Enriching Lives

Enriching Lives

What is dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a disorder affecting the ability to use Maths concepts and symbols.

People with dyscalculia may have trouble learning or memorizing maths facts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and

division.

They may also have problems counting quickly and calculating which means that it can take them much longer to come up with

an answer to a maths problem.

People with dyscalculia struggle with the concept of time and find it hard to read analogue clocks.

Dyscalculia can also affect people’s sense of direction as well as their musical ability.

There are lots of different factors that can contribute to dyscalculia. For example, people with dyscalculia may have difficulty

with visual processing. Ciara finds it hard to read black on white or vice versa. Because of this she has glasses with coloured

tints so white looks a different colour.

It is believed that approximately 40% of people who have dyslexia also have dyscalculia (Pollock and Waller, 1997).

One interesting fact that people may not know is…

Ciara (Dyscalculia)

Ciara who is a girl in my class is a gift. She enjoys horse riding, being with family and friends and loves animals. However schoolwork for Ciara is a little more challenging. Ciara has dyslexia and dyscalculia which are specific learning disabilities. This means that although there are lots of things that Ciara can do well, she has difficulty with reading, writing and maths. In this profile we will look at what it means for Ciara to have dyscalculia. Although dyscalculia is a life-long disability, with the right assistance Ciara is able to learn strategies to overcome the difficulties that she faces in order to participate and contribute in class just like everyone else.

Chances are dyscalculia is a disability that your parents may never have even heard of; this is because up until about the 1990’s very little was understood about how the brain functions when it comes to doing various activities such as Maths. Research in regard to how our brain works has been made possible through the use of modern technology such as FMRI - Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (a scanner that is able to take pictures of our brain at work). This has provided us with the opportunity to understand more about specific learning differences such as dyscalculia that affects around 6% of the population (Wilson 2007 - 2012).

How can I help someone with dyscalculia?

Be understanding of their difficulties.

Take time to help them in areas of their learning that they have difficulties with.

Appreciate them as gifts

Websites that are able to offer more information as to Dyscalculia are:

Gifted and Talented Online - Dyscacula (math related disabilities) -

http://gifted.tki.org.nz/For-schools-and-teachers/Twice-exceptional-2E-students/Learning-disorders/Dyscalculia-math-

related-disabilities

SPELD New Zealand - http://www.speld.org.nz/dyscalculia.htm

The Learning and Behaviour Charitable Trust New Zealand - http://www.lbctnz.co.nz/sld/dyscalculia/