Dyscalculia

The impact of dyscalculia

The impact of dyscalculia is far reaching and can have a profound impact on daily life, especially work.

For example, some dyscalculic adults never learn to drive, because of the numerical demands of driving and map reading (although SAT NAVs can help a great deal here).

Dyscalculia can also lead to social isolation, due to an inability to be at the right place at the right time, or to understand the rules and scoring systems of games and sports.

It can have a severe impact on job prospects and promotional opportunities for those in work.

Personal finances and budgeting will also be an issue for people with dyscalculia. Research shows that adults with low numeracy earn on average £2,100 less per annum than adults with average or above numeracy. In the UK as a whole, it is estimated that low numeracy levels cost the UK £20 billion per year, largely due to poor productivity. (National Numeracy, 2014)

To have dyscalculia can be a very frustrating experience, but it does not mean that you will never achieve in life. It is, after all, a specific learning difficulty. Paul Moorcraft’s book ‘It just doesn’t add up’ is testament to what can be achieved despite having severe dyscalculia. Surprisingly, a number of mathematics professors could be described as dyscalculic, reminding us that this is a specific difficulty with arithmetic and not with every branch of mathematics.

National Numeracy 2014

Moorcraft, P. (2014). It just doesn’t add up. Filament Publishing, Croydon, UK