Dyscalculia - anyone in the know got experiance in this?

[Mumof3girlys]

Anyone got a child or has experiance with dysculclia? my DD is 10 in year 6 of primary she badly struggles with maths and has not made any improvement in her grades she has been in same level since year 2, she is a level 2c basically working at a level of a 6/7 year old!

Someone has suggested this might be the cause, can anyone give me more advice on maybe identifying if this could be the case?

You should be able to ask the school to arrange for her to be tested. I don't think there is a formal test but iirc there is some screening that was devised for teachers to use.
I have dyslexia and dyscalculia very mildly, maths is something I have to concentrate very hard on to figure out and there's no hope of me doing anything more than very simple sums in my head, it's got to be written out. I also took a very long time to learn to tell the time, and still do have problems with traditional clocks if I'm a bit tired or distracted. Apparently this is a big pointer to dyscalculia.
However, I achieved good maths and English GCSEs (C grades) and went on to do English at A level. Just because something is hard doesn't mean a child can't come to enjoy it and do well in the subject through a bit of hard graft. I now have a job which includes a lot of written communication, pay roll and end of year accounting.
Keep supporting your lovely daughter, have a bit of a goggle search for ways to help her understand maths better, and try not to get frustrated with her difficulty, she'll be feeling enough of that herself.
Best if luck to her and you!

Thanks for the reply, sadly her school are just not being supportive at all, I have basically had to fight them for over 4 years just to get her assessed to see if she needs additional maths support ( they have given her 2 fifteen mins a week extra with a TA) she is a year 6 student and her maths is at a level of a 6 year old and she had made no improvement in her maths at all in the last 3 years!

She is unable to do simple number bonds to ten I.e 6+4 =10 / 4+?=10, she can't tell the time, can't work out basic change of a £1, can't understand distance/time, can't even do her 2,5 timestable, can't half or double numbers etc

The secondary school she will start in September have been amazing and already talking to me lots about the support she will need and they have also spoken about arranging for her to be screened for dyscalulia by them this year before she even starts so they know what they are dealing with!

My just so frustrated I just want answers now, I hate to see her struggle so much knowing if her school just stopped ignoring it for do long then she prob wouldn't be in this place now and wouldn't have to start secondary 5 years behind in msths xx

That does sound frustrating! But also good that her secondary are going to be so supportive, if they follow through with that she'll come on really well I'm sure.
It must be hard for parents not having the tools to help out in these situations. I know it used to really get to my dad; he is an absolute genius at maths, got a first in pure mathematics at uni and a load of awards for being a total nerd and does complex maths problems for fun and to wind down on a Sunday afternoon, but there he was not even able to teach his little girl how to do her times tables. Once he got in touch with my teachers to ask how best to help things got much better as he sort of relearned all the simple things so he could help me out. So do ask about being able to help your daughter at home as a consistent approach will benefit her no end.
Is she confident using a basic calculator? I used to be allowed to use one to find an answer and then discuss with my teacher/parent why that was the answer, and counting on fingers, with beads, on paper and such until I figured it out really helped. Also I was never rushed, so even if I only managed one or two questions worth in the allotted time that was ok because I was made to feel good that I'd got those one or two done and right, which is WAY better for confidence than being rushed through ten questions and constantly having the answers corrected.
Best of luck to the both of you, I really hope you find something that works and start to see some improvement in her learning.

One of the hardest things is I'm not great at maths myself so find it really hard to help without just giving her the answer, it wouldn't be so bad if we could then go though it and she could understand the working out and how we got to the answer but she just doesn't get it, she gets really muddled if you ask her to times or plus etc, she can't seem to even grasp the basic symbols

Oh poor love, try to stay positive, she will get there with time. Have you tried going right back to basics and maybe getting her a workbook aimed at very young children?

My DD has screened +ve for Discalculia. The next step is to be seen by Ed Psych. Given your school will not do the first step you can go direct to EP if prepared/able to pay

Hello OP .. I am a Qualified Special Educational Needs teacher and trained in this area. She will need specific support. It is great to hear that her secondary school have more expertise.

In the meantime, to support her at home you could purchase (or ask school) Number Shark. It is a CD ROM she can work on for short periods everyday.

It provides visual support to help her with concepts.

www.wordshark.co.uk/numbershark/numbershark-home-use.aspx

Please put more pressure on the school if you can.

Take care.

Hi,
I found Montessori maths materials to be of great help for children who are confused by numbers and symbols. They are available relatively cheaply from www.absorbentminds.co.uk or can actually be home-made.
Each piece of material can be used in many ways and allows the child to understand maths by actually being able to hold and see the amounts and processes involved. Within a very short time young children are able to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers into the thousands, because they understand what a thousand actually looks like. They also help with understanding and remembering times tables. There are many websites and you tube films which will explain how to use the equipment, much of it is actually common sense! The child can work at their own pace and will begin to love maths! These materials have completely changed my families view of numbers and I will be forever grateful!