Not all individuals with dyslexia have
problems with mathematics. I have, however, seen a few dyslexic students who
don’t seem to understand mathematics.
Individuals with dyslexia who have
difficulty with mathematics are quite often misdiagnosed as having dyscalculia.
Some children with dyslexia have problems with mathematics because what they
have been taught makes no sense to them. Most teachers hardly take the time and
trouble to make sure that these children do understand the basic principles. This
seems to be the same problem with them learning how to read in English. Their
basic problem is that they do not understand and their minds shut down.
Recently a mother of a dyslexic boy
requested me to teach her son to read in English. I had decided to stop
teaching as I intend to travel and I would feel uneasy to leave a pupil who has
commenced studying with me. However, the mother convinced me to teach her child
whenever I am around in Kota Kinabalu. I am glad I started teaching this child,
let me call him Tun (not his real name), as I am again learning from this child
as much as I am teaching him. Like my former students Tun is also very
likeable.
With my teaching experience I knew
exactly why Tun was having a problem reading and therefore was able to teach
him to read in a very short time. I understand from his mother that he now
brings home story books from his school library and enjoys reading. I would
like to continue reading to him until he becomes fluent but I was informed that
Tun has a problem with mathematics as well. Most of my previous students did
not have as big a problem with mathematics as Tun.
Tun’s mother asked me to start teaching
him subtractions as he could not understand the concept of how to ‘borrow’ from
the tens and hundreds to subtract a larger number from a smaller number in the
ones and tens row. An example would be: 245 – 67. You cannot deduct 7 from 5
and therefore have to borrow 10 from 4 which is in the 10 column/row.
As Tun is now in primary 2 the numbers
he has to work with is already into hundreds. So, I started to teach him from
the primary one level restricting myself to two digit numbers: 87 – 58, 66 – 47 etc.
Once he could grasp this I went to 3
digit numbers and he learnt it quite quickly.
Tun comes to me when he has mathematics problems which his mother cannot
tackle.
I have taken the following statement
from Dyslexia Victoria. It has been very well thought out and written
beautifully.
* Dyslexia changes from a Learning
Difference to a Learning Disability when a child cannot learn in school due to
inappropriate teaching methods and having become frustrated, exhausted,
humiliated and despondent. When a child loses their self-esteem and begins to
believe they are "stupid" they are filled with "self-limiting
beliefs". They shut down and can no longer learn many new skills in school
in a normal and timely manner - if at all.
7 comments:
Luqman,
Congratulations on your tutoring of Tun!
It's said that in the USA many ten-year-olds don't know their multiplication tables.
I believe the trick is that kids, at age seven, should be fluent (at least 40 answers per minute) with simple addition facts (like 6 + 8 = 14)
If one skips the nine-plusses (a simple formula gives the answers), zero-plusses, one-plusses and reversals (2 + 3 = 3 + 2) there are only about 30 of them.
If kids get this, the rest of math comes automatically!
Thank you. I shall try this with any new student who is not good in Mathematics. As for multiplication tables (6,7,8, 9 and 10 Times Table)I have some easy ways to do them at my site: http://www.excellent-student.com
The Dyscalculia or math blindness is sharing a root causes with dyslexia, that's why some people unfortunately can get both symptoms but those don't always overlap:
http://community.brightstar-learning.com/2012/mathblindness/
Thank you very much David. I learn something new almost every day.
Hi! Michel,
Have you heard of "Singapore math?" one of the private school for Dyslexia in New England has been adapted this method and heard has been successful.
I'm slowly trying with my daughter who needs multi-sensory learning support. My daughter also mentioned to me that she was using some dices when she was working on Math at the summer camp she attend and quite easy for her to understand +,- with higher numbers. Too late for me, I did not have a chance to ask what method did they use. Best! michi
Yes, I heard of Singapore maths only recently but do not know what it is exactly.
Dices? Do you mean abacus? Abacus for maths is very efficient. After a while one can do maths mentally without the actual apparatus as the user can visualise the product (answer) as they do the maths mentally.
Mi mi have you checked out my site at :
http://www.excellent-student.com
That site will surely be useful for your daughter.
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