Trent Consultants News Scientists Shed Light On 'Maths Dyslexia'

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}   Trent Consultants News Developmental dyscalculia is a specific learning disability affecting the normalacquisition of arithmetic skills, a syndrome that is similar to the reading disorder dyslexia , according to Canadian researchers. Daniel Ansari, an assistant professor at The University of Western Ontario inLondon, says that kids with dyscalculia often have difficulty understandingnumerical quantity. Such children find it difficult to connect abstract symbols, such as a number,to the numerical magnitude it represents, he says. According to him, kids with dyscalculia can't see the connection between fivefingers and the number '5', in the same way as children with dyslexia have difficulty connecting sounds with letters. Ansari says that a recent study he conducted along with his graduate student Ian Holloway, to be published in the forthcomingedition of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology , has revealed that children who are better atconnecting numerical symbols and magnitudes are more likely to have higher mathscores. Theresearcher bemoans that parents and teachers are often unaware thatdevelopmental dyscalculia is just as common as developmental dyslexia, and isfrequently related to dyslexia. He stresses the need for increasing publicawareness of developmental dyscalculia. "Research shows that many children have both dyslexia and dyscalculia. Weare now exploring further the question of exactly what brain differences existbetween those who have just math problems and those who have both math andreading difficulties," says Ansari. Ansari says that his team's study attains significance as understanding thecauses and brain correlates of dyscalculia may help to design remediation toolsto improve the lives of children and adults with the syndrome. He feels that math skills are hugely important to life success because childrenwith math difficulties may avoid careers that might be a great fit for them. Ansari is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award grant from the Ontariogovernment and a CIHR grant With the help of functional Magnetic ResonanceImaging (fMRI), the researchers have also found that children withdevelopmental dyscalculia show atypical activation patterns in a part of thebrain called the parietal cortex.   Trent Consultants Psychology Clinic. Dedicatedto the study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioraldisorders. Trent Consultants has a variety of programs for parents who want togive their children a headstart in life. Trent Consultants website www.trentconsultants.org Email: childcare@trentconsultants.org

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