Dyscalculia

1. Callaway, E. (2013, January 10). Dyscalculia: Number games. Nature, 493(7431), 150-153. doi: 10.1038/493150a The author defines dyscalculia as people having extreme difficulties working with numbers despite normal intelligence levels. Furthermore, he cites that seven percent of the total population has dyscalculia. Additionally, researchers conclude that the condition affects the person’s inner workings of the brain’s number sense, much like hearing or vision impairments do. Likewise, dyscalculia can affect the ability to understand and manipulate quantities. Many assessments can be used to determine whether people currently have dyscalculia, or if the root of the problem is another cognitive condition. Some of these include evaluating a student counting dot patterns and larger/smaller/bigger/taller number questions using visual pictures. This is information will help me as a member of an evaluation team greatly. I will now pay close attention to discerning dyscalculia from other cognitive processing disabilities, and I’ll also have some familiarization with the types of tests that can be used in the evaluation process.

2. McCrone, J. (2002, August). Dyscalculia. The Lancet Neurology, 1(4), 266. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.franklinpierce.edu/?accountid=37705

The author broadly describes dyscalculia as a diagnosis for kids that struggle with math. He believes that these kids are deficient in a particular number-handling region called the intraparietal sulcus. This author cites the prevalence of dyscalculia at five percent, which is just as common as ADHD. It is hypothesized that some children grow up with a limited amount of the cortex area of the brain needed for sufficient number sense. Generally, students with this disability lack a sufficient grasp for the relative size of numbers, which makes it very difficult to compute even basic addition. Educationalists are investigating ways to mitigate the negative effects caused by dyscalculia, and to helping people to develop adequate number sense. One of these ways are presenting single math problems on a page to prevent anxiety from the overload of problems. This information will be important for me as a member of an evaluation team through providing remedial exercises for students with dyscalculia. Likewise, I can now see this disability as strictly math related, and to not necessarily expect the student to be lacking in other academic areas.

3. Kristy, K. (2012, September). Dyscalculia: Awareness and student support. Nursing Times, 108(37), 16-8. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.franklinpierce.edu/?accountid=37705

This article describes dyscalculia as a lack of understanding or comprehension of math, and that it should be included in the special education field. Identified as a learning disability in 1974, dyscalculia is a relatively new concept making it more difficult to ascertain in students due to the lack of empirical research completed. There is also evidence to suggest students with dyscalculia have difficulty with spatial processing. This would explain a student’s troubles in providing sufficient estimates with numbers. The article cites the best remedy to dyscalculia is early recognition and intervention. This information is great for me as a team evaluator for a few reasons. Now, I’ll know to emphasize looking for the early signs of dyscalculia, and to also test and monitor students accordingly. Also, I now understand that this is a fairly new disability, and subsequently seek as much updated research to combat its negative effects.