Symptoms of Dyscalculia
The following symptoms could help ascertain the presence of Dyscalculia.
The child could portray one or more of the following symptoms:
- Normal or accelerated language acquisition:
For instance, the child could portray good ability in verbal language, reading, writing and may even dabble with poetry. May also display good visual memory for the printed word and may be good in science (until a level requiring higher math skills is reached), geometry (figures with logic - not formulas), and creative arts.
- Mistaken recollection of names; poor name/face retrieval; substitutes names beginning with same letter.
- Difficulty with the abstract concepts of time and direction. Inability to recall schedules and sequences of events and unable to keep track of time. May be chronically late.
- Inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division;
For instance, poor mental math ability; poor with money and credit; cannot do financial planning or budgeting; poor long term financial thinking with palpable fear of money and cash transactions.
- Number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals when writing, reading and recalling numbers.
- Inability to grasp and remember math concepts- basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division facts and rules, formulae, and sequences; may be able to perform math operations at one time, but draw a blank the next; may be able to do book work but fails all tests and quizzes.
- May be unable to comprehend mechanical processes;
Victim may be unable to visualize the larger picture. Portrays deficiency in visualization- may be unable to visualize the location of the numbers on the face of a clock, the geographical locations of states, countries, oceans, and streets. Poor memory for the layout of things with a tendency to get lost or disoriented easily; may have a poor sense of direction, lose things often, and seem absent minded.
- May have difficulty grasping concepts of formal music education; difficulty sight-reading music and learning how to play an instrument.
- May portray poor athletic coordination, and experience difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing physical directions like in aerobic exercise, or dance, with difficulty remembering dance step sequences.
- Difficulty keeping scores during games; often looses track of whose turn it is during card and board games; limited strategic planning ability for games like chess.
