Dyscalculia

Location: http://www.dyscalculia.org/Edu502.html

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM EVALUATION for INSTITUTIONS:

DIAGNOSING MATH LEARNING DISABILITIES /RECOMMENDED PRACTICES

Masalah Pembelajaran Spesifik

Di Malaysia, masalah pembelajaran spesifik masih sangat baru dan pihak yang sering dipertanggungjawabkan dengan tugas ini adalah para guru terutamanya guru sekolah rendah. Maka, tidak boleh disangkal lagi, guru-guru perlu meningkatkan pengetahuan berkenaan disleksia dan dyscalculia bagi membantu kanak-kanak yang menghadapi masalah ini. Kanak-kanak pintar cerdas juga tidak terkecuali dari menghadapi masalah yang sama dan perlukan bimbingan bagi menyerlahkan kebolehan mereka.

Guru-guru perlu menganalisa beberapa pendekatan baru dalam pengajaran matematik bagi kanak-kanak disleksia dan dyscalculia.

Saya perlu mencari apakah pendekatan-pendekatan baru itu. Any ideas....?

Dyscalculia Symptoms

DYSCALCULIA SYMPTOMS

Normal or accelerated language acquisition: verbal, reading, writing. Poetic ability. Good visual memory for the printed word. Good in the areas of science (until a level requiring higher math skills is reached), geometry (figures with logic not formulas), and creative arts.

Difficulty with the abstract concepts of time and direction. Inability to recall schedules, and the sequences of past or future events. Unable to keep track of time. May be chronically late.

Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. Substitute names beginning with same letter.

Inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Poor mental math ability. Poor with money and credit. Cannot do financial planning or budgeting. Checkbooks not balanced. Short term, not long term financial thinking. Fails to see big financial picture. May have fear of money and cash transactions. May be unable to mentally figure change due back, the amounts to pay for tips, taxes, etc.

When writing, reading and recalling numbers, these common mistakes occur:
number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals.

Inability to grasp and remember math concepts, rules, formulas, sequence (order of operations), and basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.

Poor long term memory (retention & retrieval) of concept mastery- may be able to perform math operations one day, but draw a blank the next! May be able to do book work but fails all tests and quizzes.

May be unable to comprehend or "picture" mechanical processes. Lacks "big picture/ whole picture" thinking. Poor ability to "visualize or picture" the location of the numbers on the face of a clock, the geographical locations of states, countries, oceans, streets, etc.

Poor memory for the "layout" of things. Gets lost or disoriented easily. May have a poor sense of direction, may lose things often, and seem absent minded. (Remember the absent minded professor?)

May have difficulty grasping concepts of formal music education. Difficulty sight-reading music, learning fingering to play an instrument, etc.

May have poor athletic coordination, difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing physical directions like in aerobic, dance, and exercise classes. Difficulty remembering dance step sequences, rules for playing sports.

Difficulty keeping score during games, or difficulty remembering how to keep score in games, like bowling, etc.

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia: Signs, Symptoms & Corrective Strategies

Dyscalculia is a learning disability that affects a person's ability to perform the most basic mathematical computations. There is not one particular type of math disability; rather, there are a range of math disabilities and they vary from person to person. For instance, some people have trouble sequencing numbers; others may have difficulty solving basic math problems or have a hard time remembering basic math facts such as multiplication tables.

What causes dyscalculia? Dyscalculia can generally be attributed to weaknesses in one or more of the following skill areas: memory, reasoning and logical thinking, and visual-spatial relationships. In addition, a math disability can stem from math anxiety (or math phobia).

Memory problems can impact a student's performance in a number of ways. He may have trouble recalling basis arithmetic facts and rules, for example. Or, he may struggle with remembering the steps needed to solve a word problem or algebraic equation. He may even have difficulties remembering what specific symbols mean (e.g. +, -).

Weaknesses in a student's ability to reason and think logically can result in profound difficulties in mathematical performance. It can lead to problems differentiating between basic mathematical functions such as multiplication, division, addition and subtraction; it can interfere with a student's ability to choose alternative strategies in problem solving, and it can interfere with a student's ability to transfer and apply skills to new problems.

What is Dyslexia?

Before the National Institutes of Health began their research in the 1980's, the only definition of dyslexia was an exclusionary one. If a child's difficulty with reading could not be explained by low intelligence, poor eye sight, poor hearing, inadequate educational opportunities, or any other problem, then the child must be dyslexic.

International Dyslexia Association:

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.

Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities, or other limiting conditions, but may occur together with these conditions.

Although dyslexia is lifelong, individuals with dyslexia frequently respond successfully to timely and appropriate intervention.

Learning Disability

Learning Disability is not a specific term; it is a category containing many specific disabilities, all of which cause learning to be difficult. The following definition of "learning disability" is used for legislative, financial, and educational purposes only. It is NOT a definition of dyslexia, which is one specific learning disability.

The term 'learning disability' means a disorder in one or more of the basic processes involved in understanding spoken or written language. It may show up as a problem in listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, or spelling or in a person's ability to do math, despite at least average intelligence.

The term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or physical handicaps, or mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Cause of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is an inherited condition. Researchers have determined that a gene on the short arm of chromosome #6 is responsible for dyslexia. That gene is dominant, making dyslexia highly heritable. It definitely runs in families.

Symptoms of Dyslexia

No two people with dyslexia are exactly alike because dyslexia ranges from mild to moderate to severe to profound.If someone struggles with spelling, is a slow reader who has a difficult time sounding out unknown words, and has difficulty getting their great thoughts down on paper in acceptable form, AND that person has 3 or more of these classic warning signs, it is worth getting that person tested for dyslexia.