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Dr. Anna J. Wilson is a postdoctoral researcher whose speciality is dyscalculia and numerical cognition. She is a Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, and an associate member of the NUMBRA (Numeracy and Brain Development) Network.
From 2003-2006 she worked with Stanislas Dehaene at U562, INSERM (Paris, France) on a project to design, develop and test remediation software for dyscalculia. This software, called "The Number Race" is open-source and can be downloaded for free here. It appears to be most useful for younger children (ages 5-8).
Anna recently moved home to Auckland, New Zealand, where she recently gained funding for a two-year study on co-morbidity of dyscalculia and dyslexia, in collaboration with Karen Waldie. (See news section for more information). Prior to working in France, Anna gained her PhD and MS from The University of Oregon (USA), with a dissertation on numerical and spatial cognition in adults, and a supporting area on special education in mathematics. She did her BSc at the University of Auckland, spending the last year on exchange at The University of California: Berkeley.
Anna became interested in dyscalculia through her love of psychology, cognitive science and numerical cognition, but also due to personal experiences. Growing up she knew two very intelligent individuals who also happened to have specific learning disabilities (dyslexia and dyscalculia). This experience taught her how little help and recognition there is for learning disabilities, but at the same time how much potential those affected have - after much effort on their own part, both of these people went on to gain tertiary qualifications and have successful careers.
Publications on dyscalculia
(English)
Wilson, A. J. & Dehaene, S. (2007). Number sense and developmental dyscalculia. Coch, D., Fischer, K, & Dawson, G. (Eds). Human Behavior and the Developing Brain (2nd Edn). [PDF]
Dehaene, S., Molko, N., Cohen, L. & Wilson, A. J. (2004). Arithmetic and the brain. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 14, 218-224. [PDF]
Wilson, A. J., Dehaene, S., Pinel, P., Revkin, S. K., Cohen, L. & Cohen, D. (2006). Principles underlying the design of “The Number Race”, an adaptive computer game for remediation of dyscalculia. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 2(19). [PDF]
Wilson, A. J., Revkin, S. K., Cohen, D., Cohen, L. & Dehaene, S. (2006). An open trial assessment of “The Number Race”, an adaptive computer game for remediation of dyscalculia. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 2(20). [PDF]
Cohen, L., Wilson, A. J., Izard, V. & Dehaene, S. (2007). Acalculia and Gerstmann’s Syndrome. In: Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology of Stroke; Eds: O Godefroy & J Bogousslavsky. Cambridge University Press. [PDF]
(French)
Wilson, A. J. (2006). Dyscalculie développementale: L’approche “neurocognitive”. Annals de la Fondation Fyssen. [PDF]
Molko, N., Wilson, A. J. & Dehaene, S. (2004). Dyscalculie, le sens perdu des nombres. La Recherche, 379, 42-47. [PDF]
Molko, N., Wilson, A., & Dehaene, S. (2005). La dyscalculie développementale, un trouble primaire de la perception des nombres. Médecine et Enfance, 1-6.