Siedah Knox SPED Fact Sheet - Dyscalculia

Special need	Special Need: Dyscalculia
Characteristics	There are many characteristics that are associated with dyscalculia.  They are presented in three different stages for young children, school aged children and lastly the teenager and adults. Young Children Students learn the basic foundations for mathematics when they are young.  If students have learning disabilities their memory for numbers is very poor and they find trouble learning to count.  Young children with dyscalculia also have difficulty sorting things logically, such as sorting triangles from squares, and making relationships with numbers and objects (e.g, the number 3, 3 houses, 3 cars.)    School Aged Children The characteristics of school age children differ from young children.  At these ages students struggle extensively with learning math facts.  Those facts include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Since math concepts build on one another this is a huge factor if it is not recognized quickly.  In school these students long term memory for math operations and functions are not as good as they should be.  These students are usually not familiar with math vocabulary and they struggle when they have to measure things.  Teenagers/Adults The characteristics that are common in teenagers and adults are sometime hard to recognize.  In this stage you will see teens and adults have difficulty completing common day-to-day or weekly tasks.  Teens and adults will struggle with learning math beyond the basic math facts and discovering multiple ways of solving problems. Specifically adults with have problems with estimating cost for bills, mental math, balancing their checkbooks and time (keep track of, staying on schedule, etc.,).
Misconceptions	There are many misconceptions about Dyscalculia.  People believe that students who struggle in math have this disability and this is not true.  If the characteristics of the young children, school-aged children and adults are present have the problems persist and are continuous then they should be tested.  Every individual learns are different paces and because of this someone cannot assume that if an individual is struggling in a certain area then they have Dyscalculia.  The individuals must struggle continuously with the signs listed above to be considered for testing.
Resources	To read about this disability there are various books and websites where people can find out more information.  The National Center for Learning Disabilities provides information about Dyscalculia.  In addition to the NCLD (http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-language/ld-aamp-math/what-is-dyscalculia) more information can be found at: LD Online: http://www.ldonline.org/article/13709/ Learning Disabilities Association:  http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/ld_basics/dyscalculia.asp Dyscalculia Forum: http://www.dyscalculiaforum.com/viewpage.php?page_id=18 In addition to these sites, there are books available: ·  Dyscalculia – Action Plans for Successful Learning in Mathematics by Glynis Hannell ·  The Dyscalculia Toolkit: Supporting Learning Difficulties in Maths  and Overcoming Difficulties With Number: Supporting Dyscalculia and Students Who Struggle With Maths by Ronit Bird ·  Dealing With Dyscalculia by Steve Chinn
Curricular Modification(s)	There are many ways my teacher and I modify the curriculum to assist students with this disability.  I differentiate instruction to accommodate all students in my classroom and if they have this particular disability they have a chance to learn and practice what we are learning in many different ways and styles.  For example, I draw and use many pictures and diagrams.  This is typically how I start each lesson, with some type of activity.  I may sometimes use manipulatives and/ or draw pictures especially when completing word problems.  This helps the students think through problems so they will not be totally confused.  Recently I have been using computer games and music to help teach times table facts.  In teaching math, it is important to teach students’ good habits, but students who are struggling with this disability it is more important to help them learn the concepts.  Because of this it is encouraged to let students use their fingers and scratch paper. The modifications used are common in relation to what the students are learning.  I believe that when more modifications and strategies are used the better.  This way if the student forgets one way of completing a problem they can use another.  This strategy for example, would not work for a student who has difficulty organizing their ideas on paper.  For this student I would let them use graph paper to help them organize their thoughts.  I try to connect most of the math content to show students that it builds from one concept to the next.  The most important thing is to know how the students that have this disability learning styles.  If they learn best with pictures, then providing pictures for them and allowing them to use pictures to solve the problems would fit them best.  This is why I use many modifications so that I will accommodate each individual learning style.