What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities.

Mathematics difficulties are best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and they have many causal factors.

Dyscalculia falls at one end of the spectrum and will be distinguishable from other maths issues due to the severity of difficulties with number sense, including subitising, symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude comparison, and ordering. It can occur singly but often co-occurs with other specific learning difficulties, mathematics anxiety and medical conditions.

About 6% of people have dyscalculia. Studies into the causes of dyscalculia are about 30 years behind research into dyslexia.

However, it is thought that the lack of number sense that is often common to people with dyscalculia is connected to the function of the left intraparietal sulcus which deals with numbers, and the front lobe, which deals with reasoning. It can therefore be hereditary but also connected to certain developmental conditions like Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.

An estimated 25% of people have maths learning difficulties which can be caused either by other neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia or external issues such as a traumatic learning experience related to maths or school absence etc. 60% of individuals with dyslexia will have difficulties with maths.

How is dyscalculia different from other maths learning difficulties?

Dyscalculia is at the severe end of the maths learning difficulties

Characteristics that are found with people with dyscalculia are:-

• Difficulties with maths are persistent and will have been present since the learner was young.
• Difficulties apply to arithmetic but not necessarily to other areas of maths such as geometry and algebra.
• Difficulties in maths but not subjects like English and subjects which do not involve numbers.
• Lack of an intuitive understanding of numbers and simple number concepts, for example the relationship between multiplication and repetitive addition.
• Lack of a fundamental understanding of how numbers relate to each other, for example 6 can be made from 5 + 1, double 3, 4 + 2 (flexibility of number) as well as a visual concept of the magnitude of numbers. They cannot make sensible references to numbers. For example, if asked if a pair of trainers (not a designer make) should cost £4,000.
• Young children have difficulties with subitising, knowing how many items there are in a set. They need to count them one by one.
• Learners rely on following procedures which they may not understand, rote learning and simple ways of working out answers like counting on their fingers.
• Extreme difficulties spotting patterns in numbers and making generalisations.
• High levels of maths anxiety.

How does dyslexia affect maths learning?

People with dyslexia tend to have poor working memory, speed of processing and rapid retrieval of information from long term memory. These weaknesses will also affect maths learning.

60% of learners with dyslexia have maths learning difficulties. They may develop gaps in their learning because of the hierarchical nature of maths, the lack of firm foundation skills can affect the learning of new skills.

• They may have specific difficulties with certain areas of maths such as fractions and decimals, long division and multiplication, multiplication tables, money and time but not with number skills.
• Misunderstand some of the mathematical terms and language.
• Difficulties with sequencing and following procedures.
• They forget previously mastered procedures very quickly.

How does dyscalculia and maths learning difficulties affect adults?

We need maths to carry out every day tasks.

It affects ability to tell the time and plan schedules, to estimate the cost of living and make appropriate purchases to stay within a budget, to calculate distances for travel and work out journey times.

Almost all jobs need maths from hairdressers, builders, chefs and cooks, market stall holders, upholsterers and those involved with sail making, boat builders, architects, engineers, accountants, business people generally and so many more professions.

How is your maths ability? Do you have a fear of maths?

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How to identify dyscalculia and maths learning difficulties

Characteristics of people with maths learning difficulties which can also be found in learners with dyscalculia include:-

• Difficulties understanding some maths concepts such as fractions and percentages.
• Difficulties with sequencing and pattern spotting.
• Difficulties with short term, working and long term memory.
• Difficulties remembering how to do a calculation or follow a procedure.
• Difficulties with mathematical language and word problems.
• Difficulties with automatic retrieval of information such as times tables.
• Immature strategies such as finger counting.
• Slow processing and information retrieval.
• Over reliance of rote learning even if they don’t understand what they are doing.
• Unable to explain what they are doing.
• Maths anxiety.
• Learners with dyscalculia can have some or all of the above but also have difficulties with number sense including comparing the values of numbers.
• Early identification is vital and the correct intervention at a young age to develop number awareness and flexibility will help build strong foundations for the understanding of the number system.

Assessment and Support

There are a wide range of support methods and resources for dyscalculia, from booking an assessment or training courses to finding the right strategies and tools to aid learners.

How can you get an assessment for dyscalculia and/or maths learning difficulties?

An informal assessment of maths learning difficulties or maths screening can be carried out by someone with experience in maths learning and learning difficulties.

The purpose of an informal assessment of maths difficulties is to determine where the difficulties are so that a programme of support can be put in place to meet the needs of the learner and address the areas where they are struggling.

The purpose of a screening test is to see if there are traits of dyscalculia behaviour which need to be further investigated through a formal diagnostic assessment.

The BDA recommend that a formal diagnostic assessment should only be carried out by an assessor who is qualified at level 7 in the assessment of dyscalculia and/or has either an AMBDA dyscalculia or APC dyscalculia. A level 7 qualification in the assessment of dyslexia is not considered by the BDA to be sufficient.

SASC (The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee) list of approved assessors for Dyscalculia can be found here.

Patoss and Dyscalculia Network can recommend assessors for both informal and formal assessments as well as tutorial support.

How can I support a learner with dyscalculia?

Maths is a hierarchical subject where topics are revisited at a more and more complex level. Therefore, if early concepts have not been understood, this will impact on later learning.

In early learning, children should not just be taught the digit symbol and the name but also form an internal visual representation of that number, in other words ‘see’ the number as a dice pattern or numicon tile.

This helps establish a good understanding of the relationship between the name of the number, the symbol and its magnitude or size.

Children then need to develop flexibility of number and know how numbers are made up, for example, 6 can be 4 + 2, double 3, 5 + 1, 7 – 1.

This is equivalent to being able to match letters to sounds in learning to read.

Thereafter all concepts need to be modelled using concrete materials such as Cuisenaire rods, dice patterns, Dienes apparatus and similar.

The main cause of failure in maths is when the symbols have no meaning and children are taught in a procedural way, not understanding what they are doing and therefore not being able to remember the procedure or having the confidence to look for different ways to solve the problems.

We also need to be careful to use maths language correctly and ensure that its meaning is understood.

Good sources of information

• www.stevechinn.co.uk maths explained
• Ronit Bird Video www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gstqj5sEEoo
• Emerson, J. & Babtie, P. (2015) Understanding Dyscalculia and Numeracy Difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley
• Hornigold, J. (2015) Dyscalculia Pocket Book. Winchester: Teacher’s Pocket Books
• Hornigold, J. (2017) Understanding Learning Difficulties in Maths: Dyscalculia, Dyslexia or Dyspraxia. London: McGraw-Hill
• Ronit Bird – Workbooks and ebooks
• Moorcraft Paul (2014) It Just Doesn’t Add up. St Albans: Tarquin