Maths Learning Difficulties: What if it's not Dyscalculia?

Do you, or someone you know, find maths challenging? You may have thought about dyscalculia, particularly as the Dyscalculia Network is so good at raising awareness. However, there are many reasons why someone might find maths difficult, and it's important that these difficulties don't get overlooked.

In this post, I try to explain the wide range of causes behind maths difficulties, how they can overlap, and how understanding these different challenges is key to getting the appropriate help.

What is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a learning difficulty that affects how a person understands and works with numbers. People with dyscalculia may struggle with basic number concepts, such as recognising that two 50p coins make £1. They might find it difficult to understand place value (e.g., knowing that the "2" in 25 means twenty) or rely heavily on counting on their fingers for simple sums like '9 take away 8'. Estimating numbers or judging amounts may also be difficult.

These difficulties with number sense are ‘domain specific’ because they are difficulties that only impact on maths.

Other Causes of Maths Difficulties

Not all people who find maths hard have dyscalculia. Some will understand how numbers work, but still have problems with maths that affect their everyday life.

Their maths struggles might be connected to other learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD, language difficulties, or dyspraxia. These broader learning challenges can include difficulties with working memory, processing speed, executive function, or language skills.

Working Memory and Maths Difficulties

Our working memory is like a mental "Post-it note" that helps us hold and use information in our mind.

Imagine a friend tells you their new phone number. You need to hold the number in your head before you can write it down – that's working memory in action. Weak working memory can make it hard to learn maths facts or follow multi-step calculations.

For example, it can be hard to remember both the question ("4 + 5") and the answer ("9") at the same time. This makes it much harder to move this information into the long-term memory store.

In addition, a person might lose track of steps in a long calculation, such as dividing 2,547 by 9. By the time they have divided 25 by 9 and worked out the remainder, they may have lost track of what they are doing and will find it hard to think of the next step.

How to Help: Use hands-on resources, like counters or number-lines, to help visualise numbers. Provide tools like times table charts while they're learning a new procedure, to help reduce the memory load. Offer step-by-step guides and worked examples to follow.

Processing Speed and Maths Difficulties

Some people understand maths but struggle to recall maths facts quickly or take a very long time to complete calculations. Timed tests, such as the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check, can be particularly challenging and create unnecessary anxiety. Frustratingly, these tests often prioritise speed over genuine understanding.

How to Help: Give extra time for calculations and focus on understanding rather than speed. Use untimed assessments where possible. Praise accuracy and effort rather than quick recall.

Executive Functioning and Maths Difficulties

Executive function skills are all about focusing, planning, and organising. When these skills are weaker, it can have a significant impact on maths learning. For example, someone might be working on a problem like "6 + 7" but then get sidetracked by thoughts like "My pencil needs sharpening" or "I'd love to get a dog." This kind of cluttered thinking makes it hard to stay on task. Students with these challenges might also struggle to switch gears between different types of maths problems, like going from fractions to division on a test. And sometimes, they might miss small but important details, like adding every problem on a mixed worksheet instead of paying attention to the different operations, or overlooking negative signs in algebra.

How to Help: Break tasks into smaller steps, provide a checklist that encourages them to check their work, and use visual aids like colour-coding to highlight important information (e.g., highlighting negative signs in red).

Language Processing and Maths Difficulties

Maths has its own language, and for those with language difficulties, it can be tricky to navigate. It's not just technical terms like "parallelogram" and "subtraction" – everyday words like "difference" or "times" can have completely different meanings, which can be really confusing.

Additionally, in maths, there are often different ways of saying the same thing. "8 ÷ 2" can be read as "Eight divided by two," "How many twos in eight?" or "Two times what equals eight?". If someone processes these as separate concepts, rather than different expressions of the same idea, they may struggle to generalise their knowledge.

We often talk ourselves through tricky maths problems, even if it's just in our heads. This "self-talk" helps us break down the steps, stay focused, and check our work. For example, you might mentally say, "Okay, first I need to add these two numbers, then carry the one..." This internal dialogue is a really common and helpful strategy. However, people with language difficulties can find this internal self-talk much harder. They might struggle to put the maths concepts into words, even in their own minds, which makes it much more difficult to work through the problem step-by-step. This can make problem-solving feel overwhelming and contribute to frustration with maths.

How to Help: Teach maths vocabulary explicitly, create a personalised maths dictionary, provide a model of how to explain their thinking in words, show different ways of representing the same concept, and connect maths words to real-world examples.

Dyspraxia and Maths Difficulties

Dyspraxia affects sequencing, coordination, and organisation, which can make maths particularly challenging. Following multi-step processes becomes much harder, as does writing numbers clearly and in the correct order. Even aligning numbers correctly in calculations can be a struggle. Everyday maths tools like rulers, protractors, and compasses, which require good coordination, can also be very difficult to use.

How to Help: Use worksheets with clear spacing and break down tasks into smaller steps. Use squared paper to help with alignment in written calculations. You can find rulers and protractors with handles that are made specifically to support children with fine-motor difficulties.

Maths Anxiety

Maths anxiety is a real and significant barrier to learning and can create a vicious cycle that's hard to break. Some people feel so stressed about maths that it affects their ability to think clearly. Negative experiences, like struggling with times tables, being laughed at, or feeling pressure to be fast, can create lasting anxiety.

When someone is anxious about maths, it actually reduces the capacity of their working memory – that mental "Post-it note" we use to hold information.  This makes it much harder to keep track of the steps in a problem and makes problem-solving feel overwhelming. It's like trying to juggle too many balls at once.   

Maths anxiety chips away at confidence and resilience.  People can become less likely to attempt challenging questions, fearing failure. This avoidance just reinforces their anxiety and makes it harder to learn.   

Someone experiencing maths anxiety will often disengage in lessons. They might mentally "switch off," daydream, or become disruptive. This means they miss out on crucial information, which leads to falling further behind, increasing their anxiety, and perpetuating the cycle.

How to Help: Create a supportive environment where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. Avoid timed tests and praise effort and problem-solving strategies rather than just correct answers.

Conclusion

If someone is struggling with maths, it's important to understand why. Are they struggling with number sense, or are there other factors at play? Of course, it's not quite that simple, because these difficulties can show up on their own, or, more commonly, a person will have their own unique mix. That’s what makes my job so fascinating!

When I conduct a diagnostic assessment, I aim to figure out what's really going on for each individual. This way, I can give tailored advice that helps each person reach their full potential.