6 yr old with AS, DREADFUL at maths. Any strategies?

[humptyhoo]

Hi, I have a 6 and half yr old girl with Asperger's Syndrome. She is bright in many ways (often conceals it though), is fab at reading, music etc but her maths is abysmal. She is still struggling with basic concepts from reception yr that my 4 yr old son can do easily. Whilst I believe firmly in counting our blessings and focusing on the things she is capable of, clearly school need to see some progress in maths! If I ask her what 2 apples + 1 apple is (using actual apples) she would come up with a random answer and just not get what I've asked her to do. Very frustrated for her, not least because she's in a brighter-than-average class (in which she's one of the youngest so that doesn't help) and I don't want her self-esteem to plummet. Does anyone know of any useful tips/ maths resources that could be recommended? Many thanks.

Maybe she may be better off with 3d number shapes to register them. You may want to find out about Dyscalculia. www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/schools-colleges-and-universities/dyscalculia.html

Numicon is the thing that's most often recommended on this board.

Ooh Indigo, forgive my ignorance but what's Numicon and how is it used?

Just had a look at their website. Definitely will be looking at getting the home resources for my ASD DS3.

humptyhoo,

Certainly try numicom by all means. Any chance of having a tutor visit your house re maths?.

I would look at this problem on a wider level as well because quite soon she will be going into Juniors and if her needs are not fully met there either this could so easily snowbal.

I hope I am wrong but her self esteem could well be affected already by what is happening within the classroom. Are her teachers and SENCO at school fully understanding or even appreciate her very real difficulties not just socially but educationally.

Is DD on anything like School Action Plus?.
What help are school actually providing to help her within class?. Is there any extra support?. If not I would be applying to the LEA for a statement of special needs.

www.ipsea.org.uk is a good website re statementing.

humptyhoo,

Numicon worked very well for us and I still take it out now when I want to explain double and half, partitioning etc.

However, have you checked that your dd does know what the meaning of the words are? My ds could not add etc and then by breaking the lesson into smaller bits, I found out that he did not understand what 'more' meant in terms of 1 more (He knew it when asked if he wanted more milk etc) or which column had more stars etc. That was less than a year and a half ago.

I was told that failing to 'understand the mathematical language' is quite common with ASD children. Right now, I was surprised that ds did not know half past 3 means that the little hand is just after 3. I kept stressing on where the longer hand goes but failed to realize that I did not mention the shorter hand at all...

HTH

I'd agree working on the language. DS was totally bamboozled by the idea that subtraction, minus and take away all meant the same thing. His TA confirms it's the language not the number manipulation he struggles with so we've asked the SALT to help us. (give school ideas when teach is planning new topics for class). At this age a lot of maths is comprehending the vocabulary as much as anything.

Numicon is a good idea as it's become a standard LEA intervention so school should have access to easy access to training in the scheme for classroom use. It's all about pyhsical manipulation of objects so ideal for visual and kinesthetic learners. You can buy homework sets (ask school if you can get it through them for a discount!).

If you child likes very predictable formatted learning the maths whizzz is an online learning system that's OK. It's personalised so your child can practice and practice the concepts she finds hard and nip through topics she finds easy. I intend to get a monthly subscription again for the summer holidays to keep DS ticking over. The annual subscription is about £150 so it's not cheap (but much cheaper than a tutor would be).

DS's other maths issue is that he writes the digits in mirror writing or the wrong way round. I'm told this is a dyslexia issue & that if we resolve those it'll sort itself(notscalcula as that manifests differently).

trying - have you tried moondog's guide to telling time?

Bochead - found it. Thanks. Am going to go dismantle clock now.

Thanks so much for all posts. Hadn't heard of dyscalculia before so very interesting. Will also take a look at Numicon (did reject this beforehand as seemed to cost at least a couple of hundred pounds for a few bits of plastic...wasn't convinced at the time but anything's worth a try!!). Got turned down twice on a statement so that makes it doubly hard. Lots of stuff to think about so thanks again.

Numicon: 1st Steps with Numicon at Home is only £35.

Not cheap - but nor unattainably expensive.