Dyscalculia,byProfessorBrianButterworth

Dyscalculia(sometimesknownasnumberblindness)isaseriousdisabilitythat affects67%ofthepopulation.Thisisaboutthesameprevalenceasdyslexia,butit isfarlesswidelyrecognisedbyteachers,parents,educationalauthoritiesand scientists.Yetpoornumberskillsaremoreofahandicapintheworkplacethanpoor literacy.Ithasbeenfoundthatmenandwomenaged30,withpoornumberskills,are morelikelytobeunemployed,morelikelytobedepressed,morelikelytobeilland morelikelytobearrested. Inschool,dyscalculiaisacauseofdistress,lowselfesteem,stigmatisationand disruptivebehaviourinclass.Werecentlycarriedoutafocusgroupstudyof9year oldchildrentoseehowtheyfeltaboutthedailymathslesson.Whatcameoutofour studywasthatchildrenwhohadgreatdifficultyinlearningarithmeticsufferedevery dayinthemaths.Herearesomeexamplesofwhatchildreninlowestabilitygroups said: Focusgroup1(wordforwordtranscripts) Child5:Itmakesmefeelleftout,sometimes Child2:Yeah. Child5:WhenIlikewhenIdontknowsomething,IwishthatIwaslikea cleverpersonandIblameitonmyself Child4:IwouldcryandIwishIwasathomewithmymumanditwouldbeI wonthavetodoanymaths. Focusgroup2 Moderator:Howdoesitmakepeoplefeelinamathlessonwhentheylose track? Child1:Horrible. Moderator:Horrible?...Whysthat? Child1:Idontknow. Child3(whispers):Hedoesknow. Moderator:Justaguess. Child1:Youfeelstupid. Wealsofoundthatthemoreablelearnersnoticedthedistressthesechildren suffered: Child1:Sheslikesheslikeallupsetandmiserable,andshedontlike beingteased. Child4:Yeah,andthenshegoeshideinthecornernobodyknowswhere sheisandshescryingthere. Whatexactlyisdyscalculia? TheDepartmentforEducationandSkillsdefinesdyscalculiaas:Aconditionthat affectstheabilitytoacquirearithmeticalskillsDyscalculiclearnersmayhave difficultyunderstandingsimplenumberconcepts,lackanintuitivegraspofnumbers andhaveproblemslearningnumberfactsandprocedures.Eveniftheyproducea correctansweroruseacorrectmethod,theymaydosomechanicallyandwithout confidence. Dyscalculiaisaboutnumbersandarithmetic,andnotaboutotherbranchesof mathematics,suchasgeometry.Somepeoplecanbegoodmathematicians,butstill behopelesswithsimplecalculations.

Howdoyouidentifydyscalculiclearners? Childrenwithdyscalculiacansometimesbespottedbytheirpoorperformancein schoolmaths,losingtrackinmathslessons,inabilitytodealwithnumbersin everydaylifesituations,suchasshopping,tellingthetimeandrememberingphone numbers.Thesechildrencanhaveaverageorevenmuchbetterthanaverage performanceinothersubjects.Wehavetestedseverelydyscalculiclearnerswho wenttothebestuniversities,thoughnot,ofcourse,tostudysubjectsthatneeded goodcalculationskills.Indeed,dyscalculiclearnerscanscorehighonIQtests.This meansthatstandardtestsofcognitiveability,suchasIQtests,wontnecessarilypick outthedyscalculicchildbecauseheorshemaydoverywellonthesetests. Schoolperformanceinmathswontnecessarilybespottedeasilybytheteacher. Oneteacherstoldusthatthey: tendtosortofcopythechildnexttothemandsortofblagtheirwaythough thingsanditsonlywhenyougetatestortheendofyearteststhattheyflagup thattheyreyouknow,thattheyarehavingaproblembutyouhaveprobably nevernoticed. Butevenmathstestsarenotalwaysagoodindicator.Ifthetestisnotcarefully timed,somedyscalculicscangettherightanswerbutveryslowlyandinanabnormal way,forexample,bycountingonfingerswheretherestofuswouldsolvethe probleminourheads.Andwhenthechildfailstogettherightanswer,thiscouldbe becauseheorshehasneverbeentaughttherightmethodinschool. Whatisneededisatestthatisspecificfordyscalculia,andnotformathsattainment ingeneral.Wehavedevelopedonein2003(DyscalculiaScreener,seebelow), whichisstill,asfarasIknow,theonlyspecifictestavailable. Whattodoifyouoryourchildhasdyscalculia Ioncecalculatedthatweencounteredover1,000numbersanhouronaverage,and moreifwereadthesportsorfinancialpagesordoajobinvolvingnumbers.Soitis importanttoaddressdifficultiesinunderstandingnumbersinapracticalway.There hasbeenverylittlescientificresearchonhowbesttohelpdyscalculics,sothese guidelinesarebasedonbestpracticeinspecialistschools. 1. Improvingyourarithmeticalskills Thisisthemostdifficultthing,especiallyasdyscalculiatendstomakepeopleavoid dealingwithnumbers.Childrencanbehelpedbyfollowingacoursespecifically designedwiththeirneedsinmind,suchastheonelaidoutinthebook,Dyscalculia Guidance,byDorianYeoandmyself(seebelow).Thislaysoutaprogrammeforthe teacher(ortheparent)totakeachildstepbystepfrombeadsandnumbertracks,to arithmeticusingnumbersymbols. 2. Findingwaystocopewithpoornumericalskills Usingacalculatorcanbeveryhelpful.Ofcourse,itsanuisancetakingitaroundthe shops,butitcangiveconfidenceindealingwithmoney.Oneissueishowtocheck whetherthecalculatorhasgivenyoutherightanswer.Mostofuscanestimatewhat theanswershouldbe,butdyscalculicscannot.Onewayofcheckingistoputthe problemintwiceandseeingiftheanswercomesoutthesameeachtime.

3. Anxiety Poornumberskillscanleadtoanxietyaboutdealingwiththenumbers,and conversely,anxietyaboutnumberscanleadtopoornumberskills.Learninghowto copeandfindingthatnumberskillsareimprovingarethemosteffectivewaysof reducinganxiety.Butothermethodsofdealingwithanxietycanhelptoo,especially whereitissevere.Puttingdyscalculicchildrenintogroupswheretheycansharetheir problemsmayalsobehelpful.AndIthinkthatstressingtheimportanceofmathsis nothelpful.Childrenknowthisverywell.Asoneofthe9yearolddyscalculicsinour focusgroupsaid,Ifyoudontlearn,yeah,youwonthaveagoodjobandyoullbea dustbinman. ends

Linksandfurtherinformation Identifyingdyscalculia DyscalculiaScreener,Butterworth,B.(2003).London:GL Assessment See http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/resources/evaluations/evaluation.asp?evalid=4160 foranindependentevaluationoftheDyscalculiaScreenerandausefuldescriptionofhow itworks. Helpingdyscalculics DyscalculiaGuidance.Butterworth,B.,&Yeo,D.(2004).London:GL Assessment. Websites DfESwebsitewithFAQsondyscalculia: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/faqs/inclusion/56233/ OrganisationofEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentseducationdivision: http://www.oecd.org/document/8/0,2340,en_2649_14935397_34495560_1_1_1_1,00.html PleasenotetheusefularticlebyDrAnnaWilson,aleadingresearcherindyscalculia. DrAnnaWilsonswebsitefordyscalculics: http://www.aboutdyscalculia.org/ USbasedwebsitefordyscalculics: http://dyscalculiaforum.com/ ProfessorBrianButterworthswebsite,containingarticlesonmanyaspectsofhowthe braindealswithnumbers.Thesearchfacilitycanbeusedtofindarticlesondyscalculia: http://www.mathematicalbrain.com/ nferNelsonassessmentsandresources: http://www.gl-assessment .co.uk/education/resources/dyscalculia_screener/dyscalculia_screener.asp?css=1 AboutProfessorBrianButterworth ProfessorBrianButterworthistheleadingauthorityonDyscalculiaintheUK.Heis ProfessorofCognitiveNeuropsychologyatUniversityCollegeLondonandfoundingeditor

oftheacademicjournal"MathematicalCognition".HetaughtatCambridgeandhasheld visitingappointmentsattheuniversitiesofMelbourne,PaduaandTrieste,MITandthe MaxPlanckInstituteatNijmegen.HewaselectedFellowoftheBritishAcademyin2002. HeisauthorofGL AssessmentsDyscalculiaScreener,aswellasTheMathematicalBrain, publishedbyMacmillanin1999.