ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on intervention for mathematics deficits. Their emphasis is on first through fourth grade, when serious mathematics deficits are established and identification of mathematics disabilities (MD) often occurs. The authors also focus on arithmetic, word problems, and fractions because they represent three major curriculum topics in the elementary grades. They begin by providing background on these three aspects of mathematical cognition. The authors then summarize the literature on the intervention of arithmetic, word-problem, and fraction difficulties. Using this literature, they derive principles for effective intervention and illustrate these principles with an arithmetic intervention program. The authors discuss salient issues concerning MD and its intervention. The first issue is whether difficulty with arithmetic represents a bottleneck for successful performance with other mathematics skills and for students with MD. With arithmetic improvement, students with MD evidenced no improvement in solving word problems. The second issue concerns subtyping of MD. The final issue concerns MD intervention.
