DYSLEXIA ASSESSMENT EPSOM
INDICATORS OF DYSCALCULIA
AM I DYSCALCULIA?
Some indicators of dyscalculia are detailed below. Few children will exhibit all of these characteristics and the presence of any individual characteristic will not necessarily indicate dyslexia. A diagnostic assessment is required for a formal diagnosis of dyscalculia which would entail additional information being provided from home and school to obtain a holistic profile of the individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
Primary School age
Has difficulty learning and recalling basic number facts such as number bonds, e.g. 6 + 4 = 10.
Still uses fingers to count instead of using more advanced strategies (like mental maths)
Poor understanding of the signs +, -, xx and x or may confuse these mathematical symbols
Struggles to recognise that 3 + 5 is the same as 5 + 3 or may not be able to solve 3 + 26 ‒ 26 without calculating
Has trouble with place value, often putting numbers in the wrong column.
May not understand maths language or be able to devise a plan to solve a maths problem.
Finds it difficult to understand maths phrases like greater than and less than
Has trouble keeping score in sports or games
Has difficulty working out the total cost of items and can run out of money
May avoid situations that require understanding numbers, like playing games that involve maths.
about you.
12 years and above
Struggles to understand information on charts and graphs.
Has trouble finding different approaches to the same maths problem, such as adding the length and width of a rectangle and doubling the answer to solve for the perimeter (rather than adding all the sides).
Struggles to learn and understand reasoning methods and multi-step calculation procedures
Has trouble measuring items like ingredients in a simple recipe or liquids in a bottle.
Lacks confidence in activities that require understanding speed, distance and directions, and may get lost easily.
Has trouble applying maths concepts to money, such as calculating the exact change
Adulthood
Typical symptoms include:
difficulty counting backwards
difficulty remembering ‘basic’ facts
slow to perform calculations
weak mental arithmetic skills
a poor sense of numbers & estimation
Difficulty in understanding place value
Addition is often the default operation
High levels of mathematics anxiety
Source: Maths Explained