What is Dyscalculia?
Updated: Oct 6
Dyscalculia is a learning disability that makes it difficult for a student to understand and work with numbers and mathematics.
It is not simply being “bad at math,” and it isn't caused by laziness or a lack of effort.
A child with dyscalculia may have persistent difficulty with things such as:
understanding quantity — knowing that 8 means a collection of eight things
recognizing numbers and connecting numerals to quantities
understanding place value — what the 3 means in 32 versus 302
remembering basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts
seeing number patterns and relationships
estimating whether an answer makes sense
doing calculations mentally
keeping track of numbers and steps in a calculation
understanding mathematical language such as more than, less than, equal to, or difference
applying math to everyday things such as money, time, measurement, and schedules
One important point: dyscalculia does not mean a child cannot learn mathematics. It means that some of the underlying processes needed to learn and use mathematics are significantly more difficult.
A child struggling with math does not automatically have dyscalculia.
They might have missed foundational skills, difficulty with language, working-memory demands, attention difficulties, ineffective instruction, math anxiety, or a combination of factors.
Likewise, math anxiety and dyscalculia can coexist. A child who repeatedly struggles with numbers may become anxious about math precisely because they've experienced so much failure.
Here is clear side-by-side breakdown comparing the signs of both: [Dyscalculia or math anxiety?]
Kinota Braithwaite - Learning & Assessment Specialist
More Than Just Tutoring Tokyo
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