![The Problem of Place Value [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/montessori-math-number-place-value-400x250.png)
Understanding place value is critical for math, but dyslexic students may struggle due to errors in sequencing, directionality, and substitution. This blog post explores common challenges dyslexic learners face with place value, strategies like using base ten blocks and graph paper to help, and why reviewing place value remains essential even for older students.
![Calculator Use: Accommodation or No? [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-8.28.59-PM.jpg)
A teacher writes, “I have a new student who transferred from a public charter school. She has an IEP accommodation for a calculator use for anything involving math calculations. But I’m wondering whether providing a calculator is changing standards? Is she learning how to use a calculator rather than learning how to do math? Where do we draw the line?” I’m glad you asked this question. I think more teacher and parents ask themselves this question than you may realize. Dyscalculia is one of the least recognized “specific learning disabilities.” In the past ten years, there’s been a revolution in our understanding of the scientific basis of dyscalculia, but in day-to-day practice, there’s remarkably little in the way of practical guidance for both teachers and […]
Up to 70% of dyslexic people also have dyscalculia (specific math disability), although specific math supports or interventions are rarely a part of public school IEPs or 504's. Part of the reason there is less support for math among dyslexic students in the US is...
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There are millions of school children struggling with math at school. Does it matter if a student’s math struggles are identified formally as a math disability or dyscalculia? 40% of dyslexic people are likely to also have dyscalculia, but because dyscalculia is rarely assessed in schools, few individuals ever receive that designation. Does it matter? In the short term, some school professionals might say it does not matter much – because students who need help in math will get it if their scores qualify. What do we believe? Having a math LD formally identified can be helpful – although we realize that testing may not always be easily available. If you are a testing professional, consider adding the WIAT Math subtests to routine comprehensive battery […]
![Dyslexia and Math: Knowing Why [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Dyslexia-and-Math-Knowing-Why-Dyslexic-Advantage-C.jpg)
It’s been estimated that almost half of dyslexic individuals will also be dyscalculic (Wilson et al., 2014), but dyscalculia is less likely to be assessed or formally identified in school, leaving students to flounder on their own. WHY IS DYSLEXIA COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH MATH LD? Experts still debate why there is such significant overlap, but at least one recent study found that spatial difficulties were especially associated with students with dyscalculia or those with both dyslexia and dyscalculia. Besides spatial factors, difficulties in sequencing, trouble with symbols, working memory overload, and rote math fact retrieval are all difficulties commonly seen among dyslexic students and those with dyscalculia. What is not particularly common among dyslexic students is difficulty with math reasoning – in fact for […]
Question: How can I tell that students are dyslexic if they're not reading aloud? Last week a high school teacher in my course asked how she might be able to tell that a student may be dyslexic if they don't read out loud in her class. Once a student moves into upper...
![Managing Too Much Information in Math with Card Sorts and Categories [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/math-dyslexia-shutterstock.png)
Too often math classes start off with a lot of math problem-solving that can result in students in getting lost. Sometimes the problem is that math explanations overload working memory; other times, students struggle because they can’t listen for understanding at the same time they are trying to take notes, leaving them to figure out what was being taught in math after they get home. THE SEA OF MATH PROBLEMS Often students may find themselves in a sea of math problems. They may have followed the reasoning when concepts were first introduced, but quickly find themselves drowning in dozens and dozens of problems that confuse them in terms of the different ways they are solved. CARD SORTS FOR MATH EXAMPLES AND NEW VOCABULARY […]
![How to Not Go Crazy from Fractions and Decimals [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/math-dyslexia-decimals-fractions-400x250.png)
Fractions and decimals can drive a lot of us crazy. After learning “big” or “long numbers” are larger, suddenly fractions and decimals come along to flip these assumptions upside-down. For dyslexic students, care must be taken at the first step of understanding the equivalences among the different representations of fractions and decimals before moving onto calculations. WHY STUDENTS MAY STRUGGLE WITH FRACTIONS AND DECIMALS Creative Maths has a nice summary of why decimals are so difficult. An excerpt: “Without zero, 2001 and 201 and 21 would all look the same! From early on we recognize that longer numbers represent larger quantities. We know that a salary with lots of zeroes is better than one with only a few. $1000000 is more than $200 even […]
![Avoiding the Third Grade Madness [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Avoiding-the-Third-Grade-Madness-2022-04-24-162701-400x250.png)
If you’re the parent of a third grade child with dyslexia in the public school system, your student may be having an especially difficult time. Some of the struggle might be understandable as classrooms attempt to move past learning to decode to reading to learn (see post Dyslexia and the Third Grade Wall), but there are additional pressures placed on students due to reading loss from the pandemic in addition to institutional pressures to get students “reading by the third grade.” RESEARCH ABOUT READING AND THE THIRD GRADE One of the compelling forces behind the pressure for 3rd graders has been a report by the Anne Casey Foundation titled, Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of the Third Grade Matters (learn more […]
![Math Strategies Instead of Drill [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Math-Strategies-Instead-of-Drill-DA-Premium-March-2022-2-e1648381776105-400x250.png)
In the many years Brock and I spent testing and listening to dyslexic students at every level of education, we often heard first hand accounts of how they learned how to tackle difficult subjects and bypass school-related challenges. As research studies bear out (for instance, see Kirby’s study of dyslexic university students), many dyslexic students in higher education have arrived at where they are because they are deep learners, savvy about how they learn best, and strategic in how they approach school. Brain-Based Reasons Why Math Strategies Are Better for Dyslexics Than Drill But there is also neurobiological evidence that supports why strategies may be a superior route for dyslexic learning compared to drill or simple repetition. By now, anyone who knows about brain […]
![Dyslexia and Dyscalculia [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Dyslexia-and-Dyscalculia-2-e1638776395773-370x250.png)
How often do individuals with dyslexia also have dyscalculia, a specific disability in math? As many as 30-70% of dyslexic students may also be dyscalculic, but math difficulties are rarely tested for in schools, so specific needs for a particular student are rarely recognized or addressed. It does not help that like dyslexia itself, dyscalculia can also present in different ways among dyslexic individuals. DYSLEXICS USE DIFFERENT BRAIN AREAS WHILE PERFORMING MATH PROBLEMS It was only in 2014 when neuroscientists found that dyslexic students doing simple math problems (addition and subtraction) us different brain areas to solve answers…in particular right parietal regions instead of left perisylvian areas which non-dyslexics use. In our practice, when we performed comprehensive testing, we used The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test or […]
![Understanding Conceptual vs. Procedural Knowledge in Math [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/conceptual-math-400x250.png)
With math scores lagging tremendously due to pandemic-related school, many of us may suddenly find ourselves responsible for supervising (if not tutoring) math. If that’s the case, it’s important to keep in mind the big picture of math learning. Of course the issue of conceptual and procedural learning apply to all subjects, not just math, but it especially becomes relevant when problem solving can become complex; symbols and abstractions must be used, and multiple steps for problem solving are necessary. There’s an especially nice description of the differences between conceptual and procedural knowledge in math from Ruthie Sloan’s Teach Math Literacy blog. Many of us learned math only through procedural learning. We didn’t learn “why” we did certain steps like “flip upside-down and multiply,” […]
