Dyslexia and Mathematics

From the time I was little, I found maths to be a very mysterious subject and one I found extremely difficult to grasp.

In retrospect, I would say the main reason for this was its abstract nature.

When I was older I did a Montessori course which introduced me to a whole new world of numbers and maths. Each of the areas had material which was concrete, and could be manipulated in order to work out the various computations.

Until fairly recently, definitions for dyslexia did not include mathematical difficulties and even now, not all of them do. This also applies to dyslexia tests which usually focus on areas related to reading and spelling and in the past, written tests for maths weren't given. According to Ott this is because of time constraints. (Ott, 1997) (pg 119).

Specific difficulties dyslexic pupils have with maths

Language

This can be very confusing as the language used in maths can have more than one meaning. For example:

square        Let's meet Leicester Square
division    Which team is in the first division?
set               The tea set is on the table

Vision

The symbols used in mathematics can be extremely confusing for a dyslexic pupil who has visual perceptual as well as directional difficulties.

For example, the +, and ÷ can both look the same and some children with directional difficulties might rotate the + and read it as X.

In her book 'How to Manage Dyslexia'  Ott (1997) writes about a gifted dyslexic pupil who used the ÷ as % due to his directional difficulties:

'A gifted dyslexic pupil persistantly used the division sign incorrectly. He reversed it thus % so it looked like a percentage sign.'

Difficulties with orientation can also lead to misreading numbers, for example:

2 may be written as 5
confusion with 6 and 9
3 may be written as 8
and 4 could be read as 4 which can be confused as a nine

Memory
Short-term memory

According to Chinn, most dyslexics have short-term memory issues which causes difficulties for them when doing mental problems in maths. Some pupils make less errors if the sum is written down but get very confused when being presented with a stream of verbal instructions.

If their short-term difficulties are severe, they find it difficult to remember what has been taught to them, between the time they were with the teacher and getting back to their desk.

Hand-eye co-ordination

Some pupils find it difficult drawing lines, margins, angles, axes and graphs due to their poor hand-eye co-ordination.

Inconsistancies

Most people believe the rules of maths to be more consistant than spelling but the fact is there are many inconsistencies in maths which are overlooked. These cause confusion and failure for dyslexic pupils.

When adding fractions, only the ‘top’ numbers are added but when multiplying fractions, BOTH the top AND bottom numbers are multiplied.

Angles are measured anti-clockwise. With time, we work with the numbers clockwise. When we teach children to read the time, we talk about four thirty (4.30pm) but ‘ten to seven’ has neither a ten OR a seven. (6:50pm).

As Special Educators, what can we do to help children with maths?

Here are some suggestions:

1) use multi-sensory teaching methods. Some materials you can use are:

Dienes blocks
map board pins
straws
lego bricks

2)  the use of index cards for each of the five core mathematical symbols along with the words connected to them

3) reherse mathematical vocabulary constantly using multi-sensory methods

4) encourage the pupil to use an arrow to show which direction they are reading the concepts or sum

5) use red ink for the decimal point

6) teach the pupil the difference between left and right. If they are right-handed you can say, 'your watch is on your left arm' as a visual reminder

For younger children:

Sequencing and short-term memory

Use songs and nursery rhymes like:

*1,2,3,45 once i caught a fish alive

*Five little speckled frogs

*one two buckle my shoe

Fractions

There are many ways fractions can be taught. It can start with giving the child a pizza or cake and cutting it into half and quarters.

There are very well-made materials available which are visually attractive and tactile.

Height

The concept of height can be introduced by using a height chart.

Time

Being able to tell the time is a very important skill. This can be taught using an analogue clock. If you would like to print out worksheets, www.enchatedlearning.com has some useful material.

References:
How to manage and detect dyslexia (Ott, 1997)
Maths and Dyslexia (Dr Steve Chinn)
Mathematics for dyslexics - A teaching handbook (Chinn and Ashcroft,1998)