A recent study has discovered that dyscalculia, the mathematical inability in reading, affects about 5% of children in Britain. There is no simple way of finding out the reason and kids with this learning disability are usually labelled unintelligent.
So what exactly is this learning disability in mathematics? Unlike most people, dyscalculics cannot recognise three or four objects. 1[■] For example, they need to count the books on the table before they can say how many there are. In other words, they have to count them one by one. This is where they are different from others. The majority of us, if shown three or four similar things, can immediately recognise them.
2[■] They cannot understand, for instance, why two and three makes five. Another problem is not being able to tell which group contains more objects than the other. Experiments have proved that dyscalculics have not developed the part of the brain responsible for processing numbers.
There are also problems with the abstract concept of time for dyscalculics. 3[■] If your best friend is always late, he might be suffering from dyscalculia. Dyscalculics cannot keep track of time, and they never know how much time they have spent getting ready and how long it will take them to get to work. In addition, research has shown that dyscalculics behave oddly in social situations. 4[■] This poor ability can explain why they never know how much change they are due or what kind of budget they need for their holiday.
On the other hand, dyscalculics are very good at creative arts. People suffering from dyscalculia can become painters or poets. Dyscalculia does not seem to delay language acquisition. Dyscalculic children acquire language at the same time as, if not earlier than, most children and have no problem learning to read or write. 5[■]