Dyscalculia and reasonable adjustments

[MarmeeMarch4]

My daughter was diagnosed with dyscalculia in 2022, at the very end of year 4. She is now in year 6 and passed all areas of the Kent Test except - surprise surprise - maths. Her Ed Psych report shows above average cognitive ability in all areas, and a specific problem with number (not shape, geometry, logic etc, which are all in the same range as her other abilities).

Going forward, for any appeal we may or may not lodge on her behalf to a grammar school, but also for SATS and general secondary school education, we know that there are particular adjustments that would enable her to access higher level maths questions. These are: a number line, a times table square, and a calculator that shows workings. If she had those, which would take away the problem of working memory which is a central feature of the condition, she is perfectly capable of understanding the calculations and the logic of any given maths problem. But these are not allowed in the UK (they are in parts of the US and in some other European countries).

I know some of you will say 'she just needs to learn her times tables' etc, 'and if she can't she just isn't good at maths'. But actually, without these things, she can't even try the higher level questions or begin to think about more complex reasoning. With them, she is capable of so much more. It's like she's just stuck behind this stupid barrier, which is actually meaningless (it is perfectly possible, even in a career that involves complex maths, to use a calculator and/or have a times table square on your desk - these are very low level skills to do with memory rather than actual maths. She understands the principles, but struggles to retain number facts). It feels to me as if understanding and resources for dyslexia are so much better than for dyscalculia, which is so poorly understood by the education system. And it also feels like this is a barrier to children actually being able to access large parts of the maths curriculum because of some needless ideological bullshit about calculators and dumbing down, or the current government's obsession with rote learning. Has anybody been in this position, and has anybody found a way around it?

I know that in the SATS, and even at GCSE, none of these accommodations are allowed as it is felt they would unfairly advantage children with dyscalculia. But I also feel like it is just straight up disability discrimination. I'm just looking for a sense of whether there are other people out there dealing with a similar issue, really ... as well as any potential solutions people might have.

Sorry for the essay, and TIA for any constructive advice!

The only access arrangement available at present would be extra time - presuming she has a below average score on a measure of maths fluency and one other area of cognitive processing. Have you looked at the ronitbird website/books http://www.ronitbird.com/ There are some excellent activities to support a sense of number and to help learning times tables

Dyscalculia isn’t really recognised as a specific SEN by the education system because generally it turns out to be maths ability impacted by some other SEN such as poor working memory or slow processing speed, or poor foundational knowledge of maths taught in primary school impacting later understanding.

Not knowing your times tables is a barrier, yes. Can she compensate with writing them out, finger counting and other methods of constructing the answers?

At GCSE 2/3s of the papers are calculator allowed.

Work arounds:
How long a number line would be beneficial? Can she use a 30cm ruler for that purpose?

How long would it take to make a times table grid for use in each exam - ie spend the first 5 mins creating the table for use in the rest of the test?

FWIW, I don't know all my tables, but use my fingers, and counting forward/backwards from one's I do know. I have a STEM BSc, MSc and job.

Thank you - these are really helpful replies. I have the Ronit Bird book which is really helpful.

dyscalculia is a recognised SEN and the idea it isn’t, as one of the posters has put, is one of the problems I think. For years we were just told her anxiety about maths was her August birthday, her general shyness, etc. It was as clear as day during lockdown that she can do everything fine, but has a real barrier around comprehending the value and meaning of numbers. That is the definition and it is accepted widely. As I said, her ability in all other cognitive areas is fine - we have an Ed psych report that clearly explains that. But all the time people don’t really count or recognise it, necessary adjustments are not made.

great idea on the ruler. She uses fingers for tables but it takes time. She already has extra time in tests and did in the Kent Test (will in the SATs).

Also making a times table grid - great idea.

partly I’d like to campaign for better understanding and arrangements but have no idea how

dyscalculia is a recognised SEN and the idea it isn’t, as one of the posters has put, is one of the problems I think

I've been teaching maths for 18 years and the number of kids I've taught with a diagnosis of dyscalculia is less than 5, where I've taught hundreds of kids with a diagnosis of dyslexia. So if you were to ask my school what interventions there are for kids with a diagnosis of dyscalculia, they'd say, 'there aren't, but here's what we do for kids with difficulties with maths'.

Lots of kids have lots of different problems with maths for various reasons. Diagnostic criteria from some sources would say dyscalculia presents as a difficulty with all areas of maths (which would rule out your DD). The list of symptoms on Wikipedia includes things such as maths anxiety or inability to concentrate which I would say are different things entirely.

It's something that's particularly poorly defined and researched. Lots of places won't give it as a diagnosis.

Take a look at the British dyslexia association website. Dyscalculia is now becoming more widely recognised and the BDA are rolling out training for specialist teachers, assessors and other information for parents and professionals.
It was redefined in 2019 and is now defined as a specific difficulty in number sense.

https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyscalculia#:~:text=Dyscalculia%20is%20a%20specific%20and,across%20all%20ages%20and%20abilities.

That info from the BDA appears to be rambling nonsense, rather than anything evidenced and coherent.

This is the longer document it was drawn from, which is referenced.
https://www.sasc.org.uk/media/215bhkbr/dyscalculia-maths-difficulties-assessment-sasc-nov-2019.pdf

Thanks bimblesalong.

Noblegiraffe whatever you might think, and I am sure you have plenty of experience, it isn’t really relevant to my daughter as she has a diagnosis from an educational psychologist who can also claim many years’ experience, my daughter’s teacher at school has dyscalculia training and is in full agreement (I am more concerned about the future as we face secondary school), and as bimbles suggested, the British Dyslexia Association and indeed the official list of Specific Learning Difficulties agree that dyscalculia is one. I understand that there are always diagnostic issues around these things - in fact, dyslexia is much more heavily diagnosed among middle-class children than working-class children, many of whom are just considered to be ‘low ability’ when that might not be the case. Nonetheless, the fact that you have only taught five children with an official diagnosis is irrelevant to me as a) you are just one person and b) my daughter has an official diagnosis. Kent County Council accepted this and gave her additional time in the Kent Test.

and again, I would say that this kind of attitude really doesn’t help. Just because something is relatively misunderstood, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

You’re spot on with comments on the confusion in education, noble giraffe. There are a few definitions floating around, which is one of the reasons that the working party was brought about to redefine and to evaluate how to assess for it.

I’d agree also from my own experience in schools in that I met/ meet very few children with true dyscalculia (ie number sense difficulties) than maths difficulties due to the range of reasons you mention.

We are much better at knowing how to support dyslexia than maths difficulties, hence the issues the OP is experiencing with exam arrangements, etc.

for SATS and general secondary school education, we know that there are particular adjustments that would enable her to access higher level maths questions. These are: a number line, a times table square, and a calculator that shows workings. If she had those, which would take away the problem of working memory which is a central feature of the condition

for KS2 SATS the only thing she would be allowed would be extra time, a scribe or a reader. She would not be allowed any of the equipment you have listed.

MarmeeMarch, it’s brilliant to hear that there is a teacher at your daughter’s school with dyscalculia training. Really chuffed to hear that schools are giving the SpLD the support it needs. Training is still in the early days but the specialists are making it through to educational settings.
Must have made such a difference to have a knowledgable member of staff on side.

It would take far too long for her to make a x tables grid in a timed test, even with additional time (25% in SATs) and if she isnt secure in her x tables then she will most likely make errors anyway. In addition, something like a ruler would be no use in the arithmetic paper - the size of the calculations are too big.
One way I check whether Y6 children would benefit for additional time in any of the SATs papers is to give them a paper to complete in pencil then as soon as the time is up, swap for a pen and give them a further 25% time. Then when I mark it, I mark all the pencil answers first, then the pen answers. The vast majority of children who cant complete the paper in the given time only score 1 or 2 marks with the additional time.
A thorough analysis of how she answers questions on test papers not under test conditions will give some insight as to where her mathematical weaknesses lie. A use of a reader may well be beneficial too I find.

OP, you and your DD have my sympathies. DC1 also has a diagnosis of dyscalculia. As a primary school teacher, I watched with fascination and desperation in equal measure as she failed to get the most basic of mathematical building blocks, and, having nothing to build on, was unable to process subsequent concepts, despite great interventions both at school and home. She's been diligently practicing her x tables for 7 years and is still really shaky on anything other than 1s, 10s and 11s. She has always had a remarkable capacity for remembering non-numerical facts and sequences.

The lack of adjustments is problematic and indicative of the lack of understanding of dyscalculia (but actually, adjusting for time in assessments is a very blunt tool for supporting dyslexic learners too). I think Noble is right; there is a perception in education that dyscalculia is really just a manifestation of a broader SEN picture of poor working memory and slow processing. Being in a grammar school area must further compound your frustration.

Soontobe that is my exact point - these things would make an enormous difference and actually allow her to do much more difficult maths, but they are not allowed …

Could she try using rhymes to learn times tables as well? There are tricks and really a lot of it is to do with memory and rhythm. For example "I ate and ate and was sick on the floor, 8x8 is sixty four". And next door numbers 5678 56=7x8. Just a couple of examples for the harder ones.

Hopefully the Ed psych can help her.

Agree she should be allowed a calculator. My guess is that she won't be though.

Thanks evesix - exactly. It’s just so frustrating that there is so little understanding or support. My understanding was that dyscalculia can be complicated to diagnose but if there is an issue with number that doesn’t fit the child’s overall profile, that is a strong indicator. But you get the diagnosis and are immediately returned to being treated as if it’s just general inability and there js no specific support. Of course, ‘general inability’ could also mean myriad different things. I suppose I am facing six months in which I have been told if we make a specific intervention and it works, she’ll have a shot at an appeal. But there aren’t any interventions or adjustments that will be made for her in test conditions. So it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy

Regarding testing, I really don’t know what the solution is. For example, if a big part of the paper depends on the ability to apply the 4 rules of number to up to 4 digit numbers, does a calculator show an understanding of number or does it just show an understanding of how to use a calculator? In the past, calculators were allowed in the maths papers, but they were taken out. The irony is, many of my pupils can carry out written calculations with 4 digits easily, but when it comes to reasoning they struggle to figure out what to actually do with the numbers given.
With literacy, a huge push was made in the introduction of synthetics phonics teaching, and this has had a massive impact on literacy levels. There needs to be a similar focus in maths, and I’m not sure the current phase of whole class teaching introducing lots of different methods is suitable for all learners.
Children need to be screened at their early stages of maths learning to identify any possible areas of concern.

Thank you. She already has additional time set up - or rather, she did for the Kent Test and her school are on it so I assume the same will apply for the SATs and will double check (not that the SATs really matter for her, of course). I just think how can you say to a child ‘you aren’t stupid or silly or bad at maths - you just learn it a different way’ and then have absolutely no way of adjusting for that. She uses manipulatives in class but again that won’t apply for tests …

soontobe that makes a lot of sense. As you say, it depends what the aim is. To my mind, we get stuck on these mental arithmetic problems and are blocking children who struggle with that (fair enough, and if there are papers in that, of course no calculators etc) from learning harder and also more important things because of that.

anyway, this thread has been helpful - some good tips, but also good to know I’m not missing something obvious in terms of support

And the ability to do something with the results of that early screening. I don't have much doubt what issues various children in my class are facing, but I can't teach pre-Reception level and Y5 level maths and everything in between at the same time. I have a small class and it's still completely impossible.

I missed this one bimbles - yes, she goes to an ordinary state primary school but it is just wonderful in so many respects. Too long a story to go into here, but in so many different ways they have done so much for her (and her older sister, now at secondary), just as a matter of course. We have been very very lucky.

leaving this here for anyone who may find it useful: http://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/2023/09/22/finding-numbers-hard-facts-and-myths-about-dyscalculia/