How is dyscalculia identified?
When a teacher or trained professional evaluates a student for learning disabilities in math, the student is interviewed about a full range of math-related skills and behaviors. Pencil and paper math tests are often used, but an evaluation needs to accomplish more. It is meant to reveal how a person understands and uses numbers and math concepts to solve advanced-level, as well as everyday, problems. The evaluation compares a person’s expected and actual levels of skill and understanding while noting the person’s specific strengths and weaknesses. Below are some of the areas that may be addressed: • Ability with basic math skills like counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing • Ability to predict appropriate procedures based on understanding patterns knowing when to add, subtract, multiply, divide or do more advanced computations • Ability to organize objects in a logical way • Ability to measure-telling time, using money • Ability to estimate number quantities • Ability
