What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a condition that affects the ability to acquire mathematical skills. Children with dyscalculia may have difficulty in understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers and have difficulties learning number facts. Dyscalculia can affect telling the time, estimating and measuring such things as temperature and speed and using money. Approximately 1 in 20 people have dyscalculia and it affects girls as commonly as boys.

In a young child dyscalculia may present as a difficulty in:
• learning how to count
• recognising patterns like smallest to largest
• recognising numbers
In older children this may look like a child that:
• has difficulty recalling basic number facts like number bonds for example 6 + 4 =10
• struggles to understand that 3 + 5 is the same as 5 + 3
• has a poor understanding of mathematical signs such as + and x
• still uses fingers to count
• has trouble keeping scores in games
• has trouble with place value, often putting numbers in the wrong column
• has trouble applying maths concepts to things like money
• struggles to understand things on charts and graphs

As there is no cure for dyscalculia, the aim of treatment is to develop strategies that can be used throughout life, and technology such as calculators and maths apps can also help fill in the gaps. There are many assistive tools for maths that children can use at school and at home. Adjustments and interventions can be put in place at school to help make it easier for your child to work at the same level as their peers.
As a parent or carer you can help your child build maths skills at home. For example using objects to see quantities and how they change provides a concrete way of understanding how certain maths concepts work.

Some famous and successful dyscalculics include: Bill Gates, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Cher and Hans Christian Anderson.