dyscalcula*has my son got it?

[youcantlabelme]

Hi,long one, I'm afraid and not sure if it should be here.

DS yr 6 and about to go to high school, has ALWAYS struggled with maths-just doesn't seem to get it- to the point where he will learn something in the morning and by the evening have forgotten it.

When he was in year 3, had chat with teacher who just told me some kids just can't do maths and DS was one of them. He has been going to a tutor on and off for the past few years, but I feel he isn't much further forward.

However,came across a website re: dyscalcula(sp?)and reading the symptoms, wondered if maybe that's what he's suffering from. But, the site seemed to suggest that it goes hand in hand with dyslexia-which he does not have- very good reader, excellent literacy skills-always writing scripts/stories etc.

Please don't flame me for having left it (well not left as such, just took teachers word) that he was just below average.

How would I go about getting DS tested? i don't want to label him with this if he really is just no good at maths.

Sorry for waffly post.

no idea but i'm fairly sure i have it.
niumbers in any form mean nothing. i can't recognise phone numbers and have no idea hopw much things cost.

having said that hasn't stopped me beng a nurse and mixing up life saving/stopping drugs i',m just very very careful and get someone else to check.

Could be bored with subject or maybe memory dyslexia....I could be talking nonsense but children are generally very bright, however have a problem with short term memory. Long term is normally awesome.

Could be bored with subject or maybe memory dyslexia....I could be talking nonsense but children are generally very bright, however have a problem with short term memory. Long term is normally awesome.

There is only one screening test as far as I remember (although I can't think of the name if it at the moment).

But frankly that doesn't matter. In the same way that Dyslexia just means trouble with reading related activities, Dyscalculia is difficulty with maths. There is no definitive test, or even definition and every child so labeled will be different.

Plus, there is no magic cure. Dyscalculia or not, your child is having trouble with maths and needs help. This will usually mean lots more repetition of basic maths facts, number bonds, tables plus work with manipulatives to ensiue understanding of 'place value' (ie that in the number '10' the '1' means 'one ten' and the '0' means 'zero units' etc etc.

So forget the lable and start the extra practice. Look up Steve Chinn, What to do if you can't do maths seriesn of ideas as to different strategies for maths.

A Speech & Language Therapist can diagnose this in adults. Ask school for a referral.

ive got that, never been diagnosed but simply cannot fathom numbers.
Phone numbers, any simple arythmatic i cannot do.
forget even what number house i live at, been here 9 years, but if someone asks me, i cant answer.
pin numbers an absolute nightmare!

I am a nurse, and have to calculate some complex drugs at work, always ALWAYS takes me ages, always have to get to the answer in my own way, always ALWAYS get them triple checked. never ever made a mistake in 20 years.

Recently bit the bullet and took a GCSE in maths...and passed, enjoyed numbers for the first time in my life.

Hopefully schools are much better these days at recognising and supporting/helping children...not like me, ignored and called thicko alays getting the 2/20 on tests, never got more than 1 or 2 questions correct.

My son has dyscaluclia. and also mild dyspraxia we think.. but no evidence of dyslexia
He's yr 3, just 8. Same thing as your son really. absolutely no long term recall for maths... very little understanding of any concepts at the minute. He can't really cross reference information, so doesn't understand, 5 x table is the same as counting in 5's..
He is having daily extra help at school on a springboard scheme but I just try to use maths constantly at home.
We play lots of maths games, he writes the shopping lists and adds up what we spend.. he measures when we cook etc etc
. This is helping him a lot, It's different to your son as he is older but I think the key is getting them to use maths constantly so there is no time to let go of the information and also to try and use maths in a way that can help build up a visual picture that maybe easier for them to understand.
Luckily we have a really supportive school, but in all honesty there is not that much research and understanding about dyscalculia so it's case of suck it and see.
I will keep on trying till I'm convinced ds2 has the basics which imo is counting in 1', 2, 5, 10, number bonds and times tables. He still can't count in units reliably so I've got a long way to go

Doesn't really matter about the label.My son is dyspraxic and dyslexic but also had alot of difficulty with maths. He needed something concrete to understand the whole concept of numbers.
I forget what they are called but we found using these wooden rods very useful.
Also beans or buttons, anything that he can touch to use to count.
Board games such as snakes and ladders helped.
But everything had to be learned over and over or else it wouldn't go in.
He is 14 now and what is wierd is that things like algebra he seemed to cope with, but he still has trouble with tables.
If its any consolation the fact that there is a modular maths GCSE has made things much easier as they can do a bit at a time.

My DS1-13 has dyscalculia and sounds similar to your DS, but he doesn't have dyslexia, although he is a bit below average in reading and writing. He forgets maths concepts within minutes of learning them and has had tutoring on and off for years now. We are just hoping that by the time he finishes school, he will have mastered time, measurement and money.

Helpful dyscalculia video here, and discussion on the rest of the site. Was this the one you originally saw youcantlabelme?

Hope it's helpful!

Has he got an IEP for maths? If he is struggling and making no little progress I would suggest you contact the LEA Educational Psychologist (EP) for an assessment.

Our child has dyslexia and dyscalculia. Our child was assessed by the LEA EP and Dyslexia Action EP. Dyscaliculia requires a lot of reinforcing basic concepts and the need to look at different learning styles that best suit your child.

If your child has problems with times tables - have a look at www.timestales.com they have put the times tables / divisions into a picture format ie 8 = mrs snowman and 7 = mrs weeks when they drive the car, it goes at 56 miles an hour. Our child now knows the upper 3,4,6,7,8,9 times tables using this technique but still struggles with 1,2,5,10 times tables. The price is about £20.

Good luck

Stilo is a very good tool to use with a dyscalculia child, I got mine through my Nan (a qualified teacher who now home tutors), really helped my DD.