Dyscalculia, characterized by deficits in number sense and calculation skills, affects approximately 5–7% of the population and often persists into adulthood. A team from the University of Barcelona and the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) has developed and validated a digital serious game to address mathematical difficulties in children with this disorder in the early and middle stages of primary education.
The study results, published in the journal Applied Neuropsychology: Child, show that the program significantly improves mathematical performance. According to the researchers, it is the first method developed in Spanish and Catalan for the treatment of dyscalculia and mathematical difficulties that has demonstrated effectiveness with scientific evidence.
The study, carried out under a Recercaixa project, is led by Josep Maria Serra-Grabulosa, professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology and researcher at the UB Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro), together with Sergi Grau, researcher at the UVic-UCC’s Faculty of Science and Technology. Both experts are also the driving force behind Neurekalab, a spin-off involving the two universities whose aim is to develop and commercialize digital tools to improve learning and prevent school failure.
A complex disorder with mathematical and cognitive deficits
The program developed by the research team, called NeurekaNUM, is specifically designed to assess and identify students at risk of dyscalculia, as well as to intervene in this difficulty. To validate its effectiveness, the researchers applied the game to a group of 19 children from first to third grade of primary education with developmental dyscalculia, a disorder that includes not only mathematical difficulties but also associated cognitive deficits such as attention, spatial working memory, and processing speed. “It is important to bear in mind that developmental dyscalculia is a complex specific learning disorder that involves multiple cognitive functions and abilities,” emphasizes Serra-Grabulosa.
To address this issue, the game works on different domains of numerical processing and structures the activities around three main objectives: automating numerical representations; supporting the development of and access to the mental number line; and training arithmetic operations and reasoning. “In this way, we cover a broad spectrum of numerical processing, including the verbal, visuospatial, executive, and magnitude domains,” says the UB researcher.
Each objective is addressed through a set of activities incorporating symbolic, non-symbolic, or combined stimuli, whose difficulty increases progressively according to daily performance. “In the study intervention, each child’s daily activities were selected manually, based on the accuracy and speed achieved in each task, but currently the serious game pathway adapts to game results through different machine learning algorithms,” notes Serra-Grabulosa.
Four-month-long intervention
After four months of intervention — structured into five weekly sessions of just 15 to 20 minutes each — children with dyscalculia showed significant improvement in all areas, with the exception of digit transcription under dictation. In contrast, the control group — which had no disorder and did not receive any intervention — showed no improvement during this period, which would indicate stability in the mathematical performance over time, reinforcing the idea that the improvements observed in the group with dyscalculia are attributable to the intervention and not to the simple passage of time or natural maturation. “These findings show the effectiveness of early and intensive interventions based on serious games for addressing basic numerical deficits in children with developmental dyscalculia,” emphasizes the researcher.
The results also highlight the advantages of implementing serious games in the context of dyscalculia intervention. “These benefits can be attributed to the unique ability of serious games to integrate motivational engagement, adaptive feedback mechanisms, and contextualized learning experiences — elements that are particularly relevant for addressing the cognitive and behavioural profiles of children with this disorder,” the authors stress.
Versions for schools, families, and professionals
Currently, the researchers, through Neurekalab, are collaborating with schools in Catalonia and other parts of Spain, following the Finnish model, which emphasizes providing educational centers with tools for early detection and intervention. Within this framework, the project team has developed a serious game that easily adapts to classroom technology — laptops, tablets, and computers — allowing each child to follow their own learning pace autonomously.
The researchers highlight that the tool does not replace the methodology schools use to teach mathematics. “Each school works with the method that best suits its needs, and we offer them a screening tool to obtain a cognitive profile and a specific tool to improve performance,” they say.
Additionally, they have created a version for families, so children can work independently from home, and a version for professionals to assist in the diagnosis of dyscalculia. “It is important to keep in mind that this is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is sometimes masked by other diagnoses such as ADHD or dyslexia,” notes Serra-Grabulosa.
Furthermore, the researcher highlights that tools for screening and intervention in reading difficulties have also been developed. “Together with the assessment of attention and working memory, Neurekalab provides a cognitive evaluation tool for all of primary education,” he concludes.