Abstract
In this chapter we describe the current status of knowledge about maths disabilities and dyscalculia, as well as suggested assessment and intervention practices that may help children with these difficulties. Historical perspectives about dyscalculia are reviewed, and common symptoms associated with the disability are described, especially math difficulties in young children. We review contemporary neuropsychological accounts about the origins of developmental dyscalculia, describing recent neurological, genetic, and behavioural research that has led to reconceptualizing the nature of children’s math difficulties. In the second half of the chapter, contemporary ideas about the assessment and intervention of children with maths difficulties are reviewed. We note the importance of specifying the relationship between assessment results and targeted intervention of children’s maths difficulties. We review the ways in which contemporary assessment instruments have been used to identify children’s maths difficulties. Of particular interest is the effectiveness of these techniques in identifying patterns of deficits known to be associated with developmental dyscalculia. We also note other difficulties (e.g. math anxiety) that might lead to an inaccurate picture of maths abilities, as well as factors that may prevent appropriate remedial interventions. In the latter part of the chapter, we describe components of effective interventions, in particular maths fluency and metacognitive interventions that might be included in an effective assessment of dyscalculia. We conclude by presenting an illustrative case study of a 7-year-old who has severe math difficulty.
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Brian Butterworth: www.mathematicalbrain.com; Roi Cohen Kadosh: https://cohenkadosh.psy.ox.ac.uk; Anna Wilson: Dyscalculia—www.aboutdyscalculia.org.
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Reeve, R.A., Waldecker, C. (2017). Evidence-Based Assessment and Intervention for Dyscalculia and Maths Disabilities in School Psychology. In: Thielking, M., Terjesen, M. (eds) Handbook of Australian School Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45166-4_10
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