What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a life long difficulty with maths. The core deficits, may include core number difficulties (poor numerosity); visual-spatial difficulties (interpreting and using spatial organisation); memory difficulties (retrieving facts and performing mental calculations) and reasoning (grasping concepts, ideas and relations and understanding multiple steps in complex procedures) (1).  ‘Being numerate is a life skill …for people with dyscalculia the effects can be devastating’ (2).

 

The Affects of Dyscalculia

Current teaching of mathematics focuses on speed and accuracy rather than participation, investigation and ingenuity, which compounds the difficulties faced by dyscalculic’s. This daily struggle and constant failure often results in low self-esteem and anxiety, which may develop into maths anxiety. Affecting confidence, which ‘is a critical ingredient in successful learning’ (3).  In children this means they fall behind their peers eventually failing exams, in adults this can lead to unemployment, depression and illness (4).

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Diagnosing Dyscalculia

This is done through a series of tests which identify deficits and skills in mathematics, along with ability, memory, processing and visual tests.

The diagnostic report will include a full diagnosis of strengths and deficits, along with recommended strategies to which can be used by schools, colleges or individuals to aid teaching interventions or specialist 1 to 1 sessions may be arranged with myself, a specialist dyscalculia tutor.

 

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After Diagnosis

Studies show diagnostic assessments; followed by intensive interventions, results in considerable improvement. Therefore, diagnosis is empowering (giving students strategies and techniques) and enabling (increasing performance),which in turn increases understanding and self-esteem (5).  

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Interventions

One-to-one targeted interventions allow for non-judgemental learning, therefore reducing maths anxiety and regular sessions to aid long-term memory. 

My specialist maths interventions are individually tailored for different support needs and include modelling problem solving, guided comprehensive practice, revision of information learnt, verbalising learning, error correction methods and multiple illustrations of concepts (6). Passing through 6 levels of learning: intuitive, concrete, pictorial, abstract, application and communication (7).  Using real (concrete) components has been found to lead to improvements (9), increasing understanding, enabling progression to mathematical pictorial representations and abstract forms. Therefore,dyscalculics can become competent at mathematics given the right teaching (8).

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Testimonials

'I understand maths for the first time’.

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‘I cried with happiness as it meant I had put the past behind me’.

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'I enjoyed doing maths for the first time in my life…I would like to carry on with the maths lessons’. 

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References 

(1) Karagiannakis & Cooreman, 2015

(2) Hornigold, 2015:315

(3) Hannell, 2013

(4) Butterworth & Yeo, 2004

(5) Grant,2009

(6) Bryant et al, 2015

(7) Sharma, 2009

(8) Dowker, 2009

(9) Emerson & Babtie, 2015

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