Albie Suffering from Dyscalculia - Essay Example

The Math equivalent of Dyslexia. So what exactly is Dyscalculia and how can educators help ease the stress of the learning disability on the student diagnosed with the handicap?
The National Center for Learning Disabilities defines Dyscalculia as “a term referring to a wide range of life-long learning disabilities involving math. There is no single form of math disability, and difficulties vary from person to person and affect people differently in school and throughout life “ (NCLD, 2006). The 2006 NCLD report indicated that Dyscalculia is a learning problem that can be spotted in a child at a very young age. Some of the symptoms of Dyscalculia include “ Difficulty in recalling numbers, trouble with the concept of time, poor sense of direction, poor mental math ability, and difficulty in playing strategy games of any sort”. (NCLD, 2006)

Their research also pointed out that teachers must help any of their students whom they suspect of having Dyscalculia by identifying the student and moving him to an Inclusive Classroom setting to insure that the child will not feel the pressures of having to keep up in the Math lessons of the rest of the class before he is ready to do so. (NCLD, 2006) This is something that should not be difficult to do since the teachers can use a specially designed assessment test on possible Dyscalculia students to confirm their suspicions as educators.

It is essential that students suffering from Dyscalculia be moved to an inclusive classroom setting before their fear of math sets in. This is to insure that the child will not unconsciously reject any form of help in Math studies that are offered to him in the form of tutorials.
Even though the illness is not curable, Steinbach and Doughty (2008) reported that it could still be possible for students with Dyscalculia to lead everyday educational lives provided the full court press of educators, tutors, and parents exists to insure that the child will get the proper teaching attention when it comes to their Math subjects at their own pace.

The information that I have gathered from the National Center for Learning Disability articles offers suggestions and recommendations about creating an inclusive learning environment for the child in the classroom setting. Since these children have difficulty visualizing the concept of Math and its basic foundations or formulas, allowing them to use a calculator in class should not be considered cheating but rather, a learning enhancement tool that will help them visualize the numbers that they cannot see in their minds (Steinbach & Doughty, 2008).

It is of the utmost importance that inclusive classroom teachers take extra time to teach these students and ensure that they are learning at their own pace to help the student deal with their learning disabilities. Furthermore, the teacher must reinforce to the often frustrated student that he is not dumb just because it takes him longer to learn a Math concept. All of these efforts can be undertaken to insure that the student will not suffer from Math phobias as he climbs the educational ladder. These were similar to the methods after all, that were employed by my cousin Albie's teachers once they became aware of his learning problem. Albie for his part has finally discovered that it is alright to learn about the numbers game at his own pace. Read More