Research has shown that that early intervention when a child has dyscalculia will provide the best results for remediation. So below a number of early warning signs that should prompt you to seek further information. For example via https://dyscalculiascreener.org
Toddler warning signs
- late with learning the counting words in order, or rattles of 1-10 like one big word
- no one-to-one correspondence
- doesn’t enjoy building blocks and puzzles
- difficulty directional words: under, next to, behind, before
- difficulty memorizing events, what’s the order of events in a day
KG - late with learning the counting words in order, or rattles of 1-10 like one big word
- can’t count back
- no one-to-one correspondence
- does not recognize the dice patterns
- only sorts by color, not by size, shape, length, or quantity
- difficulty sequencing even everyday events
- can’t complete an ABAB pattern
- avoids visual puzzles
Grade 1 - keeps ‘counting all’ instead of ‘counting on’
- miscounts quantities above 10
- difficulty knowing which number is larger
- perceives written numbers as a scribble or a sign, not something that indicates a quantity
- can’t remember ten-bonds and addition facts
- doesn’t split and recombine small numbers
- can’t work with steps on a number line
- confuses -teen and -ty numbers
- doesn’t know left and right yet
Grade 2 – 3 - keeps counting by one on fingers, slow
- doesn’t see add and subtract as reverse operations
- can’t remember addition and subtraction facts
- sees column algorithm as unconnected questions
- place value and regrouping is difficult
- can’t choose the operation in a word problem
- seems to know it one day, forgets it the next
- can develop accuracy but does not develop fluency or automaticity
- doesn’t like analogue clocks
- doesn’t know left and right
- math anxiety
Grade 4-5 - keeps counting or using tally marks, so slower
- adding seems the default mode
- can’t remember multiplication facts
- doesn’t see multiply and divide as reverse operations
- learning with one model can’t be applied in another
- number lines and place value operations are hard
- can’t do multistep operations like long division
- fractions and decimals are confusing
- no proportional thinking
- word problems are confusing, sometimes lacks in math vocabulary
- forgets hand-in dates for homework
- more frustration and anxiety, avoiding math, believes s/he can’t do it, so why try?