Naming speed as a clinical marker in predicting basic calculation skills in children with specific language impairment

The present study investigated the role of naming speed in predicting the basic calculation skills (i.e., addition and subtraction) of kindergartners with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), when compared to a group of Normal Language Achieving (NLA) children. Fifty-three kindergartners with SLI and 107 kindergartners with NLA were tested on cognitive, linguistic and basic calculation skills. The results showed that phonological awareness, grammatical ability, general intelligence and working memory accounted for the variation in the basic calculation skills of both groups. However, an additional effect of naming speed on both addition and subtraction was found for the group of children with SLI, suggesting that naming speed may act as a clinical marker in identifying those children who are likely to develop problems in basic calculation skills.

► We examine the role of naming speed in basic calculation skills of children with SLI and their peers with NLA.
► Kindergartners with SLI have lower basic calculation skills than NLA children.
► Naming speed can be seen as a clinical marker in predicting the basic calculation skills of children with SLI.