Learning Disorders in Math/Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder that affects an individual’s ability to learn, understand, and perform tasks related to numbers. Not all students who have math learning differences will receive a diagnosis of dyscalculia. For example, some students struggle only with math calculation (e.g., accurately completing pencil and paper math problems), while others struggle to read a math story problem and understand what to do with all of the provided information. Math learning differences are often noticed when a student first begins to learn math concepts.
Since math is taught in a sequential manner (e.g., an individual first learns addition and then subtraction), weaknesses in early math skills will have a negative impact on more advanced applications of math. Individuals who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disorder in math often struggle to connect numbers to what numbers represent. This means that a student with a math learning difference struggles to connect the number 12 with twelve objects and will subsequently have difficulty determining what number is larger: 12 or 13.
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Resources
How to help kids with dyscalculia
Classroom accommodations for dyscalculia
Math Fact Lab (fluency practice)
Referrals
Andy Dass at Tangletown Math Tutors
Books
How the Brain Learns Mathematics
The Number Sense: How the Brain Learns Mathematics
Discovering Dyscalculia: One Family's Journey with a Math Disability