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Children's Arithmetical Difficulties

Ann Dowker

Department of Educational Psychology, Oxford University sula.anne@lycos.com

Abstract

There are many children and adults who experience difficulties with arithmetic. There has recently been increased emphasis on the likelihood that, just as some children have dyslexia, some may have dyscalculia: a specific difficulty in doing arithmetic. The nature and frequency of such a problem has not yet been established, though some researchers have estimated an incidence of about 6%. It is difficult, if not impossible, to establish a precise figure because arithmetical thinking involves a wide variety of components. If dyscalculia implies an impairment in ALL aspects of arithmetic, and ONLY in arithmetic, then it would appear to be very rare (Dowker, 1998). On the other hand, significant difficulties with certain aspects of arithmetic may occur in 15 to 20% of the population, if not more. So what is dyscalculia, and how specific is it? To what extent is it associated with dyslexia, and/or with other difficulties? This talk will review some of the literature on this topic; and will also discuss and compare findings concerning two children and two adults with significant arithmetical difficulties. One child and one adult also had a diagnosis of dyslexia; the other child and adult did not.

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