The Causes: “The only way to
learn mathematics
Dyscalculia
What is it?
Dyscalculia is a brain-based condition
that causes difficulty for a person to make
sense of numbers and math concepts. Things
that may come easy to the average student
can become very difficult for a student with
Dyscalculia. It is hard to learn and memorize
basic number facts and many times the logic
behind the problems is completely misses.
Students may know what to do but do not
understand why they are doing certain
things. Dyscalculia often creates problems for
the student when they are even just looking
at a problem. Numbers can be switched
which provides a good deal of problems for
the rest of their learning.
There is no known specific cause is to do
for dyscalculia but there are certain mathematics.”
factors that indicate it is a brain-based -Paul Halmos
condition. One possible cause is genes
and heredity. Studies show dyscalculia
is more common in some families over
others and often times a child with
dyscalculia has a parent or a sibling with
similar math issues. Another possible
cause is brain development. Researches
have been studying the surface area,
thickness, and volume of parts of the
brain and seeing if there is a relationship
between these measurements and
memory and math skills. A third possible
cause is environment, specifically
exposure to alcohol in the womb. The
last cause is brain injury. Injury to
certain parts of the brain can result in
what researchers call “acquired
dyscalculia.”
 How can I
help?
 If your child has been identified
with dyscalculia they may be
eligible for special education
services.

 Response to intervention (RIT) is a

program some schools use to
provide extra help to students who
are falling behind.

 Tutors can be very beneficial for

students with dyscalculia. One-on-
one time helps your child focus on
mastering the basic skills and can Life for a student with Dyscalculia (symptoms)
help boost self-confidence.

 Try different approaches and

strategies such as playing math
games, creating a homework
station
 Visit “Through Your Child’s Eyes”
and see what it is like for yourself
The interesting thing about
Dyscalculia is the fact that it can affect
many different areas of math learning and
performance. The most common
difficulty students have is with “number
sense.” Although this can mean switching
numbers around similar to dyslexia,
difficulty with “number sense” is more or
the understanding of how numbers work.
Students struggle with concepts such has
how to compare and estimate quantities,
how to connect numbers to the real
world, and it is difficult for them to tell the
difference between quantities of
numbers.
Any example of a student not being able
to grasp “number sense would be a
student not being able to understand that
“five cookies” has the same number of
objects as “five cakes” or “five apples.”
There are disconnects found in students
because of lack of understanding basic
concepts. Number sense is at the core of
math learning and this is why so many
students struggle with math as a subject
overall. If students do not understand the
basics about how numbers work, learning
math and applying it to every day life can
become frustrating. Many times it
becomes difficult to learn altogether.
Sources:

A. M. (2014, March 10). Understanding Dyscalculia I Math Learning Disabilities. Retrieved October 16,
2016, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-
disabilities/dyscalculia/understanding-dyscalculia