Dyscalculia

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by Eileen Bailey
Friday, March 27, 2009

Parents can have students evaluated outside of school. However, there are no "strict or measurable criteria" [2] for determining the presence of dyscalculia and therefore evaluations are often subjective. School districts must include outside evaluations in considering a child for special education or additional services, but an outside evaluation determining a child has dyscalculia does not guarantee a school will provide additional services.

Strategies to Help a Child with Dyscalculia

Ideally, parents, teachers and other school personnel will work together to help a child succeed in mathematics. By providing instruction at school and reinforcing the same concepts at home and developing strategies specific to the student's weaknesses, children can learn math.

Some specific strategies:

• Using a tutor to help focus on problem areas. 
• Reviewing concepts and problem solving at home, each night. 
• Create a quiet, distraction-free place for the child to complete homework. 
• Using graph paper to help organize problems and keep numbers in a straight line. 
• Allowing a child to use the strategy that works best for him or her rather than demanding a specific strategy or technique is used. 
• Continual practice of estimating and rounding concepts. 
• Use concrete examples first when introducing new material. Introduce concepts later. 
• Have children visualize math problems, using pictures to help understand the problem. 
• Use real life examples when explaining math problems and concepts. 
• Read the math problem aloud. 
• Use music and rhythms to help in memorizing math facts and formulas.

Sources:

[1] "Dyscalculia", 2009, Author Unknown, National Center for Learning Disabilities

[2] "Dyscalculia: What it Is and What it Isn't", 2006, Author Unknown, LDInfo.com

"The Dyscalculia Syndrome", 1998, Renee Newman, M.S. Special Education, Dyscalculia.org