DEVELOPMENTAL DYSCALCULIA Tereza Babická, Karolína Blahová, Gloria Orgolič ACTIVITY 4 groups -> 4 different definitions of Developmental Dyscalculia Find definitions in the hallway. On the back side of the paper there are calculations. Solve the calculations and the results should tell you in which place certain piece of paper is in the definition. Try to figure out to which country this definition belongs (USA, UK, CZECH REPUBLIC/SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA) AMERICA Dyscalculia is defined as a failure to achieve in mathematics commensurate with chronological age, normal intelligence, and adequate instruction. It is marked by difficulties with: visualization; visual-spatial perception, processing and discrimination; counting; pattern recognition; sequential memory; working-memory for numbers; retrieval of learned facts and procedures; directional confusion; quantitative processing speed; kinesthetic sequences; and perception of time. UK Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It is easy to recognise due to the severity of difficulties with number sense: subitising, symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison, and ordering CZECH REPUBLIC/SLOVAKIA Developmental dyscalculia is a developmental structural disorder of mathematical abilities which has its origin in a genetic or congenital disorder of those parts of the brain that are the direct anatomico-psychological substrate of the maturation of the mathematical abilities adequate to age, without a simultaneous disorder of general mental functions. (L.Košč, 1974) ICD 10 - WHO ● section F81.2 ● “Specific disorder of arithmetical skills” This disorder involves a specific impairment in arithmetical skills that is not solely explicable on the basis of general mental retardation or of inadequate schooling. The deficit concerns mastery of basic computational skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division rather than of the more abstract mathematical skills involved in algebra, trigonometry, geometry, or calculus. SLOVENIA Developmental dyscalculia is a genetic cognitive deficit, that causes, average or above-average intelligence child, great difficulty coping with most maths problems. The other term we use is ‘AKALKULIJA’ and it is an inability to use mathematical symbols and the cause of it is brain damage. Basic description and etiology ● problems in numerical/arithmetic understanding ● prevalence: 3-6% X prevalence in the UK at least 25% (mathematical learning difficulties) ● affects more females than males, but it is still inconsistent ● persistent into adulthood ● possible causes: hereditary and environmental components ● often co-occurs with other specific learning disabilities and mathematics anxiety BRAIN OF DYSCALCULICS Dyscalculic boy, 11 years, 5th grade Dyscalculic girl, 8 years, 3rd grade Diagnosis Early diagnosis and treatment is very important Problems in: Numerical and arithmetical processes Domain-general abilities Neurological, sensory, and motor processes Socio-emotional and social functioning Medical, educational, and family history Difficulties must be long-term Even pre-schooled children may be diagnosed RISKS ● genetic predisposition ● epigenetic factors ● organic risk factors (e.g. premature birth) ● domain-independent maturation deficits BRAIN ● deficient development of fronto-parietal network COGNITION ● impaired non-symbolic quantity and symbolic number representation, impaired transfer between representations Risks, brain, cognition Behaviour Number sense ● quantity discrimination ● counting skill ● “more/less” comparisons ● transcoding ● place-value system Calculation ● mental calculation ● multi-digit arithmetic ● numeric fact retrieval ● calculation procedures ● calculation concepts SPECIFIC COMORBIDITIES ● attentional problems (ADHD) ● impaired language development ● dyslexia ● anxiety, depression, aggression etc. Factors serving math abilities ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: ● education ● teaching style ● experience ● practice ● motivation ● encouragement ● age DOMAIN-GENERAL FACTORS: ● visuospatial skills (magnitude discrimination, mental number line, size concepts) ● attention (focus on problem solving mental number line) ● language (counting, mental calculation, fact retrieval, number system) ● working memory (mental calculation, multi-digit arithmetic, procedures) ● executive functions (planning, control) ● reasoning (text problems) ● social and emotional factors (attitude to mathematics, learning and coping strategies) FEATURES ● Impaired innate number sense ● Forget mathematical procedures especially as they become more complex (long division) ● Counting difficulties, like backward counting ● No understanding of the place-value system and the role of the zero ● Impaired development of or access to the mental number line ● Stick to counting strategies by the usage of their fingers ● Lack of understanding how to decompose difficult problems into easier ones ● No understanding of calculation procedures and concepts Signs of Dyscalculia for teachers ● combines numbers and symbols while reading, thinking, counting and remembering ● struggles with telling time, tracking and managing time ● have huge effort with disappointing results ● unreliable memory of numbers, math facts, rules and procedures ● have weak mental arithmetic skills ● has difficulty imagining abstractions, quantities, layouts, clocks, faces, numbers, and figures ● avoid difficult tasks EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES CLASSIFICATION AND GROUPING (understanding of basic concepts necessary for mathematical operations)-> sorting games, matching and sorting (bigsmall, same, smaller-bigger, more-less, etc.), ORDERING (understanding of the symbol and its meaning)-> numerals (moreless, what comes after 5), numeral lines (orientation on numerical line, comparison of numbers), arraying by size or length RECOGNITION OF NUMBERS (learn to recognize both printed numbers and words expressing them, their graphics form and understand their meaning) > reading of numbers, recognition of figure and background, division of numbers into units and tens, graphic representation of numbers. COMPUTATION SKILL -> Use of simple numbers so that the student can focus on the mathematical operation not the number itself. INTERVENTION ● adapted to individual profile of performance levels and difficulties ● one-to-one training ● structured and hierarchically built ● basic non-curricular and curricular numerical topics ● many repetitions ● motivation in stimulated by reward and reduction of math anxieties RESOURCES https://www.dyscalculia.org/dyscalculia https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/neurodiversity-and-co- occurring-differences/dyscalculia-and-maths-difficulties Kucian, K. and von Aster, M. (2014). Developmental dyscalculia. Eur. J. Pediatr. 174, 1–13 (2015) BUTTERWORTH, Brian. Dyscalculia: from science to education. New York, NY: Routledge, 2019. ISBN 978-1-138-68861-2.