Dyscalculia

Research into dyscalculia is still in the early stages compared with dyslexia. It is estimated that dyscalculia affects 4% to 6% of the population and it can co-occur alongside other specific learning differences such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. There are a number of areas that can cause dyscalculic difficulties such as written number problems and difficulties caused by poor working memory. 

In general, people with dyscalculia have poor number sense (the natural understanding of how numbers work). Number sense is at the core of maths learning. In a similar way that a lack of phonemic awareness causes people with dyslexia to struggle with reading, a lack of number sense causes people with dyscalculia to struggle with maths concepts. If individuals don’t understand the basics about how numbers work, learning maths and using it every day can be very frustrating.

In 2022 the Scottish Working Definition of Dyscalculia was developed collaboratively to provide a nationally agreed description of the range of indicators and associated difficulties of dyscalculia. 

Signs of dyscalculia in pre-school children:                            

Signs of dyscalculia in primary school:

Signs of dyscalculia in high school and adults

It is important to note that these are just indicators and are not the same as an assessment of dyscalculia. 

More help for dyscalculia

Dyscalculia Information Centre

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Dyscalculia.org

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Dyscalculia Network

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Maths apps

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Steve Chinn

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