After 1 1/2 yrs. of trying to figure out what was going on with my son (now 11), we finally found out that he possibly has dyscalculia. When I came across a thesis on this, I knew that was what was wrong. The school did an eval. but cannot test specifically for it, becuase of lack of resources, but the Diagnotician agreed that he has alot of symptoms associated with Dyscalculia and possibly ADD. Now I am at a loss as to what to do. I know he cannot return to the public Intermediate school he is now attending becuase he is drowning there - so to speak His difficulty with Math, the added craziness of the chaos of the school, added responsibilty and the larger class sizes, has made everything almost unbearable. His Math teacher has been very helpful but he is still not getting what he needs and CMC is a bit of a joke, although he likes the quite there - and no he doesn’t qualify for Special Ed.
I guess what I am asking is if anyone has any experience with a child with this and what was successful? I know not all children are the same, but I thought I would try asking. I am presently looking into private school for LD but so far about 12K a year is the norm and YIKES!!!
Can you describe his problems?
Like LDs in reading, there are different kinds of problems in Math. I’ve worked wiht middle and high schoolers and college kiddos in reading and math — right now in the college setting math problems are the most common. (There are also far more pe9ople who *think* they have dyscalculia than who actually do — but that doesn’t mean a darned thing if you’re one of the people who does, except that what works for them probably won’t work for you.)
Re: Can you describe his problems?
Okay, here goes: The whole process started becuase he was/is having problems with short term memory. (that’s how I see it) Not always but often. In school, he may remember Math concepts one day and they are gone the next. He cannot remember math facts, in add., multiplicat….etc. Except maybe if he learns a trick to them like multiplying doubles. There are alot of other things too. A biggy is that he is VERY forgetful with alot of things, like conversations, things he has done, homework. He will do the homework, sometimes 3 times and the papers never seem to make it to class and the same goes with getting papers home. He does very well in Language Arts and pays attention well in his classes. Medically we had him sent for a CT Scan, EEG and MRI becuase of previous closed head injuries, and all was normal.
Now, This is what the diagnoticians report stated:
He displays specific patterns of deficits typically seen in people diagnosed as having Dyscalculia. The deficits that he has include computational errors when preforming math, variable memory for math facts, poor sense of time and direction, poor memory when numeric information is involved and a better grasp of applied math than math facts. he also has a problem with inattention/variable attention as well as slowed processing. Overall, his deficits do not appear to rise to the level of requiring SpEd services. She told me that he is overcompensating so much that he is really hard to figure out and she did not feel settled about her findings. She suspected more is going on then she can determine.
His disceprency in math fluency was -19 (all errors were due to misreading signs). But Math Calculation Skills scored -12, which doesn’t qual. for SpEd. He shows a weakness in working memory. He could remember 3 and 4 digit strings but no 5 digit. His strengths: reading, writing, listening comprehension His weaknesses: math fluency, math calculation, inattention to visual info, speed of processing visual info.
That about sums it all up. I tried to just highlight the main info.
Re: Math Disability - Dyscalculia
I had never heard of this type of disabilty before but, I too beleave my son has this. He is 10 and has never passed a p.a.c.t. test in math since entering school. He has other known disaibilties and i’ve always thought he might have others that he hasn’t been rested for, this might be the answear i’ve been seeking.
I do have one question for you? I too have thought about the private school thing, but seeing how i cannot afford that as well, i have been seriously thinkin about holding him back this year to try and help him deal better or addapt before moving on to middle school, do you think that might have helped your child? thank- you for your response
Re: Can you describe his problems?
omg! you have just desribed my son to a T ! I am so sorry to no thats there another child out there that suffers from the same thing my son does, but so thank-ful that we are not alone , and maybe we can help each other to get the answears and help that they need!Kathleen wrote:
>
> Okay, here goes: The whole process started becuase he was/is
> having problems with short term memory. (that’s how I see
> it) Not always but often. In school, he may remember Math
> concepts one day and they are gone the next. He cannot
> remember math facts, in add., multiplicat….etc. Except
> maybe if he learns a trick to them like multiplying doubles.
> There are alot of other things too. A biggy is that he is
> VERY forgetful with alot of things, like conversations,
> things he has done, homework. He will do the homework,
> sometimes 3 times and the papers never seem to make it to
> class and the same goes with getting papers home. He does
> very well in Language Arts and pays attention well in his
> classes. Medically we had him sent for a CT Scan, EEG and MRI
> becuase of previous closed head injuries, and all was normal.
>
> Now, This is what the diagnoticians report stated:
> He displays specific patterns of deficits typically seen in
> people diagnosed as having Dyscalculia. The deficits that he
> has include computational errors when preforming math,
> variable memory for math facts, poor sense of time and
> direction, poor memory when numeric information is involved
> and a better grasp of applied math than math facts. he also
> has a problem with inattention/variable attention as well as
> slowed processing. Overall, his deficits do not appear to
> rise to the level of requiring SpEd services. She told me
> that he is overcompensating so much that he is really hard to
> figure out and she did not feel settled about her findings.
> She suspected more is going on then she can determine.
>
> His disceprency in math fluency was -19 (all errors were due
> to misreading signs). But Math Calculation Skills scored -12,
> which doesn’t qual. for SpEd. He shows a weakness in working
> memory. He could remember 3 and 4 digit strings but no 5
> digit. His strengths: reading, writing, listening
> comprehension His weaknesses: math fluency, math
> calculation, inattention to visual info, speed of processing
> visual info.
>
> That about sums it all up. I tried to just highlight the
> main info.
I would consider finding a reputable practitioner of neurofeedback and getting an evaluation. You can search the internet for neurofeedback to learn more about it. There are two professional associations and they have practitioner listings on their web sites.