Dyscalculia
Definition

Learning Objectives

This module will help you to:

1. Explain the effects of dyscalculia on learning in the classroom.
2. Understand the types of accommodations or other support that can help meet the educational needs of students with dyscalculia.
3. Know how to support a student with dyscalculia.

Definition

According to the National Centre on Learning Disabilities (2007), dyscalculia “is a term referring to a wide range of life-long learning disabilities involving math. There is no single form of math disability, and difficulties vary from person to person and affect people differently in school and throughout life.”

The following are common characteristics of people with dyscalculia¹:

• Difficulty estimating costs like groceries bills
• Difficulty learning math concepts beyond basic math facts
• Poor ability to budget or balance a check book
• Trouble with concepts of time, such as sticking to a schedule or approximating time
• Trouble with mental math
• Difficulty finding different approaches to one problem
• Seem to have no “sense of number”
• Have trouble learning error-free counting, memorizing arithmetical facts, following procedures, or executing counting strategies
• Can do the above tasks, but slowly
• May have trouble with problem solving, mental calculations, and money
• Frequently mix up the signs used in numerical operations

• 1. Adapted from The Learning Disabilities Association of America (2015).