If your child struggles with numbers – arithmetic, telling time, estimating distance, story problems – it’s easy to shrug it off as just “being bad in math.” But it may be something else – a learning disability called dyscalculia. Here’s an outline of what dyscalculia is, what its warning signs are, and what can be done to deal with this condition.
Defining dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is sometimes labeled as “math dyslexia” or “numbers dyslexia,” though that’s a misleading comparison. These disorders are similar in that they prevent bright, intelligent, and otherwise capable students from performing basic and essential tasks. However, people with dyslexia have difficulty reading, while those with dyscalculia struggle with basic mathematical concepts – addition, estimating amounts, even comprehending what, say, the number 7 means.
This disability has effects far beyond failing math tests. This lack of “numbers sense” can be as crippling in everyday life as the dyslexic person’s inability to read. Telling time, estimating amounts or distance, figuring out how long it will take to travel somewhere, following a recipe, shopping, remembering birthdays or locker combinations – all these skills rely on comfort with numbers, and all can be difficult for someone with dyscalculia.
Causes, simultaneous conditions
While dyscalculia is not well known, it is not rare; experts estimate 3 to 7 percent of the population has the disorder. Its cause isn’t clear, but, like dyslexia, it appears to involve brain function. Part of it is believed to be rooted in brain structure, with researchers noting insufficient neural connections in the areas of the brain responsible for working memory and calculating and processing numbers. However, experts don’t know why these differences happen or how they influence this disorder’s symptoms.
It also appears to have a genetic component, as the disorder runs in families. And experts now believe that dyslexia and dyscalculia may share genetic roots, which might explain why many individuals have both disorders. Figures vary widely, but according to an Education Week report, “studies estimate a third to 75 percent of students with dyscalculia also have dyslexia, dysgraphia, or attention deficits.” Plus, about 20 percent also may have ADHD.
“It’s a multifaceted issue,” says Lawrence Kloth, co-founder of Reading Success Plus. “Story problems are a nightmare for these kids. Not only do they not understand the math concepts underlying the story problems, but they have difficulty just reading them.”
This deepens the struggle to apply math to academic or even real-world, practical situations.
“As you continue into higher-level math, when you get more and more story problems integrated into those classes, it will be really difficult for these students to find the information and apply it within the problem,” Lawrence says. “That really matters when you get to college entrance exams and you’re trying to apply to schools.”
Signs of dyscalculia
Symptoms can appear in children as young as 3 years old, and they evolve as the child gets older. Here is a partial list of warning signs from the Cleveland Clinic:
Young children (up to kindergarten) have trouble with:
- Counting upward.
- Connecting a number to that many of an object (for example, connecting the number 4 to that many marbles in front of them).
- Recognizing numbers and math symbols.
- Organizing numbers, such as largest to smallest or first to last.
- Learning using money (such as coins or bills).
Elementary school-age children have difficulty with:
- Counting on fingers with small numbers (especially at an age where that seems unnecessary).
- Identifying small quantities of items at a glance.
- Doing simple calculations from memory.
- Memorizing multiplication tables.
- Understanding word problems or more advanced symbols (such as > meaning “greater than” or < meaning “less than”).
- Understanding place values (10s, 100s, 1,000s) or decimal places (0.1, 0.01, 0.001).
Teenagers and adults may struggle with:
- Counting backward.
- Solving word problems.
- Breaking down problems into multiple steps to solve them.
- Showing their work when solving a problem.
- Understanding activities involving directions, speed, or distance.
- Measuring quantities for recipes.
- Using coins and bills to pay for items; making change.
- Understanding and converting fractions.
- Reading graphs and charts.
Emotional stress
Students with or without dyscalculia often experience “math anxiety,” a panic that strikes when they have to work with numbers. This common fear likely is rooted in the belief that math is more difficult than other subjects. This anxiety gets in the way of a child’s ability to pay attention, remember math facts, and solve problems calmly. Self-defeating thoughts like “I’m lousy at math” just make the stress worse.
All of that is compounded for people with dyscalculia. Dyscalculia.org explains:
“The dyscalculic experiences mental static when facing tasks that exceed cognitive thresholds. When the mental load is exceeded, the student is unable to consider, process, or retrieve information, yet is aware of expectations. The student tears up, unable to reconcile the disparity between demand and ability.” No matter how well-intended, urging the child to “just relax” is going to ease that panic. That anxiety could manifest itself in agitation or temper tantrums, an intense dislike of school, and even physical symptoms such as nausea and stomach aches.
“It’s a shame because these are highly intelligent kids,” Lawrence says. “But they don’t know how to get better at this. They think they’re dumb, even though nothing could be farther from the truth.”
Making progress
Like dyslexia, dyscalculia has no “cure,” but it can be successfully treated through multisensory instruction that factors in the student’s weaknesses and strengths. Unfortunately, traditional classrooms aren’t geared to provide such instruction, any more than they are set up to teach reading to dyslexic students. Schools may offer accommodations such as additional time for assignments and tests (a huge help for math-anxious kids), and students with dyscalculia may qualify for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan. (Learn more about IEPs and 504 plans here.) But a general education curriculum rarely fits the needs of a student with dyscalculia.
“It’s not the kids’ fault,” Lawrence says. “It’s just that their brains are wired differently and they learn differently. They think and learn in a visual, kinesthetic way, and don’t usually succeed under traditional teaching styles. And I don’t blame teachers at all – when you have 25 or 30 students in a classroom, there’s not enough time to give a student with their own learning style the attention they need.”
In contrast, the math program at Reading Success Plus is designed for visual and kinesthetic learners. The OG Academic Math program takes abstract math concepts and makes them concrete. Students learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by using visual, auditory, kinesthetic (muscle memory), and tactile approaches. The program uses “manipulatives” — colored blocks that represent numbers. With these blocks, students build and solve equations, turning abstract ideas into something concrete they can see and touch. For more details on the Reading Success Plus math program, check out this blog on the RSP website.
“These kids are super smart,” Lawrence says. “They just learn in a different method that traditional learners might not need. Dyscalculia kids need that visual, kinesthetic piece. Over time, they should get it in the multisensory way that we teach.”
A path to success
Math and number sense are embedded in our lives in ways we usually don’t think about. Counting out change, baking brownies, comparison shopping, and even reading a clock all involve math skills. Dyscalculia can make all of these activities painfully difficult. But with the right help, such tasks can become more manageable, and the accompanying math anxiety can fade.
“A lot of our kids don’t succeed in the traditional way of learning, and that’s OK,” Lawrence says. “They can thrive if they are taught in the way that they learn best. It’s great to see that, for them to have the confidence to pursue their passion.”
Reading Success Plus has offices in Grand Rapids and Troy and offers one-on-one tutoring online or in person in reading, math, and writing. You can get more information at readingsuccessplus.com. To contact us, call 833-229-1112 or go online to https://readingsuccessplus.com/#contact.