Time processing in children with mathematical difficulties

Time processing is a fundamental ability in everyday living that improves with age. It has been suggested that time processing may be related to the representation of quantity and therefore with mathematical difficulties, but the relationship and, in particular, the implications of different time intervals are still unclear. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between mathematical abilities and the ability to reproduce time intervals of different lengths to test whether children with mathematical difficulties would also exhibit temporal impairment especially when long time intervals are involved. Twenty children with mathematical difficulties and twenty matched children without difficulties were administered a time reproduction task using short standard intervals (500 ms, 1000 ms, and 1500 ms) and long standard intervals (4 s, 9 s, and 14 s). Results showed lower temporal abilities in children with mathematical difficulties, which were particularly evident when the standard intervals were long, thus supporting the hypotheses of a relationship between mathematical and time processing abilities and of distinct systems to process time.