Dyscalculia

Learning disability is a classification that includes several areas of functioning in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. Given the "difficulty learning in a typical manner", this does not exclude the ability to learn in a different manner. Therefore, some people can be more accurately described as having a "Learning Difference", thus avoiding any misconception of being disabled with a lack of ability to learn and possible negative stereotyping. The term inclusion captures, in one word, an all-embracing societal ideology. Regarding individuals with disabilities and special education, inclusion secures opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms. While learning disability, learning disorder and learning difficulty are often used interchangeably, they differ in many ways. Disorder refers to significant learning problems in an academic area. These problems, however, are not enough to warrant an official diagnosis. Learning disability, on the other hand, is an official clinical diagnosis, whereby the individual meets certain criteria, as determined by a professional (psychologist, pediatrician, etc.). The difference is in degree, frequency, and intensity of reported symptoms and problems, and thus the two should not be confused. When the term "learning disorder" is used, it describes a group of disorders characterized by inadequate development of specific academic, language, and speech skills. Types of learning disorders include reading (dyslexia), mathematics (dyscalculia), writing (dysgraphia) and movement and coordination (dyspraxia). Saiju Khalid"Students with Learning Disabilities and Inclusion" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-4 , June 2018, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd13102.pdf

Number sense has been found to be relevant for measuring mathematics achievement in the elementary school years. However, there are conflicting or at least different ideas as to what constitutes number sense. Two basic systems of number have been identified: Approximate and exact number systems. This paper evaluates the approximate number system. There are mainly two types of task used in measuring the approximate system: pure quantity estimation and number line estimation. The purpose of this paper is to determine which type of tasks is more relevant to measuring mathematics achievement in the early years of schooling. A curriculum based math achievement test (MAT), calculation performance test (CPT), Raven Standard Progressive Matrices Test (RSPMT), 2 Mental Number Line Tests (MNL-10 and MNL 100), and Pure Quantity Comparison Test (Panamath) were used in collecting the data. Participants were 323 second graders recruited from schools located in low-middle socioeconomic areas of 2 mid Anatolian cities. In the analysis, lower 10% of the students in Raven SPMT were excluded from the analysis to avoid low general intellectual abilities. Outliers were also removed before the analysis. Final analysis was performed on 274 students. MNL-100 explained 12% of the variance while Panamath explained an additional 2% of the variance in curriculum based math achievement (MAT). On the other hand, MNL-100 has explained only 6% of the variance while Panamath explained an additional 10% of the variance in calculation performance (CPT). When it comes to MNL-10, which is considered to be small numbers for second graders, it explained 28% of the variance and Panamath contributed to an additional 4% of the variance in CPT. These results showed that the relationships between number sense and what considered to be math achievement and calculation performance is more complex than we expected. Relatively small numbers seem to be more associated with calculation performance while MNL with larger numbers were more associated with general math achievement which includes but not limited to numerical problem solving and estimation.

Özet Bu çalışmada amaç ilkokul 3. sınıf öğrencilerinin sayı duyarlılık düzeylerini panamath testi ile belirlemektir. Çalışmada 155 kız, 190 erkek olmak üzere 345 ilkokul 3. sınıf öğrencisi yer almıştır. Öğrenciler Muş merkezde bulunan iki ilkokuldan rastgele belirlenen sınıflardan seçilmişlerdir. Öğrenciler bilgisayar ortamında yaklaşık 5 dakikada, toplamda 104 madde cevaplamışlardır. Panamath test programında doğru cevap sayısı, ortalama madde cevaplama süresi ve weber kesri otomatik olarak hesaplanmaktadır. Elde edilen veriler betimsel analizler, bağımsız gruplar t testi ve kümeleme analizi yapılarak incelenmiştir. Weber kesri açısından erkek ve kızların puanları arasında fark anlamlı bulunmuştur. Ayrıca yapılan kümeleme analizinde alt ve üst grup olmak üzere iki grup elde edilmiştir. %15,7 lik alt grupta weber kesir ortalaması 0,46, %84,3'lük üst grubun weber kesri ortalaması 0,21 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Bilhassa alt ve üst gruplara dair elde edilen değerler özellikle matematik öğrenme güçlüğü yaşayan öğrencilerin tespit edilmesinde dikkate alınabilir. 1. Giriş Modern toplumlarda yaşamını sürdüren her birey günlük yaşamında ve iş hayatında sayma, hesaplama ve ölçme etkinlikleri ile matematik bilgisine gereksinim duyar. Örneğin alış verişte hangi kasa kuyruğunun daha kısa olduğunu bilmek için saymaya, cebindeki paranın ne kadarını kullandığını veya kullanacağını bilmek için hesaplamaya, satın aldığı bir kolinin arabasının bagajına sığıp sığmayacağını tespit edebilmek için ölçmeye ihtiyaç duyabilir. Bireyin temel düzeyde matematik bilgisine sahip olması, sayılan durumların üstesinden kolaylıkla gelebilmesini sağlarken bu bilgiden yoksun olması ise birçok güçlüğe maruz kalmasına neden olabilir. Birçok sebepten ötürü bireyler matematiksel kavram ve becerilerin ediniminde maalesef başarısız olurlar. Matematiğin çok zor olduğu fikrinin birey üzerinde oluşturduğu olumsuz tutum, öğrencinin gereksinimlerini iyi karşılamayan öğrenme-öğretme yöntemleri, sosyo-ekonomik yetersizlikler, sosyo-kültürel farklılıklar ve matematik öğrenme güçlüğünün (MÖG) varlığı bu sebepler arasında sayılabilir. Matematik; aritmetik, aritmetik problemleri çözme, geometri, cebir, olasılık, istatistik, kalkulus gibi farklı alanları içeren kompleks bir derstir. Bu durum çeşitli temel beceriler ile ilişkili nicelik algısı, sembolik çözümleme, bellek, görsel-uzamsal kapasite, mantık gibi becerilerin harekete geçirilmesi anlamına gelir. Bu becerilerin herhangi birinde veya becerilerin eşgüdümünde güçlüklere sahip öğrenciler MÖG yaşayabilirler (Karagiannakis, Baccaglini-Frank, ve Papadatos, 2014). Hastalıkların Uluslararası Sınıflaması gelişimsel diskalkuliyi; zekâ geriliği, düşük sosyal çevre veya yetersiz eğitim ile açıklanamayan, genel zekâ ile matematik performansı arasındaki bir tutarsızlık olarak açıklamışlardır (WHO, 1992). Zekâ geriliği, duyu bozukluğu, duygusal bozukluk, kültürel yoksunluk ve yetersiz eğitim gibi durumların yokluğuna rağmen öğrencinin matematikte beklenmeyen düşük bir performans sergilemesi MÖG olarak tanımlanmaktadır (Büttner ve Hasselhorn, 2011).

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of computer assisted instruction materials on approximate number skills of students with mathematics learning difficulties. The study was carried out with pretest-posttest quasi experimental method with a single subject. The participants of the study consist of a girl and two boys who attend 3rd grade at elementary school. The contents of the computer-aided instruction materials which have been designed consist of counting skills, place value concepts and addition subjects which are related to mathematics lesson's learning outcomes of 1st and 2nd grades of primary school. With the materials prepared, participants were given 75 lessons of individual instruction during five weeks, each weekdays and approximately 20-30 minutes a day. Dyscalculia screening tool and Panamath program were used as data collection tools. Panamath program calculates test response time, the percentage of accuracy and weber fraction data of participants. In the dot counting and comparison symbolic tests of DST, response time tests and number of correct answers of the participants were calculated, while mean absolute error were calculated in the mental number line tests. The findings of the study indicate that the approximate skills of the participants have developed and there has been significant increase in their speed of answering. INTRODUCTION Mathematics is a complex course which includes different domains like arithmetic, arithmetic problem solving, statistics, geometry, algebra, probability, and calculus. This condition means that variety of basic abilities related to sense of quantity, symbolic decoding, memory, visual-spatial capacity, and logics must be mobilized. Students who have difficulties with any of these abilities or in their coordination can experience mathematics learning disability (MLD) (Karagiannakis, Baccaglini-Frank, & Papadatos, 2014).

Learning disabilities (LD) are problem that influence the brain capacity to receive, process, analyse and store information. These processing issues can interfere with learning fundamental abilities, for example, reading (Dyslexia), writing (Dysgraphia) and math (Dyscalculia). Fortunately, in today's world technology, we have numerous option techniques for educating and supporting fundamental skills in reading, writing and math such as mobile learning by using mobile app. However, the research in mobile app design model for Dyscalculia children is still scarce: very few studies have focus on how to design and develop appropriate mobile app for Dyscalculia children from the perspective of mobile app designers and developers. The purpose of this paper is to identify the appropriate components that should be included in the mobile app model. Interview sessions were conducted with Dyscalculia practitioners that involved a teacher, paediatric and an educational psychology. This has resulted in identifying 17 components that can be included in the mobile app design model.

Η παρούσα εργασία κάνει ανασκόπηση των μέχρι τώρα ερευνών για τις συναισθηματικές δυσκολίες που αντιμετωπίζουν τα παιδιά με μαθησιακές διαταραχές. Αξιολογεί την τρέχουσα κατάσταση στο σχολικό πλαίσιο και προτείνει προγράμματα παρέμβασης για το γνωστικό και το συναισθηματικό κομμάτι των παιδιών. Πολύ λίγες έρευνες υπάρχουν στην πραγματικότητα για τη σύνδεση της συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης με τις μαθησιακές διαταραχές. Παρουσιάζονται στοιχεία που υποδηλώνουν την παρουσία ενός σημαντικά υψηλότερου επιπέδου συναισθηματικών αναπτυξιακών προβλημάτων και διαταραχών στα άτομα με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες.  Εξετάζεται η ανεπάρκεια στήριξης εντός του σχολικού πλαισίου και η έλλειψης ενημέρωσης των οικογενειών. Μελετάται η σχέση μεταξύ συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης, ακαδημαϊκών επιδόσεων και μαθησιακών διαταραχών και προβλημάτων συμπεριφοράς στον ελληνικό μαθητικό πληθυσμό. Τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης θα δώσουν στοιχεία που απουσιάζουν από την ελληνική βιβλιογραφία και επιστημονική έρευνα και αφορούν τη σχέση της συναισθηματικής νοημοσύνης και των μαθησιακών διαταραχών. Το πρόβλημα αυτό απαιτεί διεπιστημονική προσοχή ώστε να βελτιωθεί η σχολική ετοιμότητα αλλά και η ποιότητα ζωής των παιδιών με μαθησιακές διαταραχές.

It is essential to keep in mind if we want to understand the problem of learners with dyslexia, that the most frequent type of dyslexia is caused not only by phonological difficulties. The difference of these learners’ way of learning is an overall speciality in the information processing. Problems may arise in non-literal areas, like math, too. The best math teaching practices can help to avoid difficulties in math and help to be successful in the subject not only for learners with dyslexia, but for all learners.
This section provides insight of the similarities and differences in dyslexia and dyscalculia, a difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic and learning facts in mathematics. Clarification of the concepts can lead to a more directed intervention.
The teaching and learning methods that are suggested in this guide are methods proven to be efficient teaching and learning methods, and ground an inclusive teaching environment.

There are a number of direct and indirect effects that influence the development and the
manifestation of dyslexia. Direct effects, including neurological characteristics, sub skills and
environmental factors influencing these primarily play a role in the development and
appearance of dyslexia.
Indirect effects, on the other hand, influence the manifestation and the character of dyslexia.
General intelligence, individual motivation and environmental reactions to the individual's
specialities impinge on the effects of the specific way of information processing caused by
differences in the individual's sub skills. They affect to what extent the speciality turns into a
difficulty and to what extent it is successfully compensated for.
In this part of the book, we introduce a novel approach to specific learning difficulties, which
regards the environment as a selective factor of abilities.

Students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as operational instead of relational. Research indicates misinterpretation of the equal sign occurs because students receive relatively little exposure to equations that promote relational understanding of the equal sign. No study, however, has examined effects of nonstandard equations on the equation solving and equal-sign understanding of students with mathematics difficulty (MD). In the present study, second-grade students with MD (n = 51) were randomly assigned to standard equations tutoring, combined tutoring (standard and nonstandard equations), and no-tutoring control. Combined tutoring students demonstrated greater gains on equation-solving assessments and equal-sign tasks compared to the other two conditions. Standard tutoring students demonstrated improved skill on equation solving over control students, but combined tutoring students' performance gains were significantly larger. Results indicate that exposure to and practice with nonstandard equations positively influence student understanding of the equal sign.

The information society has raised the value of numeracy. This is a challenge to schools and societies, because individual differences are large already in basic number sense and calculation skills. Approximately 5-7 % of school children have extensive difficulties to keep with the speed of curricular demands, i.e. one child in every classroom. These children often have difficulties in other areas of learning too, but disorders in learning can also manifest only in mathematics. Undiagnosed and untreated mathematical disorders become a lifelong handicap creating a barrier to vocational education. They also hinder independent management of mathematical activities of daily living. Low numeracy is a measurable social problem. Intensive and early special education or neuropsychological rehabilitation can diminish the negative effects of the disorders.