Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding and working with numbers. It can lead to issues arising in the study and application of mathematics, and some individuals who have dyscalculia find that mathematics becomes arduous, or even impossible. In the past, many people referred to it as ‘number dyslexia’, but the truth is that the two are regarded as different conditions even if they can (and often do) co-occur. 

It’s worth nothing that not all maths difficulties are dyscalculia, just like all reading and writing differences aren’t dyslexia: problems working with numbers can occur from several situations, such as maths anxiety, disengagement, and the manner of instruction that was received.  

What does dyscalculia look like in learners? 

Dyscalculia has a vast range of symptoms, and it can vary in severity and impact. It may be as simple as struggling with functions like addition or division, or it could only manifest in application, such as when an individual is telling the time or trying to sequence or sort a series of numbers. Here are some of the most common, although these are far from exclusive: 

Nursery or Kindergarten: learners might struggle as they learn to count and mis-order numbers. They might also find it harder than their peers to assign numbers to groups of counted objects, and some people report difficulties in the spatial visualisation and sorting objects (i.e. from shortest to tallest, or largest to smallest). 

Primary School: learners might struggle with addition or subtraction, extracting number work from written problems, or remembering basic number bonds that are appropriate for their age group. They might also confuse function signs such as x and +, and find place value difficult to grasp. It’s also around this time that problems working with money emerge, for example, working out change or making an amount out of available notes and coins.  

Secondary School: this is where learners start to tackle larger amounts of maths data and more complex equations. Many learners with dyscalculia find algebra and the nature of substituting numbers for letters problematic, and interpreting data representations like graphs and pie charts might be arduous. It’s also where a lot of maths anxiety really begins to kick in: although learners are older and more likely to understand the nature of dyscalculia and its effects, it’s also when exams truly start to have real-life consequences, like college and university entry.  

How many learners have dyscalculia? 

It’s widely agreed that about 10-20% of the population have dyslexia. It’s also thought that around 20% of the population have dyscalculia, but the numbers skew when we look at co-occurring conditions: around 60% of people who have dyslexia also have dyscalculia, so there is a higher instance in the dyslexic population. 

It’s also worth noting that there is a very large proportion of people with dyscalculia who aren’t diagnosed: it’s one of the least common neurodivergent diagnoses in the UK and in the US. 

A bigger focus on maths for UK learners? 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke last week about how the country ‘has to get better at maths’, and that an ‘anti-maths mindset’ costs the country a huge sum. It follows a broader government push that would see learners study mathematics until the age of eighteen, as a move to improve maths literacy and assist learners into a new generation of STEM, IT and data careers. There are also plans to liaise with educators and business professionals to create a new structured maths qualification for UK learners that would focus on maths in application, in a more job-focused approach to number work, in a bid to keep the ‘learned’ maths in line with the maths that happens out in the working world.  

The move has been hailed by some as future-proofing learners for the jobs of tomorrow, however some dyscalculia and numeracy groups haven’t been so convinced, and many are worried about the current support infrastructure changes needed to support more learners though maths education for longer. 

Some are also concerned that the proposed introduction of certain maths and english results as part of eligibility criteria for a student loan might lead to many learners with dyslexia or dyscalculia missing out on university places or saddling them with private debt for post-18 education.  

Supporting learners with dyscalculia  

Support patterns vary between learners, as the nature of dyscalculia is diverse: everybody will experience it differently, and support needs to adapt to specific needs. Just like dyslexia, what we need to apply is a ‘toolbox approach’: an accessible kit of different fixes for different maths needs, ranging from things like changes to teaching methodologies to tech fixes, gamified learning, and skill support. You can find a host of workable classroom strategies at Twinkl. 

Some learners with dyscalculia will find a great benefit in text-to-speech software as it has the power to decode function symbols and numbers into aural form, bypassing the need for symbol processing and allowing them to focus on what they need to do, as well as what’s on the page. 

When it comes to exams, learners can benefit from extra time too. It’s recognised in the UK as something that can be supported through adjustments to the exam process, so if dyscalculia is suspected in a learner, it’s best to raise the issue through the appropriate channels, such as school SENCo professionals and exam officers. 

C-Pen Reader 2 is a text-to-speech reading tool that can support learners with dyscalculia and maths differences through the revision period and beyond. Find out more about how C-Pen Reader 2 and the JCQ-approved Exam Reader 2 can transform learning… and stay tuned for our forthcoming learning resource for maths, The Helping Hands Detective Agency Series II!