Tue) ~ September 13, 2025 (Fri) - A total of 13 weeks

A legacy of treating learning difficulties through psychological knowledge since Dr. Witmer in 1896
The Tree Group’s Active Learning Team
does not turn away from children who have lost all hope,
and brings small miracles to children and parents
who have long struggled with delayed language and learning.
the Tree Group l School of Life - Active Learning Center

2025 Active Learning SUMMER Intensive Registration

Over 120 Years of Treating Learning Difficulties Through Psychology

More than 120 years ago, Dr. Lightner Witmer of the University of Pennsylvania—widely known as a pioneer of American psychology—was heartbroken to discover that many young students were facing severe learning difficulties in school. He began scientifically assessing their intellectual and psychological challenges, and through the clinical-scientific methods of his time, offered step-by-step treatment and customized learning plans tailored to their individual needs.

The Tree Group’s Active Learning Program

The Tree Group’s Active Learning Program supports children suffering from delayed language development, attention deficits, emotional and behavioral disorders, developmental delays, and difficulties in social functioning. Our program empowers these children to build a new life.

Unlike standard educational curricula, the Active Learning psycho-educational program has two key differences.

A Psycho-educational Program is a Clinical Treatment Program

The Active Learning Program is rooted in psychology and designed as a clinical treatment program. Every participant undergoes a comprehensive psycho-educational assessment and an initial diagnostic interview to precisely measure cognitive, intellectual, academic, language, emotional-behavioral, and neuropsychological functioning.

These psychological data are not only used to understand the child’s current academic level but also to diagnose functional difficulties in each domain. Based on this, we develop and apply individualized psycho-educational strategies that serve both treatment and learning goals.

A Small Miracle: Restoring Laughter and Curiosity to a Child’s Eyes

 

 

Program Registration Information
 
Date
June 17, 2024 (Tue) ~ September 13, 2025 (Fri) [13 weeks]
* For the SUMMER Intensive Program, the participation period may vary for each student due to school or individual schedules.
 
Schedule
5 days a week from Tuesday to Saturday / 5 or 6 hours per day
 
Weekly Program Structure
Clinical therapy sessions: 1 hour (or more, depending on the individual)
Active learning sessions: 12-15 hours
Learning behavior modification sessions and self-directed learning (ABCMM): 9-14 hours
Total of 25-30 hours per week
Since the program is tailored to individuals, the time allocation may vary.
 
Registration inquiries
info@thetreeg.com / 02-557-8823
 
For more details about the Active Learning Program, you can visit the website below.
School of Life – Active Learning Center Main Website: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/
Choose Active Learning Programs: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/solprogram/
Recent News from the Active Learning Center: https://thetreeg.com/ko/lou/learninglanguage/solb/
 
The Tree Group / Active Learning Center

2025 Active Learning Winter Intensive Program Registration

Date: December 17, 2024 (Tue) ~ February 28, 2025 (Fri) - A total of 11 weeks

An opportunity to unleash children's boundless imagination and stories
the Tree Group l School of Life - Active Learning Center

2025 Active Learning Winter Intensive Registration

 
To create an opportunity for children to explore their boundless imagination and tell their own stories, The Tree Group Active Learning Program will launch the Winter Intensive Program on December 17th. The goal of the Active Learning Program is to help children who suffer from learning delays due to conditions such as language acquisition delays, attention deficit, behavioral or emotional disorders, developmental delays, or social problems to transition to a new school and lead a more normal life. We diagnose the psychological issues and symptoms children have through comprehensive psychological education assessment, as well as their language development and learning status. We then systematically treat and educate on these issues. 
 
2025 Active Learning Winter Intensive Program Information
 
The goal of the Active Learning Program is to enable children suffering from behavioral or emotional disorders, such as language acquisition delays and attention deficits, learning delays due to developmental or social issues, to transition to a new school and lead lives as close to normal as possible. The comprehensive psycho-educational assessment clearly diagnoses the psychological issues, symptoms, language development, and learning status the children face, and systematically addresses and educates these challenges.
 
School of Life: Introducing student A‘s story
 
Child A, born in the English-speaking world and raised in a bilingual environment, experienced clinically significant anxiety and depression due to language developmental delays and learning difficulties. A faced various challenges, including easily losing focus during study sessions and having difficulty grasping mathematical concepts.
The comprehensive psycho-educational assessment identified A’s main tasks as enhancing language skills, working memory, and fluid reasoning abilities. Based on this, a meticulous psycho-educational strategy was implemented, allowing A to foster essential skills and achieve gradual growth.
 
Although A initially struggled to express emotions, learning various emotional vocabulary words and recognizing and articulating their feelings helped A gradually develop the ability to express their inner self through language.
Moreover, through psycho-educational strategies, A’s receptive language skills improved, and methods were applied to help grasp abstract concepts through practical experiences. For instance, by enacting Aesop’s fables, A could identify their emotions and comprehend the underlying messages of each story.
 
While A had difficulty mastering basic mathematical concepts, a structured psycho-educational strategy enabled A to gradually acquire essential mathematical skills needed in daily life. As small achievements accumulated in mathematical learning, A’s confidence visibly increased, leading to enhanced motivation for learning. These positive changes significantly impacted A’s academic performance.
 
We hope that the 2025 Winter Intensive Program will allow children to use their strengths to share their own stories. If you have any questions or wish to register for the Winter Intensive Program, please feel free to contact us at any time. We will be happy to assist you.
Program Registration Information
 
Date
December 17, 2024 (Tue) ~ February 28, 2025 (Fri) [11 weeks]
* For the Winter Intensive Program, the participation period may vary for each student due to school or individual schedules.
 
Schedule
5 days a week from Tuesday to Saturday / 5 or 6 hours per day
 
Weekly Program Structure
Clinical therapy sessions: 1 hour (or more, depending on the individual)
Active learning sessions: 12-15 hours
Learning behavior modification sessions and self-directed learning (ABCMM): 9-14 hours
Total of 25-30 hours per week
Since the program is tailored to individuals, the time allocation may vary.
 
Registration inquiries
info@thetreeg.com / 02-557-8823
 
For more details about the Active Learning Program, you can visit the website below.
School of Life – Active Learning Center Main Website: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/
Choose Active Learning Programs: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/solprogram/
Recent News from the Active Learning Center: https://thetreeg.com/ko/lou/learninglanguage/solb/
 
The Tree Group / Active Learning Center

Minseop ChoiㅣActive Learning Coordinator, Active Learning Center / the Tree Group

What if a Delay in English Acquisition Leads to a Shy, Silent Personality?: Overcoming Emotional Instability with Oral Language Developmental Delays

Confident with a loud voice, the child reads English passages, showing more accurate English pronunciation than before with an appropriate speed, demonstrating even more fluent reading.

김예경ㅣYekyung Kim, BSc.

Student A, who transferred from a Korean elementary school to an English-speaking school and then back to a Korean school, did not achieve satisfactory learning outcomes in the English-speaking school.

 

In English cognitive assessments, the child showed language skills corresponding to the average level in English-speaking environments, while demonstrating high language skills in Korean cognitive assessments. However, it was confirmed that the child was achieving very low levels of performance in short-term memory and oral language components, especially in the oral language aspect.

 

This low level of oral language acquisition issues appears to be a common problem found in children with English language delays that our institution and Dr. Cho have been consistently discovering over the past 20 years. This seems to stem from underdevelopment or maldevelopment of relevant language areas in the brain from birth. This problem cannot be overcome simply through repetitive learning; instead, it leads to serious emotional and behavioral problems due to the rigid Korean-style education system.

 

In the initial stages of treatment, the child lacked confidence in English overall, read quietly, and could not express their opinions clearly. The child looked overwhelmed when reading English passages, struggled to understand them, and could not clearly and confidently explain their thoughts. Attempts were made to overcome these issues through conventional educational methods over 2-3 years, but it led to emotional issues such as depression and anxiety, hindering the development of independent thinking and delaying not only English acquisition but also normal personality development.

 

The ability to confidently read aloud from a book is a prerequisite for proficient English reading comprehension. Therefore, it is important for children and adolescents with insufficient English reading and comprehension abilities to understand the correspondence between letters and sounds. Especially in English, where the correspondence between letters and sounds is irregular, and the same spelling can be pronounced in various ways or spelled differently, it is not easy to grasp these rules without proper guidance in English reading development education.

 

To address the child’s confidence issues and develop the essential correspondence between letters and sounds in English reading development, the following psycho-educational strategies were researched and implemented:

 

In clinical sessions, the child’s problems related to low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority about English acquisition were addressed by raising awareness of their emotions. These issues were then treated behaviorally through a scientific approach.

 

During psycho-educational sessions, the Words-Voice Connection Strategy for the child was developed to help them connect their voice with the letters, allowing them to hear the teacher’s pronunciation while visually pointing to the letters and connecting them with sounds. Additionally, to enhance pronunciation and articulation, the Loud Voice Strategy was directly applied to strengthen the child’s own voice.

 

The Confident Reading Comprehension Strategy was applied to help the child regain confidence by checking their understanding of what they read aloud and providing detailed explanations for parts they did not understand, helping them comprehend and progress through English texts confidently.

 

These therapeutic strategies have been implemented for about 6 months now.

 

Now, the child reads English passages confidently with a loud voice, and their English pronunciation has become more accurate than before. They maintain an appropriate speed, demonstrating even more fluent reading.

 

“If we set a scale where 1 means “do not understand” and 10 means “fully understand”, how much do you understand now?”

 

“Before I think I was at 0 because I didn’t understand anything at school, but now it’s 8.”

 

Through consistent practice in English reading, we anticipate that the child will be able to enjoy learning at school with a joyful heart!

 

 

Yekyung Kim, Active Learning Coordinator, Active Learning Center / The Tree Group

2024 Active Learning Winter Intensive Program Registration

Date: December 13, 2023 (Tue) ~ February 24, 2024 (Sat) - A total of 11 weeks

An opportunity to unleash children's boundless imagination and stories
the Tree Group l School of Life - Active Learning Center

2024 Active Learning Winter Intensive Registration

To create an opportunity for children to explore their boundless imagination and tell their own stories, The Tree Group Active Learning Program will launch the Winter Intensive Program on December 13th. The goal of the Active Learning Program is to help children who suffer from learning delays due to conditions such as language acquisition delays, attention deficit, behavioral or emotional disorders, developmental delays, or social problems to transition to a new school and lead a more normal life. We diagnose the psychological issues and symptoms children have through comprehensive psycholo-educational assessment, as well as their language development and learning status. 


School of Life: Introducing a student’s story from the STREAM program.

From birth, child A was exposed to three different languages and, due to the impact of COVID-19, had difficulty in language development as he couldn’t see other people’s lip movements behind masks. Other people’s inability to understand his speech led to communication difficulties and child A experienced frustration and emotional regulation difficulties.


The comprehensive psycho-educataional assessment showed that the child’s strengths were working memory and English listening skills. Based on this, the team developed indivdiualised psychological education strategies to help the child actively use his strengths. The strategies involved reading picture books at the child’s language level to improve receptive language skills and devised strategies to expand his imagination and develop his thoughts by encouraging him to express curiosity about the content of the books. Additionally, the child was encouraged to practice writing and pronouncing the key vocabulary from the picture books, resulting in an increase in the child’s confidence in language.


Through behavioral therapy, the child was able to improve his ability to attend to the teacher’s lip movements and received training in emotional regulation strategies, which helped reduce problem behavior. The child no longer inappropriately expressed frustration and did not refuse to learn. Through the Active Learning Program, the child was able to identify and utilize his strengths to receive treatment for his clinical behavioral problems.


Through the 2024 Winter Intensive Program, we hope that children can use their strengths to tell their own stories. If you have any questions or would like to register for the Winter Intensive Program, please feel free to contact us at any time.


Date: December 13, 2023 (Tue) ~ February 24, 2024 (Sat) [11 weeks]
* For the Winter Intensive Program, the participation period may vary for each student due to school or individual schedules.


Schedule
5 days a week from Tuesday to Saturday / 5 or 6 hours per day

Weekly Program Structure
Clinical therapy sessions: 1 hour (or more, depending on the individual)
Active learning sessions: 12-15 hours
Learning behavior modification sessions and self-directed learning (ABCMM): 9-14 hours
Total of 25-30 hours per week
Since the program is tailored to individuals, the time allocation may vary.


Registration inquiries: info@thetreeg.com / 02-557-8823

For more details about the Active Learning Program, you can visit the website below.
School of Life – Active Learning Center Main Website: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/


Choose Active Learning Programs: https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/solprogram/
Recent News from the Active Learning Center: https://thetreeg.com/ko/lou/learninglanguage/solb/

The Tree Group / Active Learning Center

김예경ㅣ액티브러닝 코디네이터, 액티브러닝 센터 / 더트리그룹

LOU-23-10 EN SOL Post Contents

A Dog and A Boy

Picture

According to many academic studies, learning disorders in young children can be expressed in various forms. It is said that in the learning situation where visual and auditory skills are used, one might wonder if a child is suffering from a learning disability.

"Children who have difficulty with visual processing face problems with visual discrimination, visual memory, or visual closure of letters and words."

- Happy Dog

Happy Dog and Happy Boy

Children who have difficulty with visual processing face problems with visual discrimination, visual memory, or visual closure of letters and words. Young children’s visual processing and subsequent spelling problems are considered one of the early signs of learning disorders and pose the risk of leading to reading disorders. On the other hand, children who have difficulty with auditory processing have problems with speech recognition, auditory discrimination, auditory memory, and auditory arrangement and mixing. For children who start learning to read, the listed difficulty can pose a potential threat to reading as a whole.

Much of the learning depends on whether the language has been well acquired, and for young children, language acquisition plays a vital role in developing the ability to think and understand abstract concepts during the development process. According to researchers, language acquisition problems with which were not dealt at an early age can cause bigger problems.

The usual cases in which one can doubt whether a child is experiencing language-related learning problems include if the child speaks too little or not at all at a certain age, or has difficulty using grammar or syntax correctly, a significantly lower vocabulary related to learning, and a low understanding of verbal language. The psychological and psycho-educational approach at our “Active Learning Center” is delicately addressed based on such academic theory.

Post in Online HOW
Tagged DBT 

During the pendemic, Dr. Cho and his team in Korea reached to people who are in great psychological assistance.

School of Life – Spring Term Registration

the Tree Group ㅣActive Learning Center Specialists

The Tree Group’s Active Learning Program will mark the Spring Term on 14th March, during which the children with language development, English acquisition problems, and emotional behavior problems can welcome the upcoming season with excitement.

 

The ultimate goal of Active Learning Program is to analyze children’s difficulties in depth through the comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation and develop the detailed psycho-educational strategies, allowing them to discover and acquire ways to learn by modifying their behavioral problems.

 

School of Life: Here’s a story of a child participating in our Active Learning Program.

 

“Child A, who is attending an English-speaking school, was unable to concentrate on class without confidence. As a result of the evaluation of bilingual comprehensive psycholo-educational evaluation, it was found that despite his excellent intellectual skills, it was difficult to understand the contents of school classes due to poor early English development.

 

The Tree Group’s Active Learning Program, we observed, applied, and helped Child A to acquire the individualized psycholo-educational strategies. As a result, my child started understanding lessons at school and shared what he enjoyed learning with his parents.”

 

School of Life is an opportunity to change children’s lives and futures.

 

If you want to register for the spring semester or have any questions, please contact us and we will kindly guide you.

 

Spring semester period: 2023.03.14 (Tue) to 2023.06.10 (Sat) [13 weeks]

 

More information about the active learning program can be found on the website below.

 

– School of Life – Active Learning Center Link

– Active Learning Program Link

– Active Learning Center Latest Updates

 

The Tree Group/Active Learning Center

 

info@thetreeg.com 02-557-8823

2023 Active Learning Winter Intensive Program

“Some parents with children who have language development and acquisition delays
and/or emotional and behavioral difficulties come to our clinic,
and they say that the number of medication is growing
but the children do not get better.

I have to calmly explain to them that the children will not get better immediately.
I have to explain that it takes time
because the children have developed secondary symptoms already
on top of their initial language or learning difficulties.

Our School of Life | Active Learning Center is a special place just for those children.
Accepting the child’s current conditions calmly,
developing and implementing neuropsychological routes to treat the developmental delay.

Some of the children who came to us are now looking forward to going to college.
They have completed college preparation which seemed impossible in the beginning.

We invite parents and children who want to make small miracles
through our 2023 Winter Intensive Program."
Yong Cho | Clinical Psychologist, the Tree Group / School of Life Active Learning Center

2023 Active Learning Winter Intensive Psycho-educational Program

When the bright, kind child who was exposed to English at birth came to the clinic for the first time, he did not answer other people’s questions and showed signs of depression. According to his comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation, his English development was delayed and he showed difficulties in phonemic awareness and phonetic recognition. 

 

School of Life – Active Learning Center’s team of clinicians developed individualized psycho-educational strategies and implemented them. Consequently, the child started being aware of the sounds of different letters and the word meaning. He no longer presents with a quiet voice. His loud, confident voice echoes in the clinic. He is now happily conversing with teachers and parents without avoiding challenges and continues to develop his own strategies like a hero.

 

The Tree Group’s Active Learning Programs aim to help children’s developmental, emotional, behavioral difficulties and to improve their learning behavior by stimulating their language acquisition. The ultimate goal is to evaluate the child’s difficulties through a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation and to develop individualized behavioral strategies, so that the child can have the problem behaviors treated and acquire independent learning habits. If you are interested in the program, please find the details below. 

Date
2022.12.13(Tue) ~ 2023.02.25(Sat) [11 weeks]

 

*The program period may vary depending on the child’s school or personal winter break schedule.

 

Schedule

• 5 days per week from Tuesday – Saturday / 5 or 6 hours per day

• Weekly program schedule

   ➞ Clinical session: 1 hour (or more than 1 hour considering the child’s condition)

   ➞ Active Learning Center: 12-15 hours

   ➞ Self-studying sessions (ABCMM): 9-14 hours

   ➞ Total of 25-30 sessions per week

 

Registration

• Due: 2022.11.29 (Tue)

• Payment due date: 2022.12.06 (Tue)

• For more information: info@thetreeg.com / 02-557-8823


• Online registration: 

2023 Active Learning Winter Intensive Program Registration

If you would like to know more information about our Active Learning program, please check the links below. 

 

Website links:

School of Life – Active Learning Center Main Homepage

https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/

 

Active Learning Programs Choose

https://thetreeg.com/ko/sol/solprogram/

 

Active Learning Center Recent News

https://thetreeg.com/ko/lou/learninglanguage/solb/

Yekyung Kim | Active Learning Coordinator, Active Learning Center / the Tree Group

English language development and building confidence: present what I learned with a loud voice like a hero

“How does phonemic awareness and phonetic recognition influence language development delay?

The importance of developing clinical strategies for treating language development delay"
Yekyung Kim, BSc.
“I’m going to present what I learned today in class.”
 

A loud voice echoes inside the clinic. The voice comes from a bright child who can confidently present what he learned in front of teachers, parents and friends. In the past year, the child has achieved many clinical and psycho-educational treatment goals.  

 

When the bright, kind child who was born in an English speaking country to the clinic for the first time, he did not answer other people’s questions and showed signs of depression. According to his comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation, his English development was delayed and he showed difficulties in phonemic awareness and phonetic recognition, which led him to have speech therapy for several years.

 

For example, he struggled to differentiation the sounds of /r/ and /th/ in words. He showed confusion in phonemic awareness and phonetic recognition, exacerbating his English language acquisition. He needed an individualized strategy to recognize phonetics and its relation to English alphabet letters. 

 

School of Life – Active Learning Center’s team of clinicians developed individualized psycho-educational strategies and implemented them. Consequently, the child started being aware of the sounds of different letters and the word meaning. 

 

As the child started developing his English language further, he was able to learn academic contents in English and was now capable of presenting what he learned in class.

 

Although he could present confidently in front of teachers, he was passive and dazed when he was asked to present in front of other people. Our behavioral analysis discovered a certain behavioral pattern. When he was given a difficult question or a challenging task, adults around him answered the question and completed the task for him. His repeated patterns of low self-esteem and helplessness was caused by other people’s constant helping behavior. 

 

A language development delay can lead to secondary symptoms such as emotional, behavioral difficulties. Therefore, it is important that psychological treatments target both language development and behavioral difficulties at the same time. Once the child acquired the class materials, exposure therapy strategies were used for him to overcome challenging situations.

 

During his presentations, he read the English letters and words that he wrote, processed them, and pronounced them out loud to provoke his phonological awareness. Consequently, he was able to improve his problem behaviors. 

He no longer presents with a quiet voice. His loud, confident voice echoes in the clinic. He is now happily conversing with teachers and parents without avoiding challenges and continues to develop his own strategies like a hero.

Yekyung KimㅣActive Learning Coordinator, Active Learning Center / the Tree Group

Dyscalculia – Part IV: Heritability and the effects of brain damage on numerical abilities

"If identical twins are found to be sufficiently more concordant than fraternal twins,
then there is a significant contribution of genetic factors."
By Seonghae Jeon, M.P.A.

Before we come up with implementation methods through which we can utilize to effectively intervene the learning process of dyscalculic children, we should know what actually causes this condition to occur.

 

It is well-known that there is a specific genetic effect on standardized test of math and that school performance on all the measures is affected by shared environment for the effects of domain-general cognitive abilities. However, there is very little evidence that dyscalculia is inherited or unchanging, and for most people, it is congenital; they are born with the condition.

 

To find evidence that dyscalculia may be inherited, psychologists and researchers conducted studies on twins by comparing the variance in the concordance of identical twins and fraternal twins to get an estimate of heritability. The assumption was, if the concordance is the same between the two groups of twins, then there is little or no contribution of heritability; if identical twins are found to be sufficiently more concordant than fraternal twins, then there is a significant contribution of genetic factors. 

 

Through multiple studies over several decades, they concluded that there was a moderate to significant level of genetic influence on children’s mathematical ability along with their reading and linguistic abilities and IQ. They also stressed that a highly correlated factor called “generalist genes” affect all aspects of cognitive ability and disability and that non-shared, environmental influences operate as specialists and contribute to being bad at math.

 

In summary, continuity is genetic and change is environmental: age-to-age stability is primarily mediated genetically, whereas the environment contributes to change from age to age.  

 

Other studies show that arithmetical impairments and core deficits have been observed in many genetic conditions, including but not limited to, Turner’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Williams Syndrome.

 

Children born very preterm ( more than 32 weeks) or extremely preterm ( less than 26 weeks) or with very low birth weight ( less than 1.5kg) are likely to show poorer academic performance at school especially at math and there appears to be a domain-specific deficit. Though there is no direct, cause-and-effect relationship between such birth conditions and incidence of dyscalculia, we may conclude that disturbance to pregnancy can lead to dyscalculia.  

 

We must keep in mind that simply being bad at math is not a symptom of dyscalculia. Knowing that more research needs to be done to learn what causes dyscalculia to occur, how can we diagnose a child with dyscalculia and on what base?  

 

Butterworth, B., (2018). Science of Dyscalculia. 1st ed. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315538112