Dyscalculia

What is dyscalculia?

• Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty that affects a person’s ability to understand and manipulate numbers, quantities and how they are represented

• Diagnosis requires consistently low achievement in maths (1-2 years below the child's expected level) and is not explained by low IQ or medical reasons

• Dyscalculia often co-occurs with dyslexia, ADHD and dyspraxia

• Severity can vary from person to person

• Sometimes referred to as ‘maths dyslexia'

What you might see:

• Inability to subitise (judging the number in a small set) for example knowing the 6 on a die without counting all the dots

• Difficulty learning basic facts

• Difficulty comparing or estimating amounts or values e.g. deciding which of two 2-digit numbers is larger, or with ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’

• Using fingers for counting for easy calculations and counting aloud

• Difficulty with place value

• Difficulty understanding fractions and percentages

• Difficulty counting money

• Difficulty telling the time, and with time management 

• Difficulty solving word problems 

• Struggles to read charts and graphs

Accommodations:

• Play board games

• Reduce the number of equations to solve

• Reduce times tests

• Use manipulatives where possible

• Use aides such as numberlines

• Highlight the clue words in word problems 

• Break down larger problems into smaller steps

• Connect maths to real life situations

• Extra time for assessment

• Use of a calculator