Led by professor Marie Coppola, the investigation evaluated children aged three to seven on their grasp of the cardinal principle, which establishes that the last number counted equals the group's total. Participants were tested on tasks including accurate counting, counting physical objects, and grouping specific quantities. Across these assessments, deaf children exposed to American Sign Language from birth achieved scores indistinguishable from hearing peers raised with spoken English. The evidence confirms that early immersion in any fully accessible language, rather than hearing ability, directly drives early quantitative understanding.
Key points
Early exposure to a fully accessible language provides the essential foundation children…: Early exposure to a fully accessible language provides the essential foundation children need to connect symbols with numerical quantities.
Deafness itself does not inherently restrict or delay a young child's ability to develop…: Deafness itself does not inherently restrict or delay a young child's ability to develop early mathematical skills.
The study challenges long-held assumptions by confirming that spoken language is not requ…: The study challenges long-held assumptions by confirming that spoken language is not required to establish fundamental numeracy concepts.
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A child points to three colourful fish and is asked a simple question: how many are there? The answer may seem easy, but understanding what the number three actually represents is an important step in early mathematical development. A new study suggests that deaf children can develop this understanding at a level comparable to hearing children when they have access to language from birth. The research, published in the journal *Child Development*, highlights how early communication can shape the way children learn numbers, regardless of whether they use a spoken or signed language.
Led by Marie Coppola, a professor of psychological sciences and linguistics at the University of Connecticut, the study examined 178 children between approximately three and seven years old. The findings challenge the assumption that spoken language is necessary for children to develop early maths skills.
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