Finger counting and struggling to tell the time or use a calendar are all typical signs of dyscalculia – sometimes called 'maths dyslexia'.
You’ve probably heard of dyslexia, but have you heard of dyscalculia before? Maybe not, given that children with dyscalculia – or mathematical learning difficulties – are less likely to be diagnosed. In fact, research shows that children with dyslexia are more than a hundred times more likely to receive a diagnosis and educational support than children with dyscalculia. This is despite the fact that dyslexia and dyscalculia are expected to be equally common. This is worrying, given that research shows low numeracy might affect people’s life chances more negatively than low literacy. Indeed, there is a strong link between numeracy and educational success, income, mental and physical health and even chances of arrest and incarceration.
What is dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia is defined as a condition that involves long-term, severe difficulties with mathematics – which cause significant problems with academic or occupational performance, or with daily activities. Some typical signs of dyscalculia that parents might notice are using finger counting – even for simple arithmetic – struggling to retrieve number facts from memory (such as times tables), and struggling to learn new procedures.
