Dyscalculia & maths difficulties
What is dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability, characterised by persistent difficulties in learning and understanding mathematics, despite adequate intellectual ability and age-appropriate school education.
With a prevalence of 5%, it is likely that there is at least one child with dyscalculia in every class of 30, and dyscalculia is equally common in boys and girls.
Dyscalculia is not the same as mathematics anxiety or low confidence in mathematics, and difficulties in mathematics do not necessarily indicate dyscalculia. Mathematics difficulties can arise due to other causes, such as sensory or neurological impairments, or restricted access to good education.
Although some environmental reasons, such as socio-economic disadvantage or not speaking the language of instruction as a first language, may increase the risk of dyscalculia, genetic factors play a major role too, as a risk of developing dyscalculia is passed on from parents to children.
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What are the difficulties associated with dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia involves impairments in basic numerical and mathematical skills and, thus, has a large impact on students’ experiences within mathematics classrooms, and can affect performance in other subjects as well. In school-age children, typical areas of difficulty include problems with reading and writing numbers, doing basic arithmetic, learning multiplication tables, understanding place values, working with decimals and fractions, logical reasoning and solving word problems. Additionally, children with dyscalculia may also use inefficient strategies when they do maths.
Outside of the classroom, children with dyscalculia may also have trouble using calendars and clocks, recalling the order of past events, playing traditional board games with dice, keeping track of scores during sports games, and they may confuse left and right.
However, as dyscalculia is a developmental condition, typical difficulties may also change with age. In adults, in addition to struggles with calculations, typical problems include difficulties with planning and managing time, problems with estimating costs and financial values, difficulties with reading maps, and getting lost easily.
It is important to note that dyscalculia is not indicative of poor cognitive ability or poor academic skills in general. Many people with dyscalculia will have strengths in other areas and can still be very successful in their academic and professional careers.
Why is it important to diagnose dyscalculia? ​
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Dyscalculia is a lifelong condition, and it does not disappear when children finish school or grow older. Early diagnosis of dyscalculia is particularly important, because children with dyscalculia often miss basic knowledge about numbers, which is necessary to learn more complex topics later. Additionally, without specialist support, children may not be able to develop efficient strategies to deal with their mathematics problems and everyday difficulties. This can lead to frustration and negative attitudes towards mathematics and school in general, which can make it difficult to engage children in interventions at a later stage. Moreover, undiagnosed dyscalculia can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. This is why diagnosis should be a top priority, so that relevant support can be provided.
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Are there any tips for parents and teachers?
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Some tools and adjustments can help children with dyscalculia to reach their full potential. These may include using everyday objects, such as beads or tokens, which can be useful for demonstrating simple number concepts and supporting memory. Additionally, it is helpful to allow extra time for assessments, offer partial solutions or present multiple-choice questions, instead of open-ended questions, and use assistive technology, such as dyscalculia-friendly calculators. Computer-based maths programs and apps can also be useful for repeated practice of arithmetic and times tables.
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If a child is struggling to understand basic maths concepts, appropriate intervention may mean going back several years in the curriculum, instead of focusing on age-appropriate content. Assessing children’s memory, attention and verbal abilities can also help with finding appropriate strategies and methods of teaching and learning. These are just some examples, and effective interventions may look different for each person.
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Are there any tips for people with dyscalculia?
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Although dyscalculia can lead to a variety of difficulties, people with dyscalculia can still succeed in other subjects, including literacy, arts, and some science subjects. A diagnostic assessment can be useful in identifying specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses, which, in turn, can help with developing personalised strategies for mathematics learning. People with dyscalculia may also come up with their own strategies to help them in day-to-day life or when learning. For example, they may use visual aids like playdoh to help with numeracy, or play a song that is 3 minutes long when they need to complete a task in 3 minutes, instead of using a stopwatch.
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Although dyscalculia is a lifelong condition, it does not mean that people with dyscalculia, including adults, cannot improve their maths skills. It is never too late to learn more about dyscalculia, or to seek specialist assessment and support to fully develop one’s potential.