Dyscalculia
working with numbers.
What is dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty in understanding and working with numbers. Dyscalculia comes from the Greek ‘dys’ meaning bad and the Latin ‘calculare’ meaning to calculate.
One of the current definitions of dyscalculia is:
Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities.
Mathematics difficulties are best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and they have many casual factors. Dyscalculia falls at one end of the spectrum and will be distinguishable from other maths issues due to the severity of difficulties with number sense, including subitising, symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude comparison, and ordering. It can occur singly but often co-occurs with other specific learning difficulties, mathematics anxiety and medical conditions.
Many people who have dyscalculia also have another learning difficulty such as dyslexia and/or dyspraxia. Unfortunately knowledge and awareness of dyscalculia is still far behind that of dyslexia. You may even find that your child’s teacher has never heard of it. But, the good news is that for children with dyscalculia, even though they may have a harder time learning maths, it is possible.
How can it affect me?
Dyscalculia can affect many aspects of daily life. Basic maths skills and concepts are all around us, not only in the classroom. It is important to realise that people experience dyscalculia in different ways and therefore the areas that they struggle with can vary from one person to the next.
Money
Problems can include:
- calculate change
- create and stick to a budget
Time
Problems can include:
- reading the time
- struggle to make appointments
Direction
Problems can include:
- reading maps
Sport
Problems can include:
- counting incorrectly in board games
Money
Problems can include:
- calculate change
- create and stick to a budget
Time
Problems can include:
- reading the time
- struggle to make appointments
Direction
Problems can include:
- reading maps
Sport
Problems can include:
- counting incorrectly in board games
What are the most common signs of dyscalculia?
Your child started counting later than most children
Your child took more time to memorise the numerals
Your child struggles to remember basic maths facts
Your child often miscounts items
Your child finds it difficult to split up numbers
Your child counts items one by one rather than in groups
Your child cannot learn their times tables
One day your child seems to 'get it' but the next day it is like they have never seen it before
Are maths anxiety and dyscalculia the same?
Maths anxiety is not dyscalculia. However, the majority of people who have dyscalculia will also have maths anxiety as they fear maths. Often if someone suffers from maths anxiety, it can appear that they have dyscalculia as many of the outward signs are very similar. For both people with dyscalculia and those with maths anxiety, it is important to address the maths anxiety and understand how the anxiety can impact the ability to do maths.
How can a tutor help my child with dyscalculia?
Identify specific aspects of maths that need to be addressed
A dyscalculia specialist tutor will use diagnostic reports (from specialists) alongside informal assessments to identify the areas of maths that a student needs to consolidate. For students with extremely poor number sense, this will initially be looking at the numbers 1 to 10 and composing and decomposing (splitting up) the numbers. Learning dot patterns (arrangements of numbers to help with visualisation) and number bonds facts to 10 and 20.
Use of manipulatives
One of the main areas that dyscalculic people struggle with is poor number sense. For this reason, providing lots of different opportunities to explore the nature of numbers, compare the sizes of numbers, see how different numbers relate to each other, is vital. One particularly effective way to do this is to use manipulatives (physical equipment).
Play games
Research has shown that practising it is more effective to learn number facts, etc through playing games rather than by doing many calculations on a worksheet. This is because, while a person is playing a game, they are focusing on having fun rather than worrying about the maths. It is only when the brain is feeling safe that learning can start to take place.
Making connections clear
People with dyscalculia struggle to make connections between the different areas of maths. Therefore, they are trying to learn all these separate facts and it is just too much. However, when the connections between the areas are clearly highlighted and explored in different ways, this makes it much easier. Furthermore, rather than relying on memory for learning times tables, by understanding what a times table is and how the different parts are related to each other, dyscalculics are able to work out their facts rather than relying on rote memory.
There are several organisations in Australia and the UK which have more information about dyscalculia, including information about how to get an assessment for your child. Click on the links to find out more.
