Poor Math Skills May be a sign of Dyscalculia

Researchers at Auckland University claim that dyscalculia, a learning disability that inhibits the brain’s ability to process numbers and simple mathematics, is suffered by six percent of Auckland’s population.  The study was started by Anna Wilson and Karen Waldie in the hopes of finding out why people have the disability.  The Dominion Post reports that the research will “try to identify the cognitive and neurological symptoms of Dyscalculia – which means ‘counting badly.’”

The study was based on Aucklanders between the ages o 18 and 35 and looked at the relationship between dyscalculia and dyslexia, a reading disability.  Results showed that half of the subjects with dyscalculia also had dyslexia.

Dr. Wilson stresses that not everyone has dyscalculia, pointing out that many people are just “math-phobic.”

The Dominion Post listed five signs of dyscaluia as:

* Did you struggle to learn maths as a child, even in primary school, and despite extra help?

* Have you always had trouble with fast recall of basic addition or multiplication? (e.g. 8+7=?, 7x6=?)

* Do you find that numbers sometimes seem like meaningless symbols to you?

* Do you have trouble estimating, for instance, how much your supermarket shop is going to cost or about how much 236 + 564 is?

* Do you struggle to understand everyday numbers such as statistics in the newspaper or your financial statements?