Exposure to learning new concepts such as reading can be an exciting time for parents. However, some students may struggle with school – reading or math skills – due to learning disabilities. Dyscalculia is a recognised learning disability, whereby a child struggles with arithmetic skills and numeracy. In short, children with dyscalculia have no clear understanding of quantity and lack number sense – a hard time comprehending number systems and relations of numbers to each other.
Identifying developmental dyscalculia
It is to note that dyscalculia is different from more general difficulties with maths that most children experience as they grasp new concepts. Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability which affects a child’s ability to assess numerical quantity and connection in maths.
Some of the main indicators of dyscalculia include an inability to subitise very small quantities, poor number sense, magnitude processing difficulty, inability to notice patterns and an inability to estimate whether a numerical answer is reasonable.
Challenges of developmental dyscalculia
Children with dyscalculia often experience challenges, particularly when learning math in a classroom. Besides having trouble with addition and subtraction, memorising times tables and tackling more demanding story sums can be daunting to the child.
In addition, this learning disability may extend outside of classroom walls. Dyscalculic children often fumble over the memorisation of symbols, making it difficult for them to recall the meaning of signs and signals such as stop signs. They also tend to be chronically late, since they struggle with reading time from a clock or watch. Finally, children with dyscalculia are unable to participate in childhood strategy games – chess, checkers or board games – which their peers enjoy.
Strategies for improving dyscalculia
Although there is no direct treatment for dyscalculia, having an early diagnosis for the child is the most effective treatment thus far. The earlier the issue is identified, the faster the child with this disability can learn the necessary tools for them to adapt to new learning processes. If left unnoticed, learning delays, self-esteem problems and other serious disorders may arise.
Despite that, there are professionals to aid the child with the learning disability to allow them an equal shot at math success. Educational therapists have been known to dig deep and tackle the root causes. This specialised plan crafted for the child enables the therapists to extend their help to allow the child to grasp concepts in a way that is most effective for them. When it comes to school, additional support such as shadow support, can also make sure that the child gets the help they require.
Support for dyscalculic children at home
Besides professional help, parents and caregivers provide a vital role in a child’s learning. Although dyscalculia can make life and learning more difficult for the child, there are an abundance of creative and effective strategies to aid parents in improving their child’s fundamental math skills.
Supporting a child with dyscalculia involves tackling the fundamental challenge of the child – the lack of meaning associated with mathematical symbols. A strong effective manner to help a dyscalculic child will be multisensory learning. Multisensory teaching uses all of the child’s senses when learning the association between numbers and symbols. This enables them to remember and use this newly acquired information much better. Some examples of multisensory teaching can include the use of cubes and tiles, manipulatives to understand math operations and drawing of objects to form equations. Other strategies include focusing on games and activities rather than worksheets, playing with dominoes and dice, as well as teaching for understanding rather than memorising.
Dyscalculia can be tackled by various strategies parents can easily make the most of in the comfort of their own homes. By focusing on supporting the child’s mathematical journey, the child still has many opportunities to grow, adapt and learn in the domain of math skills.
In conclusion, by understanding more about dyscalculia and approaches to aid a child in their mathematical journey, it can enable less stress and struggles a child may experience in school. Are you then keen about the ways you can help children with dyscalculia boost their math skills? Nurture Pods offers a free online course just for that! Dive deeper into this course to learn more about multisensory teaching methods! This includes counting with concrete objects, visual aids such as number lines and crafting equations through story sums.
Join us in this exploration of supporting children in their mathematical journeys! Enroll today and begin your journey towards making a positive impact in the lives of these remarkable children! https://www.nurturepods.com/free-training-courses/
Written by: Alex Liau
Published on 12 February 2025
