A student who struggles to understand and retain basic math concepts and/or develop efficient arithmetic skills might qualify for a diagnosis of dyscalculia. Some students struggle to create and store images for how our number system looks and what happens when you manipulate the numbers.

They typically have weak or non-existent mental number lines from which to work, so “seeing” that 42 is much more than 24 is a challenge. They often fail to get a mental picture for a word or “story” problem so they don’t know if the calculation they’ve chosen to use is the right one. Sometimes they struggle with the spatial aspects of numbers, and can’t “see” that 3 is one third of 9. Our math program integrates concepts of visual/verbal integration, as well as visual-motor processing to strengthen number sense and calculation abilities.

We worked with a high schooler who had struggled with math all his life. He took the PSAT the spring before beginning treatment, and his math score was in the 8^th percentile – well below the average range. He needed targeted visual-motor processing stimulation to build his mental number line, and visual/verbal integration work so he could visualize story problems. When he took the PSAT again after treatment, his math score was in the 37^th percentile.

His mom contacted us to let us know and told us, “He has been taking standardized tests since grade school and has struggled with all of them. I know this jump is due to the work you did with him.”

If your child has been diagnosed with dyscalculia, we would be happy to look at his or her previous testing and discuss how we can help.