Discover more about Dyscalculia…

May 22, 2017

• Advice for Parents

Some of the greatest minds of the past few centuries have had what most people termed as ‘having a learning difficult’. There are numerous people who have struggles with basic concepts in school and then gone on to be powerful and influential people.

US president, Benjamin Franklin who left school at 12 and failed arithmetic. The singer, Cher struggled through life because she had dyscalculia. Arguable one of the greatest minds of the 20^th century, Albert Einstein, couldn’t do basic maths.

Clearly, having dyscalculia should not be something to stop you from achieving your goal but what exactly is it? Dyscalculia, is similar to the more well-known dyslexia, but it is struggling with maths rather than reading or writing. The department for education defines it as: ‘A condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Dyscalculic learners may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers, and have problems learning number facts and procedures. Even if they produce the correct answer or use a correct method, they may do so mechanically and without confidence.’

It has been estimated that between 4-6% of the world’s population have dyscalculia. It has been seen that around 20-30% of these also have dyslexia. The fact it occurs with dyslexia may come from the language around the questions rather than with the numbers themselves.

But what is dyscalculia? There are various forms of it and with so many of these condition, different people show it differently The points that have come up are having difficult telling the time, or handling money, and having difficulty learning and remembering number facts. The best way of explaining this is if the child knows 4+6=10 they may not realise that 6+4=10 or that 4+5=9. They may also struggle with understanding spatial orientation (e.g left and right) which can lead to them struggling with directions and maps.

Although many may see not being able to do simple maths as a problem, and indeed it is in the current educational system, there are always advantages to having it. But firstly, we shall look at the educational system in place at the moment.

In our early stages of development we are judged almost solely on our ability to read, write and do maths. If you struggle to do something that many people find relatively easy, then a student’s confidence may be heavily knocked which can have further implications. Not being able to keep up with your peers can be very detrimental. Furthermore, if the teacher is unaware of their dyscalculia or do not understand the condition, it can further harm the child’s self-belief. There are ways to help such as extra tutoring specific to the child’s needs as well as giving the student the self-confidence to continue with their education.

There are some great advantages seen in people who have dyscalculia. It is found that many of them tend to do very well in other areas. They are usually good at science until maths is bought into it. It is also found they are often very poetic. They can express themselves very fluently in writing and generally have a larger vocabulary than those without dyscalculia. It is said they find writing essays or even books much easier than doing addition and subtraction.

One of the greatest advantages which comes out in both dyslexic and dyscalculia students is that they are creatively and visually very strong. They can see the bigger picture a lot easier than others which is useful in industries such as architecture. It is seen that they find it easier to picture how a building will look before it is built. They often find drawing and sketching much easier than doing maths.

Although for many being diagnosed with this may be a problem, if treated correctly and the child is given enough support, then they can have the potential to do some truly great things.

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