An Individualized Numeracy Curriculum for Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Single Blind Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Research investigating structured, comprehensive numeracy curricula appropriate for children with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) is limited. We conducted a pilot study focused on an adaptation of the Maths Recovery program. Twenty four elementary school children with severe ID or autism were randomly allocated into the intervention and control groups. For 12 weeks, children in the intervention group received individualized numeracy teaching based on the adapted Maths Recovery curriculum, whereas children in the control group received "mathematics as usual" teaching. Pre- and post- intervention tests on standardized numeracy measures were conducted. Children were successfully recruited into the study, parents were willing for their child to be randomised to one of the arms of the study, and the vast majority of children were retained to follow-up. Analysis of data from outcome measures indicated that the Maths Recovery group made improvements at post-intervention in comparison to the control group. A follow-up test showed that gains were maintained 7 months after the end of the intervention. These pilot results support the case for a definitive research trial of the adapted Maths Recovery intervention.