Typical symptoms include
- Difficulty counting backwards
- Difficulty remembering ‘basic’ facts
- Slow to perform calculations
- Weak mental arithmetic skills
- A poor sense of numbers and estimation
- Difficulty in understanding place value
- Addition is often the default operation
- High levels of mathematics anxiety
Dyscalculia is different to simply being anxious about maths. People with dyscalculia can react strongly to activities involving mathematics, for example, they may get frustrated or upset when playing board games.
Many people can struggle with maths, but those with dyscalculia will struggle a lot more than everybody else, and their difficulties will continue over time.
For more information contact the British Dyslexia Association.