WHAT IS DYSCALCULIA?

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder which is associated with significant difficulty in understanding and working with mathematical concepts. Basic concepts like addition, subtraction, and quantities can often serve as a challenge. Dyscalculia can make simple everyday tasks such as cooking, grocery shopping, and getting places on time extremely difficult as they include basic math skills called number sense.

The earliest appearance of dyscalculia is typically a deficit in the ability to know, from a brief glance and without counting, how many objects there are in a small group.

Dyscalculia often looks different at different ages. It tends to become more apparent as kids get older; however, symptoms can appear as early as preschool.

Warning Signs of Dyscalculia

  • Trouble learning multi-step calculation
  • Not knowing which of two digits is larger, i.e. understanding the magnitude and relationship of numbers
  • Limitations in working memory capacity
  • Difficulty imagining a mental number line
  • Anxiety about or negative attitude towards maths