Tools and strategies to support children and young people with dyscalculia

Published May 2018

Dyscalculia‌

What were we asked?

We were asked what dyscalculia is, what interventions are used in schools to support children and young people with dyscalculia, and whether there is any evidence that these interventions are effective for improving education and social outcomes.

Key findings:

• Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty affecting the ability to learn arithmetic.
• There is not yet agreement on the cause of dyscalculia, or how to diagnose it.
• Evidence suggests that individualised teaching programmes focusing on each child’s abilities are likely to be the best way to improve mathematical ability.
• Use of multi-sensory teaching methods, building a child’s confidence, high teacher expectation, and parental support may also be helpful.