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Dyscalculia is a term referring to
a wide range of life-long learning disabilities involving
math. There is no single form of math disability, and difficulties
vary from person to person and affect people differently in
school and throughout life.
Since disabilities involving math can
be so different, the effects they have on a person's development
can be just as different. For instance, a person who has trouble
processing language will face different challenges in math
than a person who has difficulty with visual- spatial relationships.
Another person with trouble remembering facts and keeping
a sequence of steps in order will have yet a different set
of math-related challenges to overcome.
Early Childhood:
Building a solid foundation in math
involves many different skills. Young children with learning
disabilities can have difficulty learning the meaning of numbers
(number sense), trouble with tasks like sorting objects by
shape, size or color; recognizing groups and patterns; and
comparing and contrasting using concepts like smaller/bigger
or taller/shorter. Learning to count, recognizing numbers
and matching numbers with amounts can also be difficult for
these children.
School-Age Children:
As math learning continues, school-age
children with language processing disabilities may have difficulty
solving basic math problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division. They struggle to remember and retain basic math
facts (i.e. times tables), and have trouble figuring out how
to apply their knowledge and skills to solve math problems.
Difficulties may also arise because
of weakness in visual-spatial skills, where a person may understand
the needed math facts, but have difficulty putting them down
on paper in an organized way. Visual-spatial difficulties
can also make understanding what is written on a board or
in a textbook challenging.
Teenagers & Adults:
If basic math facts are not mastered,
many teenagers and adults with dyscalculia may have moving
on to more advanced math applications. Language processing
disabilities can make it hard for a person to get a grasp
of the vocabulary of math. Without the proper vocabulary and
a clear understanding of what the words represent, it is difficult
to build on math knowledge.
Success in more advanced math procedures
requires that a person be able to follow multi-step procedures.
For individuals with learning disabilities, it may be hard
to visualize patterns, different parts of a math problem or
identify critical information needed to solve equations and
more complex problems.
Since math disabilities are varied,
the signs that a person may have a difficulty in this area
can be just as varied. However, having difficulty learning
math skills does not necessarily mean a person has a learning
disability. All students learn at different paces, and particularly
among young people, it takes time and practice for formal
math procedures to make practical sense.
If a person has trouble in any of
the areas below, additional help may be beneficial.
- Good at speaking,
reading, and writing, but slow to develop counting and math
problem-solving skills
- Good memory for
printed words, but difficulty reading numbers, or recalling
numbers in sequence
- Good with general
math concepts, but frustrated when specific computation
and organization skills need to be used
- Trouble with the
concept of time-chronically late, difficulty remembering
schedules, trouble with approximating how long something
will take
- Poor sense of
direction, easily disoriented and easily confused by changes
in routine
- Poor long term
memory of concepts-can do math functions one day, but is
unable to repeat them the next day
- Poor mental math
ability-trouble estimating grocery costs or counting days
until vacation
- Difficulty playing
strategy games like chess, bridge or role-playing video
games
- Difficulty keeping
score when playing board and card games.
How is dyscalculia is identified?
When a teacher or trained professional evaluates a student
for learning disabilities in math, the student is interviewed
about a full range of math-related skills and behaviors. Pencil
and paper math tests are often used, but an evaluation needs
to accomplish more. It is meant to reveal how a person understands
and uses numbers and math concepts to solve advanced-level,
as well as everyday, problems. The evaluation compares a person's
expected and actual levels of skill and understanding while
noting the person's specific strengths and weaknesses. Below
are some of the areas that may be addresse
- Ability with basic math skills like counting,
adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing
- Ability to predict appropriate procedures
based on understanding patterns - knowing when to add, subtract,
multiply, divide or do more advanced computations
- Ability to organize objects in a logical
way
- Ability to measure-telling time, using
money
- Ability to estimate number quantities
- Ability to self-check work and find alternate
ways to solve problems.
Helping a student identify his/her
strengths and weaknesses is the first step to getting help.
Following identification, parents, teachers and other educators
can work together to establish strategies that will help the
student learn math more effectively. Help outside the classroom
lets a student and tutor focus specifically on the difficulties
that student is having, taking pressure off moving to new
topics too quickly. Repeated reinforcement and specific practice
of straightforward ideas can make understanding easier. Other
strategies for inside and outside the classroom include:
- Use graph paper for students who have
difficulty organizing ideas on paper.
- Work on finding different ways to approach
math facts; i.e., instead of just memorizing the multiplication
tables, explain that 8 x 2 = 16, so if 16 is doubled, 8
x 4 must = 32.
- Practice estimating as a way to begin
solving math problems.
- Introduce new skills beginning with concrete
examples and later moving to more abstract applications.
- For language difficulties, explain ideas
and problems clearly and encourage students to ask questions
as they work.
- Provide a place to work with few distractions
and have pencils, erasers and other tools on hand as needed.
- Help students become aware of their strengths
and weaknesses. Understanding how a person learns best is
a big step in achieving academic success and confidence.
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