Understanding Dyscalculia

A guide to symptoms, management and treatment

Daniela Lucangeli

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429752438
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This accessible book provides evidence-based guidelines on dyscalculia, offering a thorough explanation of the science behind the disorder. It combines this theoretical framework with practical recommendations, offering interventions for managing the condition at home and school and avoiding potential behavioural consequences.

Written in a straightforward style, this book provides a concise summary of relevant research to empower the reader to take an informed and positive approach to dyscalculia and those who live with it. The internationally based team of contributors examine the different models that explain the construct of dyscalculia, looking at definitions and theories alongside signs, symptoms and diagnosis. Chapters also explore how to communicate diagnosis to peers, possible cultural differences and sensitivities when related to mathematics education and dyscalculia and the importance of maintaining a proactive attitude when working with children with dyscalculia.

Understanding Dyscalculia is essential reading for parents and practitioners in clinical and educational psychology, education professionals and students and researchers of special educational needs, educational psychology and counselling psychology.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Silvia Benavides-Varela

Mathematics is a complex subject that includes different domains (e.g. arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, calculus) some of which are essential for an individual’s full participation in modern societies. However, being good in mathematics is not so simple. Students around the world struggle with it, more than with any other subject, both in and outside the school.

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) launched every three years among 15-year-old students around the world, mathematics is a difficult subject for about 1 in every 4 students. On average 23.4 per cent of students perform below the baseline level (level 1) in mathematics, compared to only 14 per cent and 5.5 per cent that show poor performance in reading and science respectively (OECD, 2016).

If one has troubles with mathematics (or finds a child struggling with the subject), one usually wonders about the nature of the problem and whether there is an effective way of dealing with it and treating it. This book is an attempt to approach some of these questions by reviewing the evidence from experimental and applied research and providing scientifically validated answers to parents, teachers and specialists.

One legitimate concern that arises among students (and their families!) who experience difficulties with numbers is whether their trouble is actually due to dyscalculia.

It can be hard to find the answer, but for most students, mathematical difficulties are not attributable to this developmental deficit per se. There are many reasons for having these difficulties, such as inadequate instruction, lack of motivation or mathematics anxiety (von Aster & Shalev, 2007). The term developmental dyscalculia, instead, is reserved for a specific learning disability that severely impairs the ability to deal with mathematics, despite normal intelligence. Its prevalence is estimated in the order of 5–7 per cent of the population (Shalev, 2007; Nelson & Powell, 2018), which is way below the estimation of the prevalence of mathematical learning difficulties, and about the same of other important developmental disorders such as dyslexia.

Where does trouble with numbers come from? Researchers do not know exactly what causes dyscalculia, but enormous efforts have been made in recent decades to understand the disorder and consequently propose adequate ways of treating it. Chapter 1 describes some of the most significant factors that have been identified as possible causes of dyscalculia and mathematical learning disabilities. The various hypotheses deal with neurological, behavioural, obstetric-environmental and genetic factors. The chapter also anticipates possible lines of research that might soon offer new perspectives to these hypotheses.

How can one detect dyscalculia? The best way to start finding out if a child has dyscalculia is to learn the most common signs of the disorder, pay close attention to the symptoms, take some notes and eventually refer them to the specialist who can identify or rule it out. To this aim, Chapter 2 provides a way of looking at these symptoms from the teachers’ and parents’ perspective. It goes on to describe various children who were suspected to have dyscalculia. It shows how the specialist managed to distinguish between the profiles of those who had a specific mathematics disability from those who had different learning and attention issues that in turn affect their performance in mathematics. The chapter closes by providing guidelines for teachers and parents that aim to help children deal with their mathematics issues and promote in them a better disposition to numbers.

What are the next steps after dyscalculia or mathematics disability has been diagnosed?

Unlike dyslexic students, children with persistent mathematics disorder often do not receive adequate interventions and are not provided with specific instructions to improve their curriculum-based attainment (Morsanyi, Bers, McCormack, & McGourty, 2018). The implementation of early-targeted interventions in various contexts is, however, essential. There are ways parents can help a child with dyscalculia through work on mathematics at home. Improving mathematical skills can also happen at school through educational therapy, or in specialized centres that evaluate the learning profile of the child and prepare individualized training programmes bearing in mind the strengths and weaknesses of the learner. Chapter 3 illustrates the main approaches developed to enhance mathematical skills in children of various ages who have dyscalculia and related disorders. The chapter emphasizes the need to implement interventions tailored to the specific cognitive phenotype of the children and the scientific evidence behind different psychoeducational training programmes. A further section focuses on the importance of psychotherapeutic interventions limiting potential negative emotional effects of dyscalculia. These interventions are extremely valuable for learners who repeatedly suffer defeats in normal classroom contexts.

How can parents, teachers and specialists help kids cope with mathematics anxiety? When kids worry they are going to fail, they can become so anxious that they actually do poorly. Recommendations to deal with such cognitive and emotional aspects of children with dyscalculia and mathematical learning disabilities, as outlined in Chapter 4, are essential. The chapter highlights the importance of adults showing proactive attitudes towards the subject as a way to stimulate the child to improve learning and facilitate the experience with mathematics. Chapter 4 also proposes some activities that can be implemented by teachers in the school context during the mathematics lessons, including digital and generally ludic instruments for training in a fun way.

The scholastic system, and particularly the teachers, can play a critical role in supporting children with dyscalculia. Not only can teachers guide the students and assist them in finding better ways to successfully learn mathematics, but they can also be determinant in building their emotional and social well-being. Teachers are the first models communicating the child’s likeability to their peers and as mediators in sharing the diagnosis with the classroom. The quality of the relationship between the student and the teacher also affects the emotional, social and learning status of the child. Students who receive emotional support from their teachers demonstrate learning-competence skills and are more readily accepted by their peers.

Chapter 5 focuses on this crucial topic, exploring the social interactions of children diagnosed with dyscalculia. It also stresses the importance of establishing collaborative networks consisting of specialists, the school and the family, in order to share viewpoints from different contexts and discuss about treatment options and their outcomes.

Signs of children at risk of dyscalculia can appear as early as pre-school and are likely to persist over the years (Nelson & Powell, 2018). An early diagnosis and the effective treatment of mathematical difficulties may also depend on the specific socio-cultural circumstances, health and educational policies available in each country, institutional resources of the schools and even classroom customs. Taking into account the socio-cultural dimension allows us to capture the practicalities and consequences of everyday life with the condition, often neglected from a purely theoretical perspective. Chapter 6 examines these aspects and particularly emphasizes the importance of a “classroom culture” that promotes inclusive mathematical learning and favours the students’ development by taking into account their learning profiles and their interactions with peers.

Lastly, the authors of this book argue for an integrative understanding of dyscalculia, with particular attention to the learning and socio-emotional needs of the child who suffers from this condition. The various chapters range from scientific evidence to educational, familiar and socio-cultural aspects in order to inform people who interact with children in different contexts. Solid knowledge of dyscalculia may hopefully end up alerting policy makers and open up the possibility of providing targeted educational, therapeutic and structural support tailored to those who are waiting for it – the struggling learners.

References

Morsanyi, K., van Bers, B. M. C. W., McCormack, T., & McGourty, J. (2018). The prevalence of specific learning disorder in mathematics and comorbidity with other developmental disorders in primary school-age children. British Journal of Psychology, 109(4), 917–940. https://doi.org/10.1111/BJOP.12322

Nelson, G., & Powell, S. R. (2018). A systematic review of longitudinal studies of mathematics difficulty. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51(6), 523–539. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219417714773

OECD. (2016). PISA 2015 results (vol. I). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en

Shalev, R. S. (2007). Prevalence of developmental dyscalculia. In D. B. Berch & M. M. M. Mazzocco (Eds.), Why is math so hard for some children? The nature and origins of mathematical learning difficulties and disabilities (pp. 49–60). Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

von Aster, M. G., & Shalev, R. S. (2007). Number development and developmental dyscalculia. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49(11), 868–873. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.00868.x

Chapter 2

What causes the disorder – theories and perspectives

Silvia Benavides-Varela

Several hypotheses at various levels of explanation, including genetic, neural, behavioural and environmental, have been proposed to account for the difficulties encountered by children with developmental dyscalculia. Currently, the mainstream view from cognitive sciences points to a core deficit in the representation and processing of quantities as a hallmark of this specific deficit. However, the research in the various fields is still nascent and awaits future studies to draw final conclusions regarding the definitive aetiology of this condition. In this chapter, we describe the most significant findings linking research to the possible causes of dyscalculia.

Cognitive models of dyscalculia

For children who suffer from dyscalculia, the meaning of quantity is incomprehensible. They might not understand that the number 8, for instance, means eight items in any group, such as eight oranges or eight balls. They often do not get the concept of more versus less or biggest versus smallest. They also may not understand what the numbers are or how they work. For instance, a child may not recognize that the symbol of a number and the written word of that number are the same. These children may also be significantly slower on dot enumeration. These abilities are sometimes referred to as Number Sense, and most children with developmental dyscalculia struggle with them (Price & Ansari, 2013). As time passes, children with dyscalculia may also have difficulties retrieving numerical facts like multiplication tables or with procedural aspects of mathematics, such as lining up numbers correctly to solve a problem.

Besides having difficulties in understanding numbers, quantities and mathematical and arithmetic concepts and symbols, children with dyscalculia do not usually show difficulties in other processes, skills or abilities. Correspondingly, several strands of research converge into the view that factors specific to the domain of numbers might be responsible for dyscalculia. The different theories differ, however, on the specific representation or computation that underpins the impaired processing.

Particularly contentious is the question of whether dyscalculia is the result of deficient approximate skills to represent quantities (Nieder & Dehaene, 2009; Piazza et al., 2010) or exact numeracy (Butterworth, 2019). The former underlies our ability to quickly understand, approximate and manipulate numerical quantities non-verbally (Dehaene, Dehaene-Lambertz, & Cohen, 1998; Gallistel & Gelman, 2005). The latter is used to represent the numbers of individual objects and to support precise calculation and higher mathematics (e.g. Dehaene & Cohen, 1991).

The first account hypothesizes that elaborate numerical skills stem from the core capacity to estimate approximate number of items (Nieder & Dehaene, 2009; Piazza et al., 2010). This approximate representation allows young children, infants and even newborn babies (Izard, Sann, Spelke, & Streri, 2009) to discriminate for instance between two different sets of dots, without necessarily knowing how many dots there are exactly. This view posits that subsequently developed symbolic representations (e.g. that the Arabic digit 5 means exactly five items) are being mapped on these innate non-symbolic representations of quantity (e.g. Dehaene & Cohen, 1997; Piazza et al., 2010).

In support of this view are studies showing that children w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Understanding Atypical Development: a book series for parents and practitioners
• 1 Introduction
• 2 What causes the disorder – theories and perspectives
• 3 Developmental dyscalculia: signs and symptoms
• 4 Intervention programmes for students with dyscalculia: living with the condition
• 5 Interventions for children with developmental dyscalculia: parents, teachers and neuropsychologists working together
• 6 Understanding the impact of diagnosis: emotional well-being, peers and teachers
• 7 Socio-cultural differences and sensitivities in the mathematics classroom
• 8 Conclusion
• Index