The precise causes of dyscalculia are still unknown. According to experts, genetic-hereditary factors, environmental factors and / or structural abnormalities of the brain department may play a role in the onset of the disorder.
The diagnosis process is quite complex and requires the intervention of a team of specialists.
Today, for those with dyscalculia, various support strategies are available aimed at enhancing calculation skills and compensating for mathematical difficulties.
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Dyscalculia: is it a congenital disorder?
Doctors and experts believe that dyscalculia as a specific learning disorder is a congenital condition.
In other words, the person with dyscalculia would be born with little or no sense for numbers.
Dyscalculia, Acalculia and Acquired Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is not synonymous with acalculia, although many confuse the two terms.
In fact, between the two conditions there is an important difference: while dyscalculia corresponds to a difficulty for mathematics not related to neurological deficits, acalculia consists in the complete inability to perform mathematical calculations, both written and mental, the all due to a brain injury.
Furthermore, developmental dyscalculia must also be distinguished from acquired dyscalculia: as the name suggests, the latter is a difficulty developed in the course of life, as a result of neurological damage caused for example by a stroke or brain trauma.
Epidemiology: how common is dyscalculia?
Also due to the lack of precise diagnostic criteria, the exact incidence of dyscalculia in the general population is unknown.
According to the "International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities0.5% of the school population would suffer from developmental dyscalculia.
Furthermore, according to other studies, it seems that almost 50% of young subjects with dyscalculia complain of reading problems, attributable to a condition that is certainly known to most: dyslexia.
For reasons still to be clarified, dyscalculia is a disorder found with a frequency higher than normal in subjects with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome), in women with Turner syndrome (genetic disease of the female sex) or in individuals with spina bifida.
For further information: Dyslexia: What it is and How to Recognize it of normal people with the brains of people with dyscalculia.The comparison brought to light something really interesting: from the images there were differences in the level of brain surface, brain thickness and brain volume.
Curiously, the areas in which these differences resided were those that, in the human being, are used for learning, memory and memorization of mathematical concepts.
Causes Dyscalculia: Suspected Environmental Factors
Premise: an environmental factor is any circumstance, event or habit, which can affect the life of an individual, to a certain extent.
Several researches have highlighted the existence of a correlation between dyscalculia and exposure in prenatal age (obviously of the carrier) to alcoholic substances; in other words, the consumption of alcohol by a pregnant woman can have, among other possible consequences, dyscalculia.
Furthermore, based on other studies, it appears that the ability to calculate and understand mathematical concepts may be affected by events such as premature birth and low birth weight.
of dyscalculia are numerous.
The symptomatological picture can vary considerably from subject to subject, therefore each patient with dyscalculia represents a case in itself.
As mentioned, the first clinical manifestations of the disorder appear at a young age; however, their onset at a more mature age is not excluded.
In the next sub-chapters, the article will deal with the symptoms and signs of dyscalculia typically observed in preschool, elementary and middle school age, and high school age; finally, it will dedicate a space to the manifestations of the disorder in adults, all "influence that dyscalculia has on daily life and on the most common associated diseases.
Dyscalculia: Preschool Symptoms
Preschool dyscalculia involves difficulties:
- In "learning to count and" assigning a number to an object.
- In recognizing numerical symbols. This implies that the patient is unable to connect the number 7, written for example on a sheet of paper, to the word "seven".
- Mel connecting numbers to real life situations. For example, faced with a situation that sees the presence of 3 objects, the patient does not know (because he cannot conceive it) that he must use the number 3.
- In remembering the numbers.
- In the "sort the objects by size, shape and color.
- In engaging in games that involve the use of numbers, knowing how to count and / or knowing basic mathematical concepts.
Dyscalculia: Symptoms in Elementary and Middle School Age
The presence of dyscalculia in elementary and middle school age involves difficulties and impediments:
- In recognizing numbers and symbols.
- In "learning and remembering basic mathematical concepts, such as the simple addition 2 + 4 = 6.
- In "identifying and correctly using" the signs "+", "-" etc.
- In "using more advanced counting strategies (mental calculation), compared to counting with your fingers (which is the simplest and what you" learn first).
- In writing the numbers correctly.
- In solving math problems.
- In distinguishing right from left and having a poor sense of direction.
- In remembering phone numbers and scores resulting from some game or sporting activity.
- In reading and reporting the time of day.
- In engaging in games that require the knowledge of simple numerical strategies.
Dyscalculia: High School Age Symptoms
The presence of dyscalculia in high school age involves difficulties and impediments:
- In "applying the concepts of mathematics and arithmetic to everyday situations. For example, the patient has problems with money matters: he cannot estimate the total cost, he cannot predict a possible exchange of currency and so on.
- In measuring things like, for example, an ingredient for a recipe.
- In grasping the information present in a graph or table.
- In finding different approaches to solving the same math problem.
Furthermore, it is associated with a lack of familiarity in activities that require the assessment of distances or speeds (eg driving vehicles).
Dyscalculia in Adults: the Symptoms
At home or in any case outside the workplace, the adult individual with dyscalculia highlights:
- Difficulty in mental calculation.
- Difficulty managing money and personal finances.
- Slowness in reporting the present time on an analog clock.
- Lack of punctuality (due to an "inability to organize the various commitments of the day over time).
- Poor judgment of the time it takes to travel to a particular place.
- Difficulty remembering a phone number just referred to him.
- Difficulty keeping score on a game and, in board games, remembering whose turn it is.
- Poor orientation skills.
- Poor memory for anything related to numbers in any way (ex: remembering dates, times, etc.).
- Difficulty learning motor gestures in sequence.
As regards the workplace, the adult subject with dyscalculia complains:
- Anxiety whenever he has to unexpectedly engage in a task for which mathematical calculation is needed.
- Problems of money management and finances.
- Little, if any, ability to plan the time needed to fulfill all the various daily tasks; this means that he often runs out of time in one or only part of the activity intended for him.
- Problems understanding graphs and diagrams.
- Difficulty in understanding spoken mathematical equations, even the simplest ones.
- Difficulty reading numbers.
- Problems with using software such as Excel.
- Inability to remember mathematical rules and timetables.
- Difficulty with mental arithmetic (when he succeeds, he resorts to counting with his fingers).
Dyscalculia and Daily Life: the repercussions
Daily life is deeply affected by dyscalculia, as this last influence is negative:
- Social interaction. Patients with dyscalculia realize their mathematical difficulties, especially when they compare them to their normal peers. This can lead to social isolation, low self-esteem and difficulties in making new friends and maintaining those already existing.
- The schooling and, subsequently, the working occupation. The mathematical difficulties are such as to represent an important obstacle during the school years and in the search and in the maintenance of a working activity.
- The ability to orient. Patients cannot tell right from left, so they may get lost when they have to follow certain written or oral directions.
In addition, people with dyscalculia struggle to imagine objects, buildings and other similar things, so this makes it even more difficult to reach a certain goal. - The ability for physical coordination. Individuals with dyscalculia have trouble estimating distances between themselves and objects. This involves a certain awkwardness in the movements.
- Money management. People with dyscalculia struggle to manage their finances and estimate how much they will spend when purchasing different items.
Currency exchange can be an extremely complicated operation. - Time management. Patients with dyscalculia have difficulty measuring the time that passes; they also have problems evaluating the duration of short periods of time.
- Other skills. People with dyscalculia cannot assess the speed of moving objects. This leads to various difficulties in driving, cycling, etc.
Dyscalculia: the associated conditions
For reasons still unknown, dyscalculia is associated with: dyslexia, ADHD, math anxiety, Turner syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Gerstmann syndrome.
At the present time, doctors and experts in the field of dyscalculia are trying to understand if there is a link between the latter and the appearance of the aforementioned associated problems.
In the path leading to the diagnosis of dyscalculia, these assessments are essential to exclude the presence of neurological deficits and other circumstances that could in some way alter an individual's cognitive abilities.
The objective examination and the anamnesis allow to establish if, indeed, there is the possibility that the individual considered suffers from dyscalculia.
Given that generally the patients undergoing the above assessments are very young, it is essential that the diagnostic doctor uses the support of the parents, so that the information collected is reliable and more accurate.
It should be noted that this first diagnostic phase is also useful for understanding whether or not the individual considered suffers from ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions often associated with dyscalculia.
Dyscalculia Diagnosis: Psychometric Tests
It consists of consulting a specialist in specific learning disorders.
The specialist submits the suspected case of dyscalculia to some specific psychometric tests, useful to understand which are the abilities with problems.
The planned tests include: normal and back counting exercises, number writing exercises, mathematical exercises, shape recognition exercises, comprehension tests of the order of magnitude and, finally, the observation of the patient during school math lessons.
Much of the definitive diagnosis depends on the outcome of these tests.
To obtain reliable information from this second stage, doctors and experts believe that it is essential not to make the patient understand that he is under examination.
Dyscalculia Diagnosis: Final Evaluation
It consists in the final evaluation of everything that the previous tests have reported.
At this stage, doctors and specialists collaborate and exchange views.
In addition, they assign to the examined person a judgment relating to his or her mathematical and arithmetic abilities and establish the most suitable support program for the problems in progress.
Diagnosis of Dyscalculia: at what age does it happen?
In general, the problems related to dyscalculia emerge with the beginning of elementary school (or primary school).
However, therapists and experts in the field have established that, before certifying the diagnosis of dyscalculia, it is necessary to wait for the age of 8-9 years, when the learning faculties of an individual are well established.
This approach for certifying the diagnosis is common to all specific learning disorders; it basically involves setting a "limited age, before which any conclusion could be inaccurate or inappropriate, due to factors such as a delay. of development of a non-pathological nature.
'.In Italy, the use of compensatory instruments, as a support for people with dyscalculia, is also required by law (to be precise, law 170/2010).
Important note!
Some might think that the compensatory tools facilitate the scholastic path of subjects with dyscalculia, making the study load less onerous.
However, it should be noted that this is not the case at all: in the school environment, compensatory instruments do not represent either a facilitation or an advantage, therefore any criticism of their use is superfluous.
Dispensative Measures for Dyscalculia
The dispensatory measures are designed for the school environment and serve, as the name suggests, to "exempt" the individual with dyscalculia from certain activities that could forcefully bring out his difficulties.
In practical terms, dispensatory measures could consist in giving the patient more time to perform math class homework, reducing the number of math problems to be solved during classroom exercises, reducing homework loads, " avoid unscheduled math exercises and so on.
The dispensative measures are designed to meet the difficulties of the individual with dyscalculia; moreover, they are important in preventing loss of motivation due to confrontation with peers and feelings of inferiority compared to peers who do not have the same difficulties.
Dyscalculia: Advice for Parents
In the path of strengthening the mathematical and arithmetic skills of a subject with dyscalculia, parents represent a fundamental support element.
To help those suffering from dyscalculia you don't necessarily need to be a mathematician; therefore parents who, considering themselves poorly gifted from a mathematical and arithmetic point of view, renounce a priori to help their children with dyscalculia commit a serious mistake.
The most common advice given to fathers and mothers of children with dyscalculia includes:
- Learn as much as possible about dyscalculia and its effects. An accurate knowledge of the disorder allows the parent to avoid all those situations that could create difficulties or reveal existing problems to the child.
For a person with dyscalculia, feeling in difficulty less frequently means living their disability better: less discomfort, less anxiety, greater self-esteem, etc. - Play with math. It means linking the numbers to daily activities or objects present in the house. This makes the calculation exercises easier and the time of day intended for their execution less anxious.
- Create work stations where there are no distractions. In this way, the patient concentrates 100% on the calculation exercises and the problems to be solved.
- Provide your child with an easy-to-use calculator.
- Work on personal trust, encouraging the child to focus on their strengths. The exploitation of strengths helps to overcome the gaps and difficulties present.
- Helping your child keep track of time, through alarm clocks, alarms, etc.
- Recognize the efforts of the child, praising him when he solves even simple calculation exercises. This is also a way to increase self-esteem and reduce the discomfort created by problems of a mathematical and arithmetic nature.
Dyscalculia: Limits of Support Strategies
Unfortunately, at the present time, knowledge relating to dyscalculia and its causes is still scarce.
This poor understanding of the disorder leads to a small number of support tools aimed at enhancing calculation skills and sense for numbers.
