Dyscalculia

Teachers who are interested in becoming a specialist dyslcalculia teacher or dyscalculia assessor can find information about training courses and professional accreditation on the BDA, Dyslexia Action, Edge Hill University and Learning Works websites.

The BDA also offer a Level 2 accredited 3 day Dyscalculia Course

Although archived now, the following is a very useful government publication.

What works for children with mathematical difficulties? The effectiveness of intervention schemes

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110202093118/http:/nationals...

The British Dyslexia Association New Technologies Committee webpages provide information and reviews of the latest products designed to help dyscalculic people.

Assistive technologies to help with a range of difficulties are explored on Dyslexia Action’s webpages.

Recommended Apps

A dyscalculia friendly calculator

Dyscalculator

Lucid Research Ltd

GL Assessment

Pearson Assessment

Ann Arbor

Dyslexia Action Shop

Crossbow Education

BDA Store

One of the most effective ways to support dyscalculic learners when tacking word problems is to use the bar modeling method. This is a very common method in countries such as Singapore and China and helps the learner to visualise the maths. The model shows them which operation they need to use to solve the problem and what steps they need to take.

More information can be found from

Maths No Problem

Word Problems

The BDA have produced a free mini module on helping learners with the times tables

BDA Times Tables

Statutory guidance for schools in England on duties, policies and procedures relating to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is contained with the SEND Code of Practice (2014).

1. Use concrete manipulative materials

Invest in the right kinds of concrete materials and let your child play around with

them, experimenting and having fun with them. Most useful and versatile of all the

resources that I use with dyscalculic learners is a set of Cuisenaire rods. [Cuisenaire

rods are cuboid rods of wood or plastic, in ten fixed colours, ranging in length from

1 cm to 10 cm to represent the numbers from 1 to 10.] Other helpful materials are

Recommended reading

The following books will support dyscalculia friendly teaching practices. The main message is to make sure that you are supporting your teaching with appropriate concrete manipulatives such as base ten materials, Cuisenaire rods, dot cards, Numicon etc

Chinn, Steve (2004) The Trouble with Maths: A Practical Guide to Helping Learners with Numeracy Difficulties London: Routledge Falmer

Chinn, Steve (2012) More Trouble with Maths: A complete guide to identifying and diagnosing mathematical difficulties Routledge

Dynamo Maths Profiler

This is the link for the dynamo maths profiler for learners aged 6-9

Dynamo Profiler

Dyscalculia Screener

This is the link to Brian Butterworth’s dyscalculia screener, suitable for learners aged 6-14

Dyscalculia Screener

DyscalculiUM

This is a screener for adults and teenagers developed by Clare Trott at Loughborough University