Dyscalculia Bronwyn Gendall 21 July 2017 Dyscalculia Aims

Dyscalculia Bronwyn Gendall 21 July 2017

Dyscalculia Aims A better understanding of dyscalculia: • Incidence • Aetiology • Assessment • Interventions

Dyscalculia: Brian Butterworth, Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychology, University College London • Not a language difficulty • Not a working memory difficulty • Affects all people across the full ability range • People with dyscalculia often function very well in other areas.

Maths Difficulties • Approximately 25% of adults have difficulties with Mathematics • Maths difficulties lead to problems coping with everyday life – balancing the budget, conceptualising time and punctuality, estimating how long jobs take, planning and map reading.

There are lots of reasons why people experience difficulties with maths • • • Lack of early experiences Poor teaching Developmental delay Behavioural issues Dyslexia Language difficulties

Dyscalculia - Prevalence • In Britain it is estimated that approximately 3, 000 people in UK have dyscalculia • 11% of children have maths difficulties – Brian Butterworth • 5 -7% have dyscalculia – Brian Butterworth • Dyscalculia 50/50 male to female • Dyslexia 70/30 male to female

Maths difficulties and career prospects • Research – If you are good at maths by the age of 10, you are likely to earn more money throughout your life. Moorcroft 2014 • On average people who are good at maths earn £ 2, 000 per year more at age 30. Moorcroft 2014.

National Institute in USA spent on Research in 2011 • Dyslexia - $107, 000 • Dyscalculia - $2, 000 • Dyscalculia does not attract the resources or research that dyslexia attracts.

Dyscalculia • 1800 s – arithmetic deficit • Benjamin Franklyn left school at 12 years of age due to difficulties with Maths. • Buswell, G. T. and Judd, C. M. (1925) Summary of Educational Investigations Relating to Arithmetic. Supplementary Educational Monographs. Chicago. University of Chicago Press.

The American Psychiatric Association (2013) Developmental Dyscalculia: - ‘A specific learning disorder that is characterised by impairments in learning basic arithmetic facts, processing numerical magnitude and performing accurate and fluent calculations. These difficulties must be quantifiably below what is expected for an individual’s chronological age, and must not be caused by poor educational or daily activities or intellectual impairments. ’

Kaufman et al (2013) Proposed 2 subtypes of Developmental Dyscalculia: Primary DD – a heterogeneous disorder resulting from individual deficits in numerical or arithmetic functioning at a behavioural, cognitive/neuropsychological level and neuronal levels. Secondary DD – should be used if numerical/arithmetic dysfunctions are entirely caused by non-numerical impairments such as attention disorders.

Karagiannakis and Cooreman (2015) proposed a classification model of mathematical LD • Core number. Difficulties in the basic sense of numerosity and subitising (Butterworth 2005, 2010) • Visual-spatial. Difficulties in interpreting and using spatial organisation and representation of mathematical objects. • Memory. Difficulties in retrieving numerical facts and performing mental calculations accurately. • Reasoning. Grasping mathematical concepts, ideas and relations and understanding multiple steps in complex procedures/ algorithms.

What is dyscalculia? • • • Not having number sense Not being able to estimate Difficulties with telling the time Difficulties assessing number quantity Difficulties with money Difficulties performing calculations Difficulties with sequencing Difficulties recognising patterns Difficulties with direction and orientation

Sp. LD and maths difficulties • Mahesh Sharma - As the causes of mathematics problems are many, there is no one thing that can explain a child’s learning problem. • Chinn and Ashcroft – No one teaching method will work for all learners. • Some problems are common across both conditions (sequencing) but others are not (phonological processing)

Dyslexia and maths difficulties • Areas of the brain associated with dyslexia are the inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobe and ventral temporal cortex. • The area of the brain associated with dyscalulia is the left parietal lobe. • Dyslexic learners frequently have difficulties with sequencing, auditory/working memory and processing speed. • Another common problem is the language of mathematics.

Developmental delay and maths difficulties • Normal patterns of development but at a slower pace. • Lack of early experience • Cognitive • Neurobiological • Language difficulties and not understanding all the mathematical terms • Do benefit from teaching methods used for those with dyscalculia

Maths phobia A fear of maths - arithmophobia Panic and anxiety block learning Poor self-image as a learner of the subject Parents conveying their anxieties about maths Difficulties do not necessarily stem from structures in the brain • Have the capacity to function well in maths with the right support. • • •

Famous people with dyscalculia • • Paul Moorcroft Cher Mick Hucknall – Lead singer Simply Red Henry Winkler

Aetiology • Genetic • If a parent is dyscalculic – child 10 times more likely to be dyscalculic • Twin studies • Maths ability is associated with parietal lobes – lower gray matter density in the left intraparietal sulcas (this part of the brain is very active when people are doing mental arithmetic.

Brian Butterworth • Dyscalculia is a difficulty in basic number sense. • Dyscalculia occurs across the IQ range • Dyscalculia is not: – A memory difficulty – Not an attention problem – Not a language difficulty

People with dyscalculia have difficulties • • Subitising (children in nursery) Counting Identifying if a number is smaller or larger Rounding up and down Confusing mathematical signs Transposing numbers 29 – 92 Learning the four basic rules of number Mental arithmetic

People with dyscalculia have difficulties • • • Times tables Using calculators Checking answers and estimation Reading a clock face Spatial awareness Coordinates (Map reading)

Developmental Dyscalculia • Debbie – (2 8) (3 7) (1 9) (4 6) were meaningless pairs • Student on BSc Psychology Degree Course – place value • Thought to be present from birth • A lifelong condition due to differences in the brain – mainly in the parietal lobes

Testing for Dyscalculia • WISC IV + WIAT or BAS – discrepancy model • WIAT II or other standardised number test. An analysis of errors. A lack of understanding of number operations. A lack of number sense. Further specialist assessment may be required. • The examiner can learn a lot about the child from watching how they perform tasks. • Talk to parents and teachers

The Dyslexia Screener – Brian Butterworth • • • A computerised number timed test. Number comparison Dot Counting An item timed arithmetic test A reaction time test.

Teaching Dyscalculics • • Develop number sense Showing patterns Making connections Practical experiences Cuisenaire Rods Base 10 Apparatus The Spiral Curriculum – Brunner 1960. The most effective way of gaining mastery of a subject. Start simple, revisit increasing the complexity.

Teaching children experiencing difficulties with maths • Complete assessments and build up a profile • What are the child’s strengths? • What are the priorities for intervention, areas to develop? • How is the child to be supported in class and who by?

Useful resources and websites The Dyscalculia Assessment by Jane Emerson and Patricia Babtie, 2013 The book covers: • Assessing number sense and counting • Assessing calculation • Assessing place value • Assessing multiplication and division • Assessing word problems • Assessing formal written numeracy

The Dyscalculia Assessment continued • Interpreting the assessment • Games and activities • A dyscalculia questionnaire for parents and teachers • A dyscalculia assessment teaching plan • Cost £ 40. 00?

Dyscalculia Pocket Book, Judy Hornigold, 2015 Top Ten Tips: 1. Make it real 2. Take your time 3. Make it fun 4. Look for the short route 5. Say what you see 6. Make it multi-sensory 7. Focus on place value 8. Keep talking and develop meta-cognition 9. Little and often 10. Reduce memory load

Comorbidity A child with a learning difficulty in one area is much more likely to experience difficulties in other areas. • Short term memory • Working memory • Dyslexia • Dyspraxia • Dyscalculia • Dysgraphia • ADHD

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