Keep Reading and Learning is exploring a different topic this month: Dyscalculia resources for parents and teachers! As both a homeschool tutor and someone who creates resources for other educators, I hope this post is useful for anyone helping a child who struggles with math, whether you’re a parent or a teacher.
In the homeschool communities I’m part of, parents often ask for help with math skills or for tutors who specialize in math or dyscalculia. Math intervention may not be my first love, but I’ve built a strong foundation in it through training and experience. My hope is that this post will help parents determine what type of support their child requires. If you’re an educator, this post will be an excellent springboard for you to develop a deeper understanding of math disabilities and to help you decide where to focus your professional learning next.
The Workshop That Changed the Way I Teach Number Sense
A few years ago, I took a summer workshop with Becky Lord, owner of Lord Math. Prior to this workshop, I only had a vague understanding of dyscalculia as the inability to think in numbers. After the workshop, I significantly changed the way I taught math and how I interpreted my evaluation results. The information I’m going to share comes from the notes I took during the summer workshop, combined with some newer research I completed to help me complete the post in a way that would be helpful for readers.
Quick note: I took this workshop a few years ago, so any errors or outdated interpretations are entirely my own. Becky’s instruction was excellent, and I don’t want any misinterpretation in this post to reflect on her work.
Types of Dyscalculia
Let’s start with the basics. While many professionals refer to three main types of dyscalculia, research is still developing, and evaluators may classify or describe it differently.
- Developmental Dyscalculia is a condition that people are born with.
- Acquired Dyscalculia develops as a result of brain damage.
- Pseudo Dyscalculia is poor math ability due to other factors such as poor teaching, transiency, executive function deficits, social-emotional barriers, second language learning, etc.
The Relationship Between Dyslexia and Dyscalculia
If you’re familiar with dyslexia, it’s helpful to consider how dyscalculia parallels dyslexia. Just as developmental dyslexia is a neurobiological condition that people are born with, developmental dyscalculia is also something that people are born with. That being said, a person can acquire either dyslexia or dyscalculia as a result of brain damage from an event like a stroke or a significant head injury.
Pseudo Dyscalculia is when a person appears to have dyscalculia, but the weakness does not have a genetic or neurobiological cause. Rather, conditions like lack of instruction or anxiety cause the child to present as a person with dyscalculia. You may have heard the term “dysteachia,” which is sometimes used when students appear to have dyslexia but their weakness is a result of ineffective early literacy instruction.
According to the British Dyslexia Association, up to 60% of people with dyslexia will also have dyscalculia. Additionally, children with dyslexia are more likely to struggle with math facts because of the area of the brain that is impacted by dyslexia. People with dyslexia are likely to have poor working memory, reduced processing speed, and weaknesses in the rapid retrieval of information from long-term memory. These are all weaknesses that will impact the development of math skills, as well.
Identification and Early Screening
If students with dyslexia require remedial instruction in phonological awareness and letter/sound skills, students with dyscalculia often need remedial instruction in number sense. Number sense is defined as “a foundational concept in mathematics education that encompasses a student’s ability to understand and manipulate numbers in various contexts” (Rohland, 2024).
Children can be screened for dyscalculia by assessing their number sense skills in kindergarten, just like we can screen children for dyslexia by assessing their phonological awareness and rapid naming skills at this age.
While early screening is ideal, dyscalculia can be identified at any age. Older students and adults often show persistent difficulties with number sense, math facts, multi-step problem solving, or retaining math procedures. Even if early signs were missed, a thorough evaluation focused on number sense, working memory, and processing speed can provide clarity and help guide effective intervention.
Innate Math Abilities and the Development of Number Sense
Let’s dive a little deeper into the underlying skills required to be successful with math. There are innate number abilities that children are born with, including the Exact Number System and the Approximate Number System.
The Exact Number System
The Exact Number System is the ability to subitize, or look at a group of objects and immediately know how many there are. Imagine that you’re rolling a die while playing a board game with your child. You can likely look at the die and subitize to automatically know how many dots you see. Does your child need to count the dots, or can they subitize easily, too?
Subitizing is a useful skill because it frees up working memory for other tasks. People can automatically subitize up to 6 objects. When presented with more than 6 objects, we must apply a strategy, such as chunking the objects or looking for patterns. How many dots do you see below?
Did you know the total was 9, or did you have to count? Did you notice a cluster of six and a cluster of three? Something else?
The Approximate Number System
The Approximate Number System is the ability to compare amounts in terms of more and less. Look at the clusters below. Can you easily tell which one has more?
This ability to compare quantities with the Approximate Number System is significantly correlated with math ability at age 6. This explains why we can screen for potential learning problems in math by assessing the Approximate Number System at an early age.
And in case you’re wondering, there are 11 blue dots and 17 yellow dots.
If you’re curious about screeners for dyscalculia and assessing the Approximate Number System, try out the Panamath online screener. I completed it myself, in the name of research. Math is not my favorite subject, but I also would not say that I have poor math skills. The Panamath screener revealed that my number sense and Approximate Number System aptitude are strong compared to other 41-year-olds, but I’m a bit slow. 😋
Progression for Learning Addition Facts
The progression for learning addition facts is one thing I learned in Becky’s workshop that I immediately put to use in my classroom. As a homeschool parent or a teacher, you can assist children in moving through these phases with your support:
- Count each number by ones: Given 3+5, the child counts each and every number or object.
- Start with the first number and count up: Given 3+5, the child says “three” and then counts on five times: “four, five, six, seven, eight.”
- Start with the greater number and count up: Given 3+5, the child starts with the greater number and then counts on. They would say “five” and then count on, saying “six, seven, eight.”
- Decompose and recompose numbers: This strategy is more useful with greater numbers, like 15+7. A child might split the seven into 5 and 2, then add 15+5, and then add the 2 for a total of 22.
- Retrieval/memorization of facts from long-term memory: This is when facts are memorized.
Is TouchMath an Effective Dyscalculia Resource for Parents and Teachers?
Years ago, I got my hands on TouchMath materials and went all in. If you’re not familiar with TouchMath, it’s a program that teaches kids to draw or visualize dots on numbers to aid them in calculating. With these TouchPoints, I noticed that my students became more accurate, and I even started using the TouchPoints myself when I had to complete a math problem. However, I learned that TouchMath is not an effective strategy for students who need to develop their number sense skills.
Although TouchMath increased my students’ accuracy when adding and subtracting, it did not increase their speed or their ability to commit math facts to long-term memory. Looking back, I think I used TouchMath to accommodate for poor number sense, when I should have instead been teaching in a way that helped develop number sense. When I began to help my students develop their number sense, they didn’t need to rely on touch points!
A note for my structured literacy pros: When thinking of parallels to dyslexia, I think that using TouchMath is the equivalent of only teaching phonics. If we only ever ask kids to “sound it out” without addressing other strategies that promote orthographic mapping (spelling rules/patterns, morphemes, homophones, etc), students may not develop automaticity with word reading. They may be able to decode accurately, but not quickly.
Dyscalculia Resources for Parents and Teachers: Materials You Can Add to Your Instruction
Below are specific dyscalculia resources for parents and teachers that can help develop number sense, addition fact fluency, and problem-solving skills.
This section contains Amazon affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you.
Tiny Polka Dot is a versatile deck of cards that allows you to play several games. The games will help develop subitizing and chunking skills, which are the foundation of addition and subtraction. The games included with the box, along with the new strategies I learned in the workshop, helped my students develop fact fluency for sums through ten. Are you on a budget? There are also free “dot cards” and accompanying introductory lessons available on LordMath.com.
After taking the workshop, Cuisenaire rods played a major role in my math intervention groups. I had some in my classroom but didn’t know what to do with them until I took Becky’s workshop. I had been using place value blocks for introducing the regrouping process, but Cuisenaire rods play a very different role in the development of math skills.
I began by allowing my students to explore the rods and discover things about them, like that three ones are the same size as the three rod. We found all the ways to make ten (1+9, 2+8, and so on). They learned to state the ways to make ten in a systematic way (0 and 10, 1 and 9, 2 and 8, and so on).
We also explored part/whole relationships and fact families by comparing rods, such as a seven rod on top of a three and a four rod. This enabled them to think about missing addends, which was always tricky for me to teach until then.
Rethinking “Key Words” in Word Problems
One final bit of knowledge I gained from the workshop was that my diligent efforts to teach my students key words were not an effective strategy. I had charts on my wall with addition key words (e.g. altogether, in all), subtraction key words (e.g. less than), as well as key words for multiplication and division.
Because a discussion about keywords was beyond the scope of the workshop, I did my own research at home. I learned that teaching keywords may help students determine the operation in the overly simplified word problems of some math curricula, but keyword knowledge does not translate to real-world problem solving.
Relying on keywords allows students to sidestep the analysis of a word problem when, instead, they should be visualizing and thinking critically to choose a strategy. Additionally, keywords are not always reliable indicators of the operation, and some word problems don’t even have keywords!
Another issue is that multi-step problems become quite confusing when students must sort through several numbers and keywords. In the interest of preparing students for real-world application of math skills, when life does not provide us with keywords when we need to estimate how many gallons of paint to buy for the living room, it is best to teach critical thinking instead. As one educator who summarized the research said, “If students think about what makes sense, they don’t need shortcuts or keywords.”
Dyscalculia Resources for Parents and Teachers: Where Can I Learn More?
What is Dyscalculia? from Lord Math
Find an online tutor who specializes in dyscalculia intervention at Made for Math
Decoding Math is a teacher training that is also accessible to homeschool parents who can commit to learning math well enough to support their children. It is a self-paced, online course that “begins with laying groundwork in the neuroscience of math, dyscalculia, and math learning disabilities, then moves into effective instructional approaches, tools, and methodologies for developing number sense, teaching addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, and fractions.”
Mathemagical Structured Numeracy is a curriculum “based on the neuroscience of math, using specific visuals and methodology to teach in alignment with the science of learning.” Teachers and homeschool parents alike can use Mathemagical Structured Numeracy “to teach the essential foundations for developing number sense and learning math facts.”
While I do not have direct experience with the Decoding Math course or the Mathemagical curriculum, I wholeheartedly recommend Becky as a knowledgeable guide. I do not receive any compensation for promoting her services. I just truly appreciate the knowledge I gained from that summer workshop, as well as the difference I saw in my students’ progress after I implemented the strategies I learned.
Taking Action: Dyscalculia Resources for Parents and Teachers
Understanding dyscalculia is the first step toward helping children succeed in math, whether you’re a parent at home or a teacher in the classroom. Focusing on number sense, using hands-on tools, and teaching strategies that build understanding (not just memorization) can make a real difference.
The tools and strategies shared here are practical dyscalculia resources for parents and teachers that work for any age or stage. With the right support, children struggling with math can gain confidence, fluency, and lasting success!
Note to Readers
This post is a bit of a departure from my usual focus on structured literacy instruction and tips for private tutors. If you’re here for math, this is a one-time deep dive into dyscalculia, but you might enjoy my other posts that focus on reading, spelling, and literacy strategies:
- The Dyslexia Resource Hub
- Dysgraphia 101: A Teacher’s Guide to Understanding and Supporting Students
- Your Guide to Writing Effective PLAAFPs (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance)
