Dyscalculia, math anxiety, and other number struggles. Raising awareness of dyscalculia.
Dyscalculia: even the term sounds unfamiliar. Many people with dyscalculia may not know the condition exists. Instead they might just think they have difficulty with math, or that anything with numbers is a struggle for them. Those familiar with dyslexia and dysgraphia may never have heard of dyscalculia.
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It’s a vicious cycle. When faced with a number problem you are gripped by anxiety or panic. Clearly these feelings are no good so you go out of your way to avoid number problems as much as possible. This leads to your becoming less and less “good at math” and the feelings of anxiety increase.
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Dyscalculia Blog was founded to raise awareness of dyscalculia and other math learning difficulties. The blog offers information and resources to empower dyscalculics, parents, teachers, students, therapists, and anyone struggling with numbers.
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The New Year is in full swing, but it is not too late to get to grips with your resolutions! Here are some suggestions to help you to engage with your or your child’s learning difficulty.
The first step in engaging with a learning difficulty is acknowledging that your brain works differently.
When you’re expecting a baby, it’s normal to spend hours on end thinking about the ways in which you will have to prepare your life and home for the arrival of a new family member. These anxieties are significantly amplified for expecting parents living with a disability. You may be keenly aware of how to adapt your life to your disability, but it’s not as obvious when you have to consider how a brand new life fits in.
But don’t worry – every parent goes through this. Your disability offers a different sort of challenge, but that doesn’t mean that preparing for parenthood has to be a logistical and emotional ordeal.
If your dyscalculia was undiagnosed until adulthood or perhaps you’re still undiagnosed, it is possible that you have gravitated towards a career that doesn’t involve maths. But no matter how often you need to do equations or handle numbers on a daily basis, simple accommodations can help you to perform your job to the best of your ability.
Developmental dyscalculia can be either genetic or environmental and even an interaction of the two. It is a specific learning disability that affects the normal acquisition of arithmetic skills. It is equally common in boys and girls and impacts on 5-6% of the population.
Genetic causes include known genetic disorders such as Turner’s syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Velocardiofacial syndrome, Williams syndrome. In addition studies suggest that there are genes present in the general population which increase the risk of dyscalculia.
It is well known that schools tend to put mental arithmetic skills above the visual ones, as something like counting with your fingers is seen as a weakness in one’s calculation abilities. Educators and scientists have been tackling this obsolete cliché with research and scientific reports that seem to prove that visual aids are more than just helpful in the learning process.
Indeed, visual aids, such as the use of fingers, have a key role in children’s understanding of mathematics. This form of visualisation gives the abstract world of numbers a real side and establishes a connection to something tangible. This results in the creation connections from the prefrontal cortex (main memory / data centre) to the visual and motor cortex. Thus, when visual aid is used, thinking becomes outsourced to other brain areas generating a more efficient use the brain’s capacity.
However, these findings do not mean that you child will forever use their fingers to count. Over time a mental image of the fingers will become connected to the mental processes of counting, making the physical counting unnecessary. This is proven by numerous studies with primary school children that measured increased activity in the visual cortex while children were solving complex math tasks, even when they did not use their hands.
12th to 14th April – Telford, UK.
The 11th British Dyslexia Association’s International Conference (IC) and EXPO is a leading conference on Dyslexia/Specific Learning difficulties across the age ranges, for the latest in research and practice, exciting developments and inspiration.
The BDA have announced Professor Susan Gathercole (Cambridge University) as IC 2018 Chair and the International Conference committee as we build a great event. The conference theme of Evidence to Practice and Back Again will link research through to good practice and this Flagship event will present speakers, experts from across the world and professional practitioners.
New at the BDA conference is a demo zone where you can get even more hands on with practical opportunities. There will be our largest ever EXPO exhibition space featuring useful exciting materials and technologies, utilising the fantastic facilities available at the Telford International Centre.
Dyscalculia is a specific developmental disorder defined as difficulty acquiring basic arithmetic skills that is not explained by low intelligence or inadequate schooling. Unsurprisingly, many people with this disorder struggle to manage their finances well enough to build wealth. Seniors with dyscalculia face particular challenges. Dyscalculia does not improve without treatment, and seniors were most likely educated without the awareness of development disorders that has begun to penetrate into the school system in the last few decades. Moreover, these days, financial management often requires the use of technology. Seniors are often less familiar with the technological tools needed and dyscalculia makes it difficult to learn. Here are some tips on financial management when living with dyscalculia.
Now I’m sure every parent goes through the stressful shift from primary school to high school and the fears of this change being to much for their child, but there is extra pressure for those with children that have learning difficulties. This is because there will always be a difference between the support your child received at primary school and what’s available at the high school. So we have prepared a list of recommended resources that are suitable for this transition period and for supporting your child throughout their time in high school.
If you are not online, you can forget about keeping in touch with your grandchildren. That is just the reality we are living in. However, for seniors living with dyscalculia or dyslexia, using the internet can be incredibly stressful and even dangerous. To help you with this necessary form of communication, we have put together a comprehensive guide to make the experience less stressful and more fun.
Most of the media attention on dyscalculia and dyslexia is focused on how these maladies affect youngsters. Yet, older adults also have trouble living a normal life and performing specific activities when they are afflicted by these disabilities. In turn, this can cause undue frustration and stress.
Seniors who acquire dyslexia and dyscalculia later in life often do so through trauma, dementia, stroke, or brain injury. For dementia and stroke, stress is typically a contributing factor. When stress is the source of dyslexia or dyscalculia, a dangerous cycle develops.
As dyscalculics and dyslexics put in extra effort to deal with numbers, math, and reading, they get frustrated and mentally-exhausted. This added stress can lead to other health issues or worsen the condition. Unfortunately, trying to use the internet is one of the more stressful experiences for seniors, especially with all of the scammers out there trying to prey on your inexperience. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to stay safe on the internet and avoid the added stress.
This week we have searched high and low for the five best videos on dyscalculia and here they are!
At number one we have the fantastic Tedx Talk from Line Rothmann. She has dyscalculia and tells us of what is like and what quirky systems she developed to get on in a world that is largely based on numbers.