Dyscalculia/Mathematics

Henry Montero, LMHC, CASAC-2, CTTS

Alquimedez Mental Health Counseling
1154 E. Tremont Ave Bronx, NY 10460-2452
Tel: 718-664-7679
www.alquimedez.com
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Twitter: @henmontero
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Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability that is considered a lifelong deficiency and involves mathematics. There is no uniform type of disability when it comes to mathematics, and the issues faced varies on a case by case basis.

Also called number blindness, children with dyscalculia struggle with basic planning and scheduling, recognition of digits, timetables, and deadlines, counting as well as memorizing numbers, prices and phone numbers.
Signs of Dyscalculia

Parents and teachers alike must be aware of the signs that children exhibit. These can manifest during elementary or secondary school as well. Like we alluded to earlier, learning disabilities involving mathematics can be wide-ranging, identification of warning signs can be quite tricky.

A pertinent example of a sign of dyscalculia is when a child’s speaking, reading and writing capabilities are perfectly fine, but they cannot process mathematical equations. Another instance of a symptom is when kids have a good memory for everything, but struggle when it comes to memorizing numbers or digits, especially sequential ones.

Furthermore, children may also exhibit difficulty when it comes to the concept of time. They may become forgetful of schedules and timetables. This will result in these children being late quite often and skipping classes.

Children with dyscalculia are also navigationally challenged. They lack an acceptable sense of direction and are disoriented quite easily. As kids are encouraged to exercise mental mathematics, this is another area where a learning disability can be detected.

Another way to identify dyscalculia in children is when they participate in games. For example, if a child is playing a strategy based game like chess or a role-playing game (RPG), and he is having considerable trouble, then that is another indication that he may have dyscalculia.

Tackling the Disability
The most critical aspect of combating a learning disability like dyscalculia is that parents and teachers must work harder with such children. They cannot succeed without legitimate attention to detail and additional effort.

Naturally, there is a medication that can help children in this case. There are other mental health concerns like ADHD and anxiety attacks that can be improved with medication and dyscalculia is no exception. However, since there is no commonly accepted cure per se, experts recommend that the best course of action is that work should be put in when children are in classrooms and at home as well.

Teachers are advised to encourage children to focus on their strengths as opposed to highlighting their weaknesses. This is considered to be the primary step of tackling dyscalculia and learning issues in general.

Besides providing children with a school setting that is understanding and makes them feel at ease, teachers must devise a deliberate strategy to allow their students to succeed not just within the confines of a classroom, but beyond that also.

The same applies to parents, and they must be vigilant when it comes to their children. If both parties can execute mathematical exercises like using graph paper instead of regular sheets, that may go a long way in helping children with dyscalculia.