By Shawna Audet
In my work as a reading remediation teacher, I often work with students who are both dyslexic and dyscalculic. Research shows that this is not mere coincidence. Some of the same genes that cause reading problems are responsible for math problems. Parents and educators frequently contact me for information about solving reading problems. When they want to do their own research, I refer them to my favourite online resource: readingrockets.org. Where can they go to get information about solving math difficulties? The closest equivalent to Reading Rockets that I’ve found in the online math world is dyscalculia.org. Dyscalculia.org is a treasure trove of terrific information and resources. One page of the dyscalculia.org site that I recommend to parents of dyscalculic children is the “Best Tools” page of the website.
On the “Best Tools” page there are links to so many resources that I think that this one page could be a website all by itself. First, it provides parents and educators of struggling math students links to dyscalculia remediation programs. I like the fact that dyscalculia.org provides links to many different programs, not just their “A Math Look” math remediation program. It is also great that they provide a brief description and the costs associated with the different programs.
Parents and educators will both be interested in the links to different assistive tools available for students with dyscalculia. In addition to the section called, “Math Accessibility Aids,” the page has information about visualization tools, math manipulatives, and problem-solving tools.
Classroom teachers will find a lot of useful links on the “Best Tools” page to connect them with resources related to proven practices for teaching math. For example, there are many links to resources that will help teachers in their lesson planning, such as video demonstrations of math concepts and ideas for using math manipulatives. In addition, the “Math Illustrated and Explained” section provides a wide variety of creative ways to explain math concepts. Finally, this page provides links to information about research on how the brain can overcome barriers to learning math.
The “Best tools” webpage is filled to the brim with links to terrific math resources for teaching students with dyscalculia. I have just written an entire blog about the "Best Tools" page yet there are still things there for you to discover for yourself. The rest of the dyscalculia.org website is equally fabulous. If you want a one-stop resource to educate your about dyscalculia then I recommend dyscalculia.org.
Works Cited
Hamilton-Newman, R. (2022). Home. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.dyscalculia.org/home
WETA. (2022). Reading rockets: Launching young readers. Reading Rockets | Launching Young Readers. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.readingrockets.org/