Dyslexia

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Dyslexia Math

• Traci Seils
• Region VI ESC
• 936-435-8220
• tseils_at_esc6.net

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Perhaps this is your student
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Requirements for Math Learning

• The hand, the memory system (short-term,
  long-term, and especially working memory), the
  attention system, the executive function system,
  and the language system are important parts of
  the functional math system
• Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
  Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
  Academic Press San Diego, CA.

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The Hand

• Crucial for written language system
• Impacts development of concepts through
  manipulation of objects which can then be
  represented symbolically
• Also plays a role in mental manipulation of
  symbols
• Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
  Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
  Academic Press San Diego, CA.

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The Memory System

• Short-term
• Long-term
• Working (Cognitive desk space)
• Important for conceptual development and math
  problem solving
• Limited temporally
• Uses incoming information from short-term memory
  and stored information from long-term memory
• Uses executive control processes to coordinate
  problem-solving activity

Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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The Attention System

• Habituation
• Novelty seeking

Balance is needed!
Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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The Executive Function System

• Regulates
• Inhibition
• Managing conflict
• Goal setting
• Planning
• Persisting on a task
• Monitoring
• Attending
• Self regulating
• Supervising

Last to develop
Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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The Language System

• Language by Ear (aural)
• Language by Mouth (oral)
• Language by Eye (reading)
• Language by Hand (writing)

Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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How might dyslexia impact math?
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How the Brain Reads
Sound-Symbol Connection
Word Meanings
PhonologicalProcessing
Orthographic Processing
Moats, L. (2003). LETRS Language Essentials
for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, Module 1.
Sopris West Longmont, CO.
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The Four Processors Model
Context
Fluency
Meaning
Phonics
Orthography
Phonology
Seidenberg, M. McClelland, J. (1989). A
distributed, developmental model of word
recognition and naming. Psychological Review,
96, 523-568.
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Core Difficulties for Dyslexia

• Phonological processing
• Phonemic awareness most directly linked to word
  reading skills
• (Hook, Macaruso, Jones, 2001 Torgesen, 2002)
• Alphabetic Principle
• Memory and retrieval difficulties
• (Hook, Macaruso, Jones, 2001)
• Rapid naming
• On-demand naming
• Automatic word recognition
• Short term memory

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Double Deficit Hypothesis (Wolf, 1997)
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Dyslexia and Math

• Few children have specific difficulties with
  number alone. Rather, mathematical difficulties
  and language difficulties are likely to occur
  concurrently.
• Miles, T. Miles, E. (Eds.) (1992). Dyslexia
  and Mathematics. Routledge London, England.
• Chinn, S. Ashcroft, J. (1993). Mathematics
  for Dyslexics A Teaching Handbook. Whurr
  Publishers Ltd. London, England.

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Remember our PossibleMath Difficulties

• The Hand
• The Memory System
• The Attention System
• The Executive Function System
• The Language System

Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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Phonological Processing

• Impacts
• Processing of the language of math (the language
  system)
• Processing of the meanings of this language (the
  language system)
• Writing of letters or numbers stored with
  phonological cues (the hand)
• Reading of word problems (the language system)

Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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Memory and Retrieval Difficulties

• Rapid naming of letters or numbers (the memory
  system)
• On-demand naming (the memory system)
• Automatic word recognition (the language system)
• Short term memory (the memory system)

Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
Academic Press San Diego, CA.
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The Attention System

• ADHD
• Difficulty allocating, focusing, and sustaining
  attention
• Between 12 percent and 24 percent of those with
  dyslexia also have ADHD.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia A New
and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading
Problems at Any Level. Alfred A. Knopf New
York, NY.
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Examples of Difficulty

• Word problems
• Rapid retrieval of numbers words describing
  numbers or concepts
• Naming or describing mathematical processes on
  demand
• Developing conceptual understanding
• Vocabulary

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Examples of Difficulty

• Number sequencing, including saying or writing
  the numbers in order especially when beginning in
  the middle
• Writing number words
• Holding problem information/concepts in memory
• Recalling order of operations

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Examples of Difficulty

• Knowing where to begin calculations/directionality
  
• Place value
• Recalling formulas

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A Brain-Based Lesson Format

• Warm Up
• Mental math
• Visual notation
• Problem Solving
• Teacher explanation
• Guided oral problem solving
• Cool Down
• Play with math
• Berninger, V. Richards, T. (2002) Brain
  Literacy for Educators and Psychologists.
  Academic Press San Diego, CA.

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Teaching Strategies

• Make it multisensory.
• Use graph paper for students who have difficulty
  organizing ideas on paper.
• Work on finding different ways to approach math
  facts.
• Practice estimating as a way to begin solving
  math problems.
• Introduce new skills beginning with concrete
  examples and later moving to more abstract
  applications.
• National Center for Learning Disabilities

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Teaching Strategies

• For language difficulties, explain ideas and
  problems clearly and encourage students to ask
  questions as they work.
• Provide a place to work with few distractions and
  have pencils, erasers, and other tools on hand as
  needed.
• Help students become aware of their strengths and
  weaknesses. Understanding how a person learns
  best is a big step in achieving academic success
  and confidence.
• National Center for Learning Disabilities

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Teaching Strategies

• Repeated reinforcement and specific practice.
  (NASEN House, 2003)
• Teach the 7 prerequisite skills
• (Sharma, 1986)
• The ability to follow sequential directions
• A keen sense of directionality
• Pattern recognition and its extension
• Visualization
• Estimation
• Deductive reasoning (general to specific)
• Inductive reasoning (specific to general)

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Teaching Strategies

• Directly and deliberately teach the language of
  math.
• Use manipulatives.
• Teach all 3 components of math concepts
• Linguistic
• Conceptual
• Skill
• Sharma, M. Loveless, E. (1986) (Eds.). FOCUS
  On Learning Problems in Mathematics
  Dyscalculia. Summer/Fall Edition, Vol. 8 , No. 3
  4. Center for Teaching/Learning Mathematics
  Framingham, MA.

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Teaching Strategies

• Teach the 6 levels of learning mastery
• Intuitive connections connect or relate new
  concept with existing knowledge experiences
• Concrete modeling
• Pictorial or Representational
• Abstract or Symbolic
• Application
• Communication
• Sharma, M. Loveless, E. (1986) (Eds.). FOCUS
  On Learning Problems in Mathematics
  Dyscalculia. Summer/Fall Edition, Vol. 8 , No. 3
  4. Center for Teaching/Learning Mathematics
  Framingham, MA.

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Important Teaching Note!

• According to Piaget (1949, 1958), children learn
  primarily by manipulating objects until the age
  of 12. If children are not taught math with
  hands-on methods, between years 1 and 12, their
  ability to acquire math knowledege is disturbed
  at the point when hands-on explorations were
  abandoned in favor of abstractions. This clearly
  sets them up for mathematical disabilities in the
  next developmental period of formal propositional
  operations.
• Center for Teaching/Learning Mathematics, 1986

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Accommodations

• Draw a picture/use manipulatives.
• Extra time.
• Read the problem out loud.
• Additional examples.
• Provide real-life situations.
• Graph paper.
• Uncluttered worksheets, larger print.
• Break task into manageable portions.
• Use music or rhythm for memorization.
• Hopkins, 2003

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Accommodations

• Allow scrap paper with lines ample room for
  uncluttered computation.
• Repeated/additional practice.
• One-on-one attention.
• Test taking in one-on-one environment,
• if possible.
• Opportunity to do problems over.
• Test only the required skills. Tests should be
  free of large numbers and unnecessary
  calculations.
• West Virginia University

12 x 13 ?
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Accommodations

• Teacher monitoring of student frustration level.
• Preteach so the lesson feels more like review.
• Understanding peer tutor or buddy.
• Technology
• Patience!
• West Virginia University

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Technology

• Hand-held calculators
• Talking calculators (use speech synthesis)
• Special-feature calculators
• On screen computer calculator
• Large display screens for calculators
• Color coding for maintaining columns
• Big number buttons large keypads
• Textbooks on CD-Rom
• Video-taped mathematics lessons

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Technology

• Computer-assisted instruction
• The Mathematics Pad
• Mathematics Shop Series
• Mathematics Trek 7, 8, 9
• Mathematics Trek 10, 11, 12
• Mathematicscad
• Mathematics Home Work

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Technology

• Computer-assisted instruction
• Mathematicspert Algebra Assistant
• Operation Neptune
• Theorist
• The Trigonometry Explorer
• Larsons
• Riverdeep

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Region VI ESC Contacts

• Traci Seils, Dyslexia
• tseils_at_esc6.net
• 936-435-8220
• Dr. Katie Newberg, Secondary Math
• knewberg_at_esc6.net
• 936-435-8219
• Susan Bohan, Elementary Math
• sbohan_at_esc6.net
• 936-435-8211