"Two plus three, which is equal to … five, right?" he says.

But what if it's not?

"It was just like mixed numbers to me," 12- year-old Armenta Stalworth says.

Armenta struggled with the most basic math. She was frustrated, and so were the adults around her.

"And a lot of the people I knew, they just thought I was being lazy and difficult at the same time. It made me feel dumb and like I was just not a part of the human world in a way," she says.

But then she changed schools and someone recognized that she had dyscalculia, a math learning disability.

"If I say to you, 'One,' you immediately have the image of one thing. And for this child, one and seven may all be confused. They don't have that feeling of one piece or seven pieces," says Dr. Joan Teach, director of the Lullwater School.

A child with dyscalculia may also invert numbers, like dyslexics do, or have problems remembering.

Dr. Teach says that the problem can be that numbers and concepts don't stay "in short-term memory long enough to be absorbed and dropped into long-term memory. So that you can remember two times four is eight and you may know it right now, but by tomorrow morning you no longer know it."

Dyscalculia can be overcome with patience, hard work and some creative strategies that connect numbers to the real world.

Dr. Teach says to start out simply: "We're having four people at dinner. Can you get out four forks and put them around the table? Use numbers in your every day life."

After two years of hard work, Armenta's grades have gone up and so has her confidence.

"I just knew that there was this one part in my brain that just wasn't working, just a little bitty part. And I wasn't dumb at all," Armenta says.

By Suki Shergill-Connolly, M.Ed.
CWK Network, Inc.

Most parents are familiar with dyslexia, an inability to process language that affects approximately 20% of U.S. children, according to the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. But a lesser-known learning disability, called dyscalculia, is gaining attention as more and more children are diagnosed as having difficulty with learning math skills. In fact, the journal Pediatrics reports that dyscalculia affects an estimated 2-6.5% of elementary-aged children in the United States.

Dyscalculia was first discovered in 1919 by Salomon Henschen, a Swedish neurologist who found that it was possible for a person to have impaired mathematical abilities that did not affect intelligence in general. Also referred to as developmental arithmetic disorder and "number blindness," dyscalculia is a lifelong condition that is likely to show up early. It has several underlying causes, including the following cited by the West Virginia University:

• Visual processing weakness: This appears to be the most common cause of math difficulty. To really be successful in math, you need to be able to visualize numbers and math situations. Students with dyscalculia have a very difficult time visualizing numbers and often mentally mix up the numbers, resulting in what appear to be "stupid mistakes."
• Sequencing problems: Students who have difficulty sequencing or organizing detailed information often have difficulty remembering specific facts and formulas for completing math calculations. If this is the underlying cause of a student's math difficulties, it is often accompanied by difficulty in other detailed learning areas, including reading, decoding, spelling and anything that requires detailed memorization.
• Math "phobia": Some students just develop a "fear" or "phobia" of math either because of negative experiences in their past, inconsistent educational experiences or lack of self-confidence. Sometimes math phobia can cause as much difficulty as a learning disability.
  

Early identification and treatment are important when dealing with dyscalculia. But how can you determine if your child is suffering from the disorder? The National Center for Learning Disabilities cites the following symptoms that will help you identify dyscalculia in your child:

• Exhibits normal or advanced language and other skills, including good visual memory for the printed word
• Has poor mental math ability, often with difficulty in common use of money, such as balancing a checkbook, making change and tipping (Often, a fear of money and its transactions exists.)
• Experiences difficulty with math processes (e.g., addition, subtraction, multiplication) and concepts (e.g., sequencing of numbers); sometimes exhibits poor retention and retrieval of concepts, or an inability to maintain a consistency in grasping math rules
• Has a poor sense of direction and is easily disoriented, as well as has trouble reading maps, telling time and grappling with mechanical processes
• Experiences difficulty with abstract concepts of time and direction, schedules, keeping track of time and the sequence of past and future events
• Makes common mistakes in working with numbers, including number substitutions, reversals and omissions
• May have difficulty learning musical concepts, following directions in sports that demand sequencing or rules and keeping track of scores and players during games, such as cards and board games

Diagnosis of dyscalculia is sometimes difficult because the criteria for the condition is varied and not as clearly defined as with other learning difficulties. Therefore, it is important that a qualified educational specialist conduct several tests to determine if your child needs to be placed in a special intervention program or requires tutoring to help with his or her math difficulties.

If your child is diagnosed with dyscalculia, you can take several steps to help him or her develop stronger math skills. LDOnline offers the following techniques for helping your child work out his or her math difficulties:

• Encourage your child to work extra hard to "visualize" mathematics problems. Have your child draw a picture to help understand the problem, and make sure that he or she takes the time to look at any visual information that is provided (picture, chart, graph, etc.)
• Have your child read problems aloud and listen very carefully.
• Provide examples, and try to relate problems to real-life situations.
• Provide your younger child with graph paper, and encourage him or her to use it in order to keep the numbers in line.
• Encourage your child to spend extra time memorizing mathematics facts. Repetition is very important. Use rhythm or music to aid the memorization process.
• Offer your child one-on-one attention to help him or her fully grasp certain concepts.
• If possible, allow the student to take the exam on a one-to-one basis in the teacher's presence.
• Most importantly, be PATIENT! Never forget that your child WANTS to learn and retain.

As is the case with learning any new concept, taking the time to grasp the basics is essential. If possible, be sure to spend time with your child during the "homework" hour and be encouraging. You can also help your child cope with his or her math difficulty by considering these additional tips from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities:

• Learn more about dyscalculia. Information on learning disabilities, including dyscalculia, can help you understand that your child does not learn in the same way as other people do. Find out as much as you can about the problems your child has with math, what types of learning tasks will be hard for your child, what sources of help are available and what you can do to make life and learning easier for your child.
• Become an unobtrusive detective. Look for clues that can tell you how your child learns best. Does he or she learn best through looking, listening or touching? What is your child's weakest approach to math? Also, pay attention to your child's interests, talents and skills. All of this information can be of great help in motivating and fostering your child's learning.
• Respect and challenge your child's natural intelligence. He or she may have trouble with visual learning, but that doesn't mean learning can't take place in many other ways. Most children with learning disabilities have average or above-average intelligence that can be engaged and challenged through using a multi-sensory approach. Taste, touch, seeing, hearing and moving are valuable ways of gathering information.
• Remember that mistakes don't equal failure. Your child may have the tendency to see his or her mistakes as huge failures. You can model, through good-humored acceptance of your own mistakes, that mistakes can be useful. They can lead to new solutions. They are not the end of the world. When your child sees you taking this approach to mistakes - your own and the mistakes of others - he or she can learn to view his or her mistakes in the same light.
• Encourage your child to develop his or her special talent. What is your child good at doing? What does he or she especially enjoy? Encouraging your child to pursue areas of talent lets him or her experience success and discover a place to shine.

LDOnline
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
Pediatrics
West Virginia University