Dyscalculia[p] or
math disability is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
. It is akin to
dyslexiaDyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself primarily as a difficulty with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction....
and can include confusion about math symbols. Dyscalculia can also occur as the result of some types of brain injury.
Dyscalculia was originally identified, in case studies, with patients who suffered specific arithmetic disabilities as a result of damage to specific regions of the brain.
Dyscalculia[p] or
math disability is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
. It is akin to
dyslexiaDyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself primarily as a difficulty with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction....
and can include confusion about math symbols. Dyscalculia can also occur as the result of some types of brain injury.
Overview
Dyscalculia was originally identified, in case studies, with patients who suffered specific arithmetic disabilities as a result of damage to specific regions of the brain. Recent research suggests that dyscalculia can also occur developmentally, as a genetically-linked learning disability which affects a person's ability to understand, remember, or manipulate numbers or number facts (e.g., the
multiplication tableIn mathematics, a multiplication table is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication operation for an algebraic system....
s). The term is often used to refer specifically to the inability to perform arithmetic operations, but it is also defined by some educational professionals and
cognitive psychologistsCognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates the internal mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, problem solving, and language....
as a more fundamental inability to conceptualize numbers as abstract concepts of comparative quantities (a deficit in "
number senseIn mathematics education, number sense can refer to "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Many other definitions exist, but are similar to the one given...
"). Those who argue for this more-constrained definition of dyscalculia sometimes prefer to use the technical term "Arithmetic Difficulties" (AD) to refer to calculation and number memory deficits.
Dyscalculia is a lesser known disability, similar and potentially related to
dyslexiaDyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself primarily as a difficulty with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction....
and developmental dyspraxia. Dyscalculia occurs in people across the whole IQ range, and sufferers often, but not always, also have difficulties with time, measurement, and spatial reasoning. Current estimates suggest it may affect about 5% of the population. Although some researchers believe that dyscalculia necessarily implies mathematical reasoning difficulties as well as difficulties with arithmetic operations, there is evidence (especially from brain damaged patients) that arithmetic (e.g. calculation and number fact memory) and mathematical (abstract reasoning with numbers) abilities can be dissociated. That is (some researchers argue), an individual might suffer arithmetic difficulties (or dyscalculia), with no impairment of, or even giftedness in, abstract mathematical reasoning abilities.
The word dyscalculia comes from
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
which means: "counting badly". The prefix "dys" comes from Greek and means "badly". "Calculia" comes from the Latin "calculare". which means "to count". That word "calculare" again comes from "
calculusCalculus is a discipline in mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental...
", which means "pebble" or one of the counters on an
abacusThe abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets...
.
Dyscalculia can be detected at a young age and measures can be taken to ease the problems faced by younger students. The main problem is understanding the way mathematics is taught to children. In the way that dyslexia can be dealt with by using a slightly different approach to teaching, so can dyscalculia. However, dyscalculia is the lesser known of these learning disorders and so is often not recognized.
Potential symptoms
- Frequent difficulties with arithmetic, confusing the signs: +
The plus and minus signs are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative as well as the operations of addition and subtraction. Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous...
, −The plus and minus signs are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative as well as the operations of addition and subtraction. Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous...
, ÷An obelus is a symbol consisting of a short line with dots above and below. It is mainly used to represent the mathematical operation of division. It is therefore also known as a division sign.- History :...
and ×.
- Difficulty with everyday tasks like checking change and reading analog clocks.
- Inability to comprehend financial planning or budget
A budget is generally a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
ing, sometimes even at a basic level; for example, estimating the cost of the items in a shopping basket or balancing a checkbook.
- Difficulty with multiplication-tables, and subtraction-tables, addition tables, division tables, mental arithmetic, etc.
- May do fairly well in subjects such as science and geometry, which require logic rather than formulae, until a higher level requiring calculations is obtained.
- Difficulty with conceptualizing time and judging the passing of time. May be chronically late.
- Particularly problems with differentiating between left and right.
- Difficulty navigating or mentally "turning" the map to face the current direction rather than the common North=Top usage.
- Having particular difficulty mentally estimating the measurement of an object or distance (e.g., whether something is 10 or 20 feet (3 or 6 metres) away).
- Often unable to grasp and remember mathematical concepts, rules, formulae, and sequences.
- An inability to read a sequence of numbers, or transposing them when repeated, such as turning 56 into 65.
- Difficulty keeping score during games.
- Difficulty with games such as poker with more flexible rules for scoring.
- Difficulty in activities requiring sequential processing, from the physical (such as dance steps) to the abstract (reading, writing and signaling things in the right order). May have trouble even with a calculator due to difficulties in the process of feeding in variables.
- The condition may lead in extreme cases to a phobia
A phobia , is an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject...
or durable anxietyAnxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. These components combine to create an unpleasant feeling that is typically associated with uneasiness, fear, or worry....
of mathematics and mathematic-numeric devices/coherences.
- Low latent inhibition
Latent inhibition is a process by which exposure to a stimulus of apparently little or no consequence prevents conditioned associations with that stimulus from being formed. This tendency to disregard or even inhibit formation of memory, by preventing associative learning of observed stimuli, is an...
, i.e., over-sensitivity to noise, smell, light and the inability to tune out, filtering unwanted information or impressions. Might have a well-developed sense of imagination due to this (possibly as cognitive compensation to mathematical-numeric deficits).
Potential causes
Scientists have yet to understand the causes of dyscalculia. They have been investigating in several domains.
- Neurological: Dyscalculia has been associated with lesions to the supramarginal
Brodmann area 40, or BA40, is part of the parietal cortex in the human brain. The inferior part of BA40 is in the area of the supramarginal gyrus, which lies at the posterior end of the lateral fissure, in the inferior lateral part of the parietal lobe....
and angular gyriThe angular gyrus is a region of the brain in the parietal lobe, that lies near the superior edge of the temporal lobe, and immediately posterior to the supramarginal gyrus; it is involved in a number of processes related to language, mathematics and cognition...
at the junction between the temporalThe temporal lobe is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located beneath the Sylvian fissure on both the left and right hemispheres of the brain....
and parietal lobeThe parietal lobe is a lobe in the brain. It is positioned above the occipital lobe and behind the frontal lobe....
s of the cerebral cortexThe cerebral cortex is a structure within the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It constitutes the outermost layer of the cerebrum. In preserved brains, it has a grey color, hence the name "grey matter"...
.
- Deficits in working memory
Working memory is a theoretical construct within cognitive psychology as to the structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information in short-term memory. Many theories exist both as to the theoretical structure of working memory as well as to the role of specific...
: Adams and Hitch argue that working memory is a major factor in mental addition. From this base, Geary conducted a study that suggested there was a working memory deficit for those who suffered from dyscalculia. However, working memory problems are confounded with general learning difficulties, thus Geary's findings may not be specific to dyscalculia but rather may reflect a greater learning deficit.
Other causes may be:
- Short term memory being disturbed or reduced, making it difficult to remember calculations.
- Congenital or hereditary disorders. Studies show indications of this, but the evidence is not yet concrete.
Treatment
Dyscalculia has no cure
per se, but various treatment options have been explored including electro-shock therapy.
Counselling can help, but not necessarily to a large degree. No therapy has been properly verified and proven to be effective. Some
anecdotal evidenceThe expression anecdotal evidence has two distinct meanings. Evidence in the form of an anecdote or hearsay is called anecdotal if there is doubt about its veracity; the evidence itself is considered untrustworthy....
suggests, however, that a certain amount of mathematical proficiency can be acquired by alternative systems of mathematical calculation such as Eastern mathematics. Anecdotal evidence also suggests, in fact, that dyscalculic individuals might themselves pursue such systems out of need or interest. The condition need not be seen as a disability, there is nothing preventing people who suffer from dyscalculia from succeeding in other academic fields such as history, geography and other social sciences, or in artistic fields such as music or drama.
See also
- Acalculia
Acalculia , from the Greek "a" meaning "not" and Latin "calculare", which means "to count",is an acquired impairment in which patients have difficulty performing simple mathematical tasks, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and even simply stating which of two numbers is larger...
- Gerstmann syndrome
Gerstmann syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by a constellation of symptoms that suggests the presence of a lesion in a particular area of the brain...
: dyscalculia is one of a constellation of symptoms acquired after damage to the angular gyrusThe angular gyrus is a region of the brain in the parietal lobe, that lies near the superior edge of the temporal lobe, and immediately posterior to the supramarginal gyrus; it is involved in a number of processes related to language, mathematics and cognition...
.
- The DSM-IV diagnosis mathematics disorder can be applied to people whose mathematical abilities are well below the expected level for their age.
- Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself primarily as a difficulty with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction....
- Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write by hand, regardless of the ability to read, not a result of intellectual impairment....
- Numerical cognition
Numerical cognition is a subdiscipline of cognitive science that studies the cognitive, developmental and neural bases of numbers and mathematics. As with many cognitive science endeavors, this is a highly interdisciplinary topic, and includes researchers in cognitive psychology, developmental...
- Number sense
In mathematics education, number sense can refer to "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Many other definitions exist, but are similar to the one given...
External links