dysTalk What Is Dyscalculia - Talks - dysTalk

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About this talk: Jane Emerson provides an introduction into the less well known condition of dyscalculia. She considers the question 'What is dyscalculia?'

About the speaker: Jane Emerson, the founder of Emerson House, is a speech and language therapist with more than 25 years' experience of working with children. She is an expert in dyslexia and dyscalculia.

Talk Topics - Dyscalculia

Further information about this Talk

For more information about Emerson House please click here.

Key Points covered in This talk:

• What is dyscalculia?: Dyscalculia is rather where dyslexia was about thirty years ago. There is a lot of debate about whether dyscalculia exists as a separate condition. Dyslexia can effect maths but many dyslexics are very good conceptually at maths but can't learn the number facts - that is not dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is quite a serious (and thankfully quite rare) persistent congenital condition and dyscalculics don't really have a basic feel for number. This is very different from a dyslexic who's poor at maths. In the past dyscalculia was known as number blindness which is a little simplistic. It's more accurate to say dyscalculics don't have an intuitive feel for number. This means they don't have a natural feel for quantities, a dyscalculic child may be able to count 1,2,3,4,5... but they do not really have a sense of the 'fiveness of five' or the fact that an egg box always has six spaces for the six eggs. Professor Brian Butterworth has come up with the main idea that perhaps there is a lack of development of numerosity. Like with dyslexia these children may be very good at everything else and yet struggle with something so fundamental as having any feel for numbers.