Dyscalculia - Disabling the Learning Process of Math

Monday, 20 April 2009 20:38

"The complexity of numerical processing has made defining what it means to have a specific mathematical learning disability (dyscalculia) difficult." (Butterworth, 2003)

Dyscalculia is ultimately defined as:
A condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetic skills (British Dyslexia Association)

Difficulties in performing mathematics calculations of certain types (dyscalculiainfo.org)

A term referring to a wide range of life-long learning difficulties involving math (ld.org)

Mathematic learning difficulties affect more than 6% of school age children and 9% of the general population. According to Paiget, a developmental psychologist, "Children learn primarily by manipulating objects until the age of 12. If children are not taught mathematic with hands-on methods, between the years of 1 and 12, their ability to acquire mathematic knowledge is disturbed at the point when hands-on learning was abandoned in favor of abstractions." Removing hands-on learning sets-up the visual learning child for the onset of mathematical disabilities in the next developmental period of their education. Mathematics curriculum used in our schools today is designed to follow the chronological age of the child instead of the neurological development timeline. In doing so, concepts are introduced out of sequence and in a pile-up fashion. This pile-up curriculum leaves many students floundering in confusion and ultimately pushes them out of the daily learning process. Mastering mathematics requires teachers to teach all three components of a concept: what the concept means (linguistic), what the concept looks like (conceptual), and what is the procedural skill (problem solving). Unfortunately, most of the emphasis in teaching is placed on skill and not understanding. Visual learners, dyslexics and others, struggle to learn in a teaching environment that does not incorporate all three components of concept instruction; therefore leaving a gap in the learning process. For most visual learning students, the path leading to dyscalculia can be stopped.

Signs of Dyscalculia in young children

• Difficulty with number sense
• Difficulty learning to count
• Trouble recognizing printed numbers
• Poor memory for numbers and math functions
• Trouble organizing in a logical way, sorting by shape, size, color, etc.
• Trouble recognizing groups and patterns
• Trouble comparing and contrasting, smaller/larger
• Trouble learning mathematical facts
• Difficulty developing mathematical problem solving skills
• Avoiding strategy games
• Difficulties reading a clock / time perception
• Problems with planning time to complete a task
• Symptoms or Warning Signs in Teenagers and Adults
• Difficulty estimating cost, (shopping)
• Difficulty learning mathematical concepts beyond basic mathematics facts
• Poor ability to budget or balance a checkbook
• Trouble with concepts of time, managing a schedule
• Trouble with mental mathematics
• Difficulty finding different approaches to a problem
• Trouble visualizing patterns, different parts of a mathematical problem or identifying critical information needed in problem solving