Our What Is Dyscalculia page discusses signs of dyscalculia among different age groups. Children with dyscalculia have difficulties in math that go beyond failing a math test or falling a little behind in class. Ask yourself: is my chlid a year or more behind in math class? Does extra help at school seem to not help at all? Are there numerous areas in math that my child just doesn't seem to be grasping? If you answered yes to these questions, it would be beneficial to test your child for dyscalculia.
The assessment is administered one-on-one and involves a series of hands-on mathematical tasks. It is not a dry online, or paper and pencil, series of questions. The tasks are engaging and designed to avoid frustration and anxiety. The student is not pushed to complete tasks that are beyond their current level. In all, the assessment takes about an hour, and is a positive relation-building experience for both student and tutor.
Progress is monitored and recorded on a continual basis during every session through tracking sheets. Caregivers who desire additional monitoring can be provided with monthly diagnostics using EasyCBM--a platform with quick check-in assessments. Progress monitoring aids in tracking growth and planning instruction.
Visit our DM Services page for details on pricing.
For students with dyscalculia, receiving one-on-one or small group help at least twice per week is ideal.
Targeted interventions at school with small groups is nearly always beneficial. Students with dyscalculia, however, need more. As one pair of researchers stated, "In the case of developmental disorder, co-morbidity is a rule not the exception." In other words, dyscalculics are likely to have other developmental or learning difficulties that compound their struggles with math. Unless a small group is very small, it is difficult for an interventionist to accommodate the diverse, individual needs of each and every learner. An effective intervention, for a dyscalculia student, requires highly individualized remediation techniques.
Yes, we use pencils, wooden blocks, counters, dice, abaci, paper, and many more physical manipulatives that are useful in helping students with dyscalculia.
Yes. Math intervention targets fundamental deficits in number sense and operations. Tutoring focuses on current learning targets in the student's math class at school. Each uses different methodologies. Dyscalculia Mentor operates with an interventional framework, though we do help with current school topics when parents request.