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This paper was written as an assignment f= or Ian Walton's Math G - Math for liberal Arts Students - at Mission College. If y= ou use material from this paper, please acknowledge it.
To explore other such papers go to the Math G Projects Page
Dyscalculia:
Math and Learning Disabilitie= s in Education
Pati Brown=
Math G, Final
Dr. Ian Walton
30 November 2009
Table of Contents
Learning Disabili=
ties: The ABC’s and the 1, 2, 3’s=
Building a Healthy
Relationship with Numbers. =
If You Suspect a =
Math
Learning Disability=
A Look at the Edu=
cation
System=
Conclusion: Healing a Wounded Educational System=
Dyscalculia:
Math and Learning Disabilities in Education
While res= earching this paper, I was astonished to find the research on dyscalculia and math learning disabilities still in its infancy; in fact it wasn’t until earlier this year that I even heard the word dyscalculia. The first evidence of epidemiological studies of dyscalculia I could find was a study performed in Slovakia in 1974. It wasn’t until = 1983 that the epidemiology of mathematical disorders was studied in the United States by N.A. Badian, and after Badian’s research another 20 years passed before any other documented studies were published. What is promising however is that since = the early 1990’s we are seeing a more steady flow of research coming from not o= nly the United States, but other parts of the world, such as Europe and India.[1]=
This paper defines dyscalculia, explores its causes, ways to manage it, and its impact= on those who have it. Additionally, t= his paper looks at what the mainstream mathematics classroom can learn from spe= cial education techniques.
Catherine= is in her mid-forties and her difficulties in learning math have held her back throughout her life. She decided to return to school to complete her AA degree:
“…I
received a letter [from my college] stating that I am not eligible for a
degree, [though I had just] walked across the stage in cap and gown. I have taken five Algebra classes in two
years. I have never worked harder =
at
anything in my life only to come away with an “F.” I had perfect attendance; I went to the=
math
lab for a minimum of two hours after class, did my homework every night.
What does
Catherine do? Does she continue to=
take
math classes, knowing she will continue to fail and her GPA will suffer?
Our classr= ooms are seeing many students like Catherine, students with extremely high intellige= nce who underachieve in math. As soon = as they hit a certain discipline or level of math, their brains seemingly ceas= e to function efficiently and they are left behind as their classmates forge forward. Math comes more easily to= their peers, but for some reason their brain is different, they lag behind, and a= re eventually labeled an “under-performer” or “slow.” They experience embarrassment, fear, an= d will do almost anything to avoid doing math.
Studies in= dyslexia – a condition that affects a person’s ability to read and write – were orig= inally noted in Germany in the 1860’s in patients who suffered brain or cerebral vascular injuries. By the turn of the 20th cent= ury, physicians began to see that dyslexia – or “word-blindness” – was sometimes apparent in children who never experienced brain injuries. It was in the early 1900’s that dyslexi= a was acknowledged as a congenital defect.[4]=
Conversely= , there is much less known about dyscalculia than dyslexia; our collective knowledge bank is still anemic in what it knows about the cognitive skills that serve mathematics learning. Studies in dyscalculia are currently where dyslexia studies were thirty years ago. We know that children with limited spat= ial abilities suffer limited geometry skills. And those with poor auditory and visual = memory can’t achieve success in math if they can’t remember the numbers. Additionally we know that language abil= ities do play an important role in solving math problems in double-digit addition= .
Let’s look= at the example below:
3 9 + 2 6 6 5
This problem involves at le= ast five steps which require language ability to process:
1.&n= bsp; Add the 9 and the 6 to get the answer 15
2.&n= bsp; Write the first digit for the answer “5” und= er the “6”
3.&n= bsp; Hold the 10’s place digit “1”
4.&n= bsp; Write that digit above the “3”
5.&n= bsp; Add the three digits in the 10’s column
As straight-forward as this= problem seems, it is very complicated for a child with math learning disabilities.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And the math problems only become more complicated as he gets older.[5]=
Perhaps pa= rt of the misunderstanding in the treatment and education of those who have dyscalculia is the lack of a consistent definition. There seem to be as many definitions of dyscalculia as there are sources for those definitions.
The Diagno= stic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) is the stan= dard psychiatric handbook used in the United States. This handbook gives the following diagnostic guidelines for “Mathema= tics Disorder”:
(American Psychiatric
Association, 1994, Section 315.1) [6]
This is a = sterile and inaccurate definition, one that isn’t adequate to sort out those who ha= ve a math learning disability from those who had an exceptionally bad teacher or= who experienced situational problems in their life at a crucial time in their m= ath education.
Researcher= s Karin Landerl, et al, define dyscalculia as a deficiency in the number module in = the brain.[7]= Additionally, researchers from Bed-Guri= on University in Israel state that those with developmental dyscalculia usually have difficulty keeping their attention on task as well as difficulties processing numbers.[8] In yet another limited but comprehensiv= e study of 7 children in Israel, researchers Ruth S. Shalev and Varda Gross-Tsur fo= und neurological conditions present in addition to dyscalculia. The conditions they recognized were pet= it mal seizures, Gerstmann syndrome, number dyslexia, and attention deficit disord= er.[9]=
Perhaps th= e best, most comprehensive definition of dyscalculia comes from neuropsychologist, Brian Butterworth, and is included in the evaluation test he developed specifically for dyscalculia, the Dyscalculia Screener. In this text Butter= worth describes dyscalculia, sometimes called “number-blindness,” as a persistent congenital condition. He quotes the Department of Education in Great Britain:
“[Dyscalculia] is a condition that aff= ects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Dyscalculic learners may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers and have problems learning num= ber facts and procedures. Even if they produce a correct answer or use a correct method, they may do so mechanical= ly and without confidence.” (Butterworth’s Dyscalculia Screener) [10]
Researcher=
s differ
slightly in their definitions of dyscalculia and the reasons for it. Some believe dyscalculia is a result of
congenital deficiencies, others believe it results from delayed rather than
abnormal development,[11]
and still others believe there is a sort of pseudo-dyscalculia,
a result of poor math instruction.[12]
However all agree that many exper=
ience
a serious problem developing proper math skills. There is significant evidence that many
children with dyscalculia experience other learning disabilities as well.
A deficit = in math can affect many academic skills. Therefore it is very important to maintain frequent and open communication with your child and your child’s teacher about school, and particularly about math. Look for signs of stress when your child brings math work home, and be careful not to feed into your child’s math st= ress by getting angry or telling them how much you hated math as a child.
Listen to =
what
your child has to say about math, and watch how they problem-solve. Are
It is also important to understand that teaching to different learning styles can be v= ery anxiety-provoking for some teachers. If you sense that your child’s math teacher is not a good fit, get your child = help immediately. Speak with the principal to arrange for alternative teaching or classroom options. Understand that a strong foundation in mathematics plays a vital rol= e in your child’s lifelong educational success, and most importantly, her self-esteem.
First, spe= ak with your child’s teacher. What behavio= rs has she observed in your child in relation to math lessons? Has she seen evidence of any of the following?
·&nb= sp; In addition to problems in math, are there observed issues in listening, speaking, reading, writing, or reasoning?
·&nb= sp; Is = your child’s general intelligence higher than his performance indicates?
·&nb= sp; Does the child withdraw or daydream during m= ath lessons?
·&nb= sp; Does she hear what the teacher says and then immediately forget?
·&nb= sp; Does she have trouble retaining a concept she once understood?
·&nb= sp; Has the child developed escape behaviors like tantrums, depression, difficulty starting or completing homework, or inatte= ntion?