{"id":1655,"date":"2014-07-05T21:36:21","date_gmt":"2014-07-05T21:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/demo2\/?p=1655"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:06:36","slug":"what-is-dyscalculia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/what-is-dyscalculia\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Dyscalculia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding: 20px;\">\n<h1>DYSCALCULIA \u2013 Explained simply<\/h1>\n<p>Every once in a while a really great brochure comes along that is easy to read and is really useful for parents and teachers. This is one of those. I was given a copy of this brochure by a colleague Ann Williams who is studying dyscalculia for her masters degree. Thanks must go to Bath and North East Somerset Council and Learning Support Services at Three Ways School. I wonder if they realise that people all around the world use their wonderful brochure.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1656\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/dyscalculia.jpg\" alt=\"dyscalculia\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #ddffff; border: 1px solid #979797; padding: 10px; font-weight: bold; margin: 20px 0px;\">&#8220;Dyscalculia is a condition that affects the ability to acquire math skills. Dyscalculic learners may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack of intuitive grasp of numbers, and have problems learning number facts and procedures. Even if they produce a correct answer or use a correct method, they may do so mechanically or without confidence.&#8221;<i>Guidance to Support pupils with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia<\/i><br \/>\n<i>Ref: DfES 0512\/2001<\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>What are the difficulties in maths?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>an inability to subitise (see without counting) even very small quantities<\/li>\n<li>an inability to estimate whether a numerical answer is reasonable<\/li>\n<li>weaknesses in both short-term and long-term memory<\/li>\n<li>an inability to count backwards reliably<\/li>\n<li>directional confusion<\/li>\n<li>trouble with sequencing<\/li>\n<li>a problem with money<\/li>\n<li>delay in learning to tell the time from a clock face<\/li>\n<li>an inability to manage time in their daily lives<\/li>\n<li>confusing signs; + x \u00f7 &#8211;<\/li>\n<li>reliance on &#8216;counting on&#8217; strategies using fingers rather than efficient methods of calculation<\/li>\n<li>difficulty with x tables &#8211; able to learn them but forgets overnight<\/li>\n<li>inability to tell which of two numbers is larger<\/li>\n<li>finds it difficult to write numbers which have zeros in them e.g. 3008<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ronit Bird (2007): The Dyscalculia Toolkit.<br \/>\nSteve Chinn: &#8216;Signs of dyscalculia&#8217; handout.<br \/>\nPatoss, Corsham. 26.06.2010.<br \/>\nSarah Wedderburn: Unicornmaths website.<\/p>\n<p><b>Identification and Assessment<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Checklist for identifying Pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties in Maths<\/b><br \/>\ntaken from: &#8216;Dyscalculia and Specific difficulties in Mathematics &#8211; Guidance Document&#8217;.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.six.somerset.gov.uk\/sixv3\/\">www.six.somerset.gov.uk\/eis\/view<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Use this checklist to identify areas of difficulty and how it has been observed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Evidence by&#8217; key:<br \/>\nCO Classroom Observation<br \/>\nWS Work Sampling<br \/>\nIDA Individual Diagnostic Assessment<\/p>\n<table class=\"dyscalculia\" width=\"100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Impact on Life Skills<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Evidence by<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>High level of anxiety around maths<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lacks confidence in working with number<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Left\/Right confusion<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A problem with all aspects of money<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A marked delay in learning to read a clock to tell the time<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>An inability to manage time in their daily lives<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Slow processing speeds when engaged in math activities<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A tendency not to notice patterns in number<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Inability to master timetables and manage time in their daily lives<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficulty in remembering to work in the same unit of measure within a question<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Impact on Self Esteem<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds it difficult to ask questions even when he or she does not understand<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Slow in working in comparison with others<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lacks confidence in their own answers<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>May adopt avoidance\/learned helplessness strategies<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dislikes whole grupe interactive sessions<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Number<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficulties with mental calculation<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Uses fingers to count simple totals<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Inability to subitise (see without counting) even very small quantities<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Inability to estimate whether a numberical answer is reasonable<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Needs to continue to use concrete materials as is unable to work in the abstract<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds it difficult to count on<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficulty copying numbers accurately (reverses or invert digits)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficulty with place value ( misreads numbers 36\/63)<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Inability to count backwards reliably<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Language of Maths<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds it difficult to explain mathematical processes<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Has problems choosing the right strategy to unpick a work problem<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Has sound technical reading skills but failes to understand the mathematical language<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficult to generalise learning from one situation to another<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Makes mistakes interpreting a word problem<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confuses mathematical terms e.g. total, sum, equals<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Memory Difficulties<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds it difficult to learn and retain basic number facts &#8211; including times tables<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds it difficult to learn and retain what basic math symbols mean, including Maths rules, formulae and abbreviations<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Loses track of the &#8216;sum&#8217; when completing a longer word problem<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Forgets previously mastered procedures<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Difficulties with Sequencing<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Has difficulty sequencing the order and the value of numbers<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Loses place\/track when counting<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Difficulty reciting the times tables<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\">Difficulties with position, spatial organisation and visujal perception<\/td>\n<td bgcolor=\"#CCCCCC\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confuses numbers and uses them interchangeably e.g. 12 and 21<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confuses basic symbols e.g. + and x<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Poor setting out of work and calculations on the page often resulting in errors<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Does not see the difference between 6-4 and 4-6<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Takes the smaller number form the larger regardless of position<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds estimating and rounding numbers difficult<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Finds telling the time on an analogue clock difficult and may have poor understanding relating to the passage of time<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Is easily distracted\/overloaded by worksheets full of maths<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Copies inaccurately<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confuses the axes on graphs and co-ordinates<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DYSCALCULIA \u2013 Explained simply Every once in a while a really great brochure comes along that is easy to read and is really useful for parents and teachers. This is one of those. I was given a copy of this brochure by a colleague Ann Williams who is studying dyscalculia... <br \/><a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/what-is-dyscalculia\/\">Continue reading...<\/a>","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":15730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dyscalculia"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1655"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6183,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655\/revisions\/6183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}