In previous publications, Wynandus Bezuidenhout (principal at Protea School) has dealt with various aspects/issues which impact negatively on effective and quality learning and teaching.
Matters like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), bullying, correct placement in schooling and subject choices were discussed.
In this month’s column, he discusses Dyscalculia.
Dyscalculia is like dyslexia for numbers (number blind).
But unlike dyslexia, very little is known about it prevalence, causes or even treatment.
Current thinking suggests that it is a congenital condition, caused by the abnormal functioning of a specific area of the brain. People with dyscalculia experience great difficulty with the most basic aspects of numbers and arithmetic.
Children and adults subject to dyscalculia tend to be of normal intelligence, but often present an uneven picture in their results on intelligence tests.
Problems do not reflect emotional issues but difficulties with mentally connecting specific types of thought processes.
They do not only have automation difficulties but linguistic difficulties may also be involved.
Linguistic difficulties may manifest as problems in understanding numbers as a concept.
Another form of dyscalculia involves planning difficulties which lead to the child’s failure in carrying out computations effectively. The child has difficulty following a clear strategy in solving arithmetic problems, keeping track of his/her mental position among the fundamental mechanics of the mathematical problem(s), tends to stick to strategies that are dysfunctional, or gives up on strategies that are correct and becomes passive.
Dyscalculia may also be based on problems with visual perception that lead to difficulties with tasks involving logical thinking as well as carrying out computations.
This is often encountered in children who have difficulty with learning to read an analogue clock and understanding how the position of the hands is to be interpreted.
Difficulties with mathematics generally are associated with the child having general problems in learning, with learning tending to take longer than normal.
Dyscalculia can be defined as: “A condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Dyscalculia 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 a correct answer or use a correct method, they may do so mechanically and without confidence”. (DFES)
Difficulties
There is no single form of dyscalculia – difficulties can vary from person to person and can change throughout the lifetime.
Two major areas of weakness that are responsible for learning disabilities in maths are:
n visual-spatial difficulties – these result in a person having trouble processing what the eye sees, and
n language processing difficulties – these result in a person having trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears.
Like all learning disabilities, dyscalculia is a life-long challenge.
By using alternate learning methods, people with dyscalculia can learn how to achieve success.
- Learners who are dyscalculia have difficulty in recognising and using calculation symbols.
- They also mix up similar-looking numbers in reading e.g. 6 and 9 or 3 and 8.
- They have difficulty when reading numbers containing more than one digit and numbers with zeroes can be especially difficult.
- There is confusion in reading direction – reading numbers so that 12 becomes 21.
- It is not unusual for some children to shift the direction of reading so that some numbers are read accurately, from left to right, while others are read back to front.
- They experience severe problems reading maps, diagrams or tables.
- They also struggle with written symbols, as numbers are often reversed or rotated.
- They have problems copying numbers, calculations or geometric figures from a set picture.
- Recalling numbers, calculations and geometric shapes from memory is very difficult.
- Just as with reading problems, it might occur that zeroes are lost, e.g. that one thousand and seven is written as 107.
- Problems with understanding the concepts of weight, space, direction and time occur.
- Problems with understanding and answering oral or written problems that are presented with words or in a text or picture, can be evident.
- Problems can also arise in understanding ordinal numbers, that is, understanding and starting a numeral’s place in a sequence.
- There may be problems with understanding the relation between units of measurement.
- The child cannot automatically understand that 74 is five more than 69, or is unable to place the numbers 8 or 27 in a numerical series.
- They can’t arrange numbers by size, struggle with number positions, e.g. whether 16 comes before 17. These children need to count on their fingers to manage basic calculation.
- Bad memory of simple numerical facts often occurs.
- They have difficulties doing mental calculations, due to memory problems which can cause the student to “lose” the relevant numbers being used in the calculation.
- Counting backwards is difficult for them.
- It takes them a long time to solve simple mathematical tasks, even though they are written down.
- These children have problems with complex thinking and flexibility.
- They have rigidity in thinking, shown by the inability to choose the right strategy in problem solving, and having difficulty changing strategy if the chosen one does not work.
- They experience problems in making reasonable judgements and arriving at reasonable answers.
- Planning difficulties are evident – problems with planning – how to proceed in a task before any attempt is made.
- Great effort is needed to shift from a concrete level to more abstract thinking. This is shown in difficulties in switching from concrete objects to mathematical symbols.
There is a link between Dyscalculia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), as well as other learning difficulties, the main one being dyslexia.
The most common problems that cross over are those of attention and working memory, which are fundamental to working with mathematics.
However, other symptoms of ADD may affect the mathematical ability indirectly (as well as other types of learning).
These include severe concentration difficulties, being easily disturbed, and problems in learning to draw, read, and write letters and numbers, as well as difficulties with planning, keeping to a strategy, and generalising learned knowledge.
Children with ADHD have a high incidence of other learning difficulties.
Problems with counting, reading and writing may occur for more than half of the individuals.
Most people with dyscalculia are not primarily hyperactive or inattentive, but their difficulties are mainly caused by other specific, cognitive dysfunctions.
