What is Dyscalculia?

Students with dyscalculia may not experience difficulty with all areas of math. Instead, they might encounter challenges in a specific area.   

These areas include:    

• Number Sense: Students with dyscalculia have difficulty understanding and recognizing numbers and counting and using number patterns. They may struggle with estimating quantities and solving math problems that involve basic number concepts. 
• Memorization of Arithmetic Facts: For students with dyscalculia, memorizing math facts, such as multiplication tables, could pose greater challenges. They may forget recently learned facts and count on their fingers to solve math problems.  
• Accurate and Fluent Calculation: Students with dyscalculia generally take longer to solve math problems and make more errors. They often rely on inefficient counting strategies and struggle with accuracy, especially when working through multi-step problems.  
• Accurate Mathematical Reasoning: Students with dyscalculia have difficulty judging quantities and manipulating numbers. They may struggle to understand abstract mathematical representations and have trouble comparing numbers or identifying number sequences.  

In addition to these specific math difficulties, students with dyscalculia may also face challenges with general reasoning that affect their math abilities.   

These challenges could include:    

• Working Memory: Dyscalculia can impact a students’ working memory, or their ability to hold and manipulate information. People with dyscalculia may have trouble remembering the steps in a math problem or have difficulty accessing numerical information quickly.   

• Attention: Students with dyscalculia may struggle to focus their attention on math tasks and may be easily distracted. This can appear more often when they are asked to solve multi-step problems or when they haven’t fully automated certain math skills.   

• Processing Speed: Students with dyscalculia often take longer to process and respond to math problems compared to their classmates. They may need more time to retrieve information or complete calculations accurately.   

• Phonological Processing: Dyscalculia can affect a student’s ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in language, which is important for understanding and processing math problems that are spoken rather than written. Difficulties in phonological processing can hinder a student’s ability to work with numbers and solve arithmetic problems.   

• Spatial Skills: Dyscalculia can impact a student’s spatial skills, including their ability to understand shapes, sizes, positions, and directions. Students need spatial skills to solve geometry problems and to visualize mathematical concepts.   

• Logical/Non-Verbal Reasoning: Students with dyscalculia may have difficulty problem-solving and forming concepts without relying on language. Students must develop logical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning skills to identify patterns, understand problem constraints, and find solutions.