By Brittany Ann Ross
Abstract
This paper seeks to explore both neurological and psychological aspects of developmental dyscalculia while recommending leading intervention strategies that can be used at home and in classroom environments. Many educational institutions and professionals are now recognizing the proportionally high rates of students diagnosed with this disorder. Leading underlying factors of dyscalculia will be analyzed in terminology appropriate for average, nonmedical professionals, aiming to assist those working directly with the children to make academic gains. Some possible intervention strategies for this area will be evaluated such as computer software and games, classroom engagement strategies, anxiety minimizing techniques, and general assisting tools. This paper will attempt to distinguish important aspects of the disorder in noncomplex terminology and make practical intervention strategies teachers and parents can utilize when assisting students with these needs.
Introduction
While developmental dyscalculia has many subtypes, it is generally understood to be a profound difficulty in a child’s ability to learn and understand even basic arithmetic. Recent studies estimate that 5% of primary school children are affected by this disorder (Kaufmann & von Aster, 2012) with seemingly no more likelihood of one gender being diagnosed than the other (Devine, Soltesz, Nobesm Goswami, & Szucs, 2013). These numbers are relatively high considering the importance of mathematical comprehension in grade school and numbers for simple life skills like balancing personal accounts. There is believed to be a significant overlap in symptoms for those experiencing the more commonly known dyslexia and those with dyscalculia (Raja & Kumar, 2011). Yet, there appears to be minimal research on this specific disorder and even less agreement on related matters like cause and intervention strategies. However, what is clear is that little to no improvements in symptoms seem to occur without some kind of treatment.
Various fields of study from neuroscience to psychology are explored to help the individuals who work the closest with those diagnosed with developmental dyscalculia (i.e., parents, teachers, and therapists) understand the workings of the disorder and consider several useful intervention strategies that are highlighted in recent studies. Additionally, part of this goal is the simplification of the advanced medical terminology into understandable formats that those working on the front lines with these children should be able to explore in depth.
Neuroscience
Brain imaging studies agree that the neurological deficits that are occurring in developmental dyscalculia are stemming from the region of the brain most responsible for comparing digits and listing objects, the parietal lobe, and more specifically a region within this lobe called intraparietal sulcus (IPS; Butterworth & Laurillard, 2015). The parietal lobe’s important role in understanding math and computations has been well demonstrated by the observations of patients who have experienced damage within this region. Furthermore, abnormalities within the parietal lobe are often observed in patients with developmental dyscalculia (Butterworth & Laurillard, 2010). The IPS looks like a simple fold in the back of the brain but is essential for comparing quantities (Flora, 2013). Butterworth (2013) noted IPS differences between left and right hemispheres along with reduced grey matter in imaging studies; however, he also mentioned this cannot confirm if the reduced grey matter is resulting in the cause of dyscalculia or if it is because of it.
As with many disorders, researchers and families alike have speculated if there could be a genetic foundation to developmental dyscalculia. Current research on mathematical disabilities and twin studies suggests this might be a relevant concern. A study found that in 58% of monozygotic twins and 39% of dizygotic twins with mathematical disability, the twin sibling also had the disability (Alar- con, Defries, Gillis Light, & Pennington, 1997). Other studies appear to similarly agree with this suggestion that siblings of children with developmental dyscalculia are at a greater risk for also showing signs of this disorder, which includes common demonstrations like slowness in answering mathematical related questions or counting simple additions on one’s fingers for example (Raja & Kumar, 2011).
Psychology
It is important to note that the diagnosis of developmental dyscalculia must not be associated to factors such as poor schooling or other intelligence factors; in other words, the symptoms of this disorder occurring are irrelevant in regards to properly instructing the child (Kaufmann & von Aster, 2012). Children may go through several academic routes to rule out this schooling variable, attempting tutoring or other directed instruction. Professionals responsible for making the diagnosis should have assessment guidelines that will allow them to distinguish this disorder from others.
Anxiety related complications in math achievement should not be ignored as they can also contribute to low performance. While the majority of research in this area has been focused on adults, there are studies showing similar impact in children as well as adults. However, this will be addressed both as a psychological factor and again in intervention strategies. An underlying question remains as follows: how much of dyscalculia is numerical based cognitive deficits and how much is it a memory or retrieval error? Some research suggests that at least part of the problem could be memory based as suggested by research focused on third, forth, and six grade students as they progressed in mathematical skills, using different mental approaches to solve the various problems (Ashcraft & Fierman, 1982). Basically, simple rudimentary concepts like counting and simple addition transition into more complicated arithmetic skills that might involve multiple steps; thus, memory is required to hold numbers while the brain calculates the next portion of the problem.
Since this major transition of mathematical skills primarily occurs during elementary years, an interesting study sought the influence of anxiety during this time frame. This new study compared math achievement tests to the elementary students’ self report on a math anxiety questionnaire and found anxiety to be a strong predictor in the students’ use of more advanced problem solving capability (Ramirez, Chang, Maloney, Levine, & Beilock, 2016).
Treatment and Intervention
There is no one conclusive suggestion to offering assistance to these students struggling with dyscalculia. Techniques that benefit one child may not have any effect on the next child with the same disorder. Some children might flourish by simply adding dot patterns or music and others may gain nothing at all from these techniques (Gifford & Rockliffe, 2012). So, the suggestions here are simple and practical tools that have current research supporting their application and may be used when helping these students.
Using computer software and specialized games to treat dyscalculia is prominent in the current literature. It is a tool that seems well accepted by parents, teachers, and children alike. It can offer a structured learning program yet maintain a child’s interest. An interesting study by de Castro, Panccioni, Rodrigues, and Domingues (2014) tested 300 school children using a scholastic performance test and found 26 with low level mathematics scoring. These 26 students were randomly divided into two groups: the control group that would continue learning traditional reinforcement style teaching methods and the experimental group that would utilize a virtual teaching environment consisting of an adapted virtual classroom and 18 various math games the children could play. The results showed dramatic enhancement for the virtual environment (p<0.0001) over the standard classroom control group (p = 0.0543) that showed no significant improvement. Researchers recognize two math games in particular to remediate dyscalculia: Number Race and Graphogame-Math (de Castro et al., 2014). These types of games being suggested are called adaptive games because they recognize a child’s current ability level and structure the game content to proper difficulty levels (Wilson et al., 2016). This way the child remains challenged without much potential for recurrent failure. One of the best advantages of these games is the ease of implementation in either the home or during designated classroom times.
Avoiding reoccurring failure appears to be key here with creating intervention strategies. The success observed from these games likely relates back to psychological motivation for success by means of play verses verbal instruction. These interventions being recognized offer little discouragement regarding wrong answers, unlike traditional instruction methods, and typically allow students to set their own pace. Poor grade after poor grade as one might experience in the traditional classroom offers students little positive encouragement to continue their hard efforts and might reinforce fears and other negative thoughts. Wadlington and Wadlington (2008) suggested that teachers should try to help students feel as safe as possible in their classrooms by trying to minimize any ridicule from the student’s peers, presenting many visual aids, offering lots of praise, and proposing creative methods for keeping students engaged. They recommended ingenious ideas for motivating students like placing student names in word problems, discussing well-known figures who have overcome learning disabilities (there are many from history to current pop music), and having students work together in pairs to instill positive outlooks and positive communication (Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008).
Students with dyscalculia often have other strengths that should be utilized to help them learn and increase their motivation. They might have creative, out of the box ways of thinking and these unique ideas might be used in demonstrating assignments (Greene, 2015) rather than the typical worksheets.
If a students’ math anxiety has already developed into a problem, decreasing this anxiety can be a difficult undertaking, but there are options available to combat the negative thought patterns. Cognitive reappraisal can help remediate already existing fears by working with the child to modify their interpretation of the feared stimuli (Ramirez et al., 2016), which in this case is mathematics. Cognitive reappraisal is a therapeutic way to change how one thinks about objects or situations. Current research on 6 to 13-year olds has found reappraisal techniques to be very beneficial to helping with emotional processing of stimuli and therefore aid in learning situations (Davis & Levine, 2013). However, an even better solution to having to combat and modify fears would be to try to help students avoid them altogether.
When teaching new math skills to these students, some practical tools can assist the process. Having students who struggle sit near the front of the classroom has been very helpful for several reasons: they do not have the distractions of peers in their direct eye sight, they can see the instructor and content better, they can ask questions easier, and it is often easier for the teacher to gage nonverbal body language of the students to determine if clarification might be needed or if the pacing needs to be adjusted. Being able to keep children’s attention should help them focus on details that are important in math like decimal places and subtraction versus addition signs (Vaidya, 2004). When the student is right up front, this detail is easier to notice and remedy as needed.
One might also consider using as much visual representation of the mathematical concepts as possible. If possible, instruction should start with these concrete objects or visualizations and gradually transition the content to abstract examples to help the students comprehend the tangible applications to the mental constructions (Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008). Since a large part of the disorder involves numerical difficulty, this method should help the students when then they cognitively replace mental numbers or values with an item. Additional preparation would likely need to be completed in order to aid in creating these demonstrations.
Furthermore, when attempting to assist with the visualization process, there are also some noteworthy techniques with printed materials. An article by Michaelson (2007) makes some excellent suggestions for this area. Simple to read fonts, like Sans Serif, might be better than other fonts for these students because it avoids excess visual features and tails; also, color tinted overlays could be made available to help with the readability of usual black on white printing. Also, for math books that are devoid of colors, teachers might consider prehighlighting important instructional information and even color charts and bar graphs (Michaelson, 2007) to make them more visually stimulating to the students. Additionally, when working on chalkboards or whiteboards, teachers might try differentiating ideas and information with different colors (Hanks, 2011); this idea can also be used for handouts, PowerPoint presentations, and homework sheets. When it comes to instruction, three tools are advised for these students: explicitness, repetition, and structure (Gore, 2010). The addition of color could benefit in both explicitness and structure when teaching mathematical concepts.
With different strengths and abilities, it is recognizable that there are many aspects and techniques that can be employed to help these students maximize learning and succeed in overcoming this learning obstacle. Parents and teachers should recognize that these students would likely need more time to practice and work on homework compared to their neurotypical peers. Teachers, in particular, should be flexible and understanding of these differences the students will experience when planning assignments. This flexibility may be necessary when recognizing that these children will be practicing using their own methods that work for them. Homework and classroom assignments should be adjusted for those with this disorder, as they might need lengthy time when working with tutors and the homework assignments that other students might find more manageable (Greene, 2015). The aspect of fairness would be best demonstrated using an accommodation such as shortened assignments since practice times would be better balanced in the end for the different student needs.
In conclusion, after exploring some different neurological and psychological components to dyscalculia, a better understanding is key to learning how those experiencing this disorder cognitively process information.
Parents and teachers should feel empowered and able to influence learning abilities for these students. Besides the techniques that may be used in the classroom, which should be beneficial as well, the emphasis on positivity and minimizing anxiety is paramount. As students struggle with this disability, keeping them motivated and engaged is so important to the learning process. There is no one simple measure to assisting these children; however, discovering students’ strengths and learning to adapt to them and morph them into instruction should be of great benefit to everyone involved, which includes the children, parents, and teachers.
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About the Author
Brittany Ross is the Director of Academic Support at Jupiter Christian School and is a Dual Enrollment Psychology Instructor for Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is nearing completion of her Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Educational Psychology. She is also a wife and a mother of two small children, a little boy and baby girl.
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