IN SEARCH OF DYSCALCULIA

A research team have been trying to identify children as ‘pure ’ cases of dyscalculia. Children were identified by their teachers and parents as having specific mathematics difficulties. They exhibited some classic symptoms of dyscalculia such as difficulties in acquiring arithmetic skills or understanding simple number concepts. A range of assessment strategies including the Dyscalculia Screener were used to explore their understanding and strategies. No pure cases were found, although the children presented complex patterns of learning difficulties and compensatory strategies. The range of contributory factors suggests the need for new theoretical perspectives to consider learning difficulties and the need to study individual mathematics learning trajectories