What is dyscalculia?
● The severe difficulty in maths not explained by general low intelligence or social issues. Caused by a core lack in the ability to judge the number of objects in a set, an ability that underpins all maths. Linked to different brain wiring with weak connections that most of us use to process numbers. Affects about 6 per cent of people to varying degrees. Hughson had no idea whether the calculator gave correct answers.
“Say I wrote the number 3, but the number 2 was bigger in size. If I said, ‘Which is the bigger number?’, she’d say 2 every time. She’s ordering them by size rather than value,” he said.
Sharpe started researching, and discovered dyscalculia. He contacted experts in Britain and developed resources using charts and colourcoding which Hughson could understand, instead of symbols.
Between them, Sharpe and Hughson have analysed all the maths answers submitted on the Tertiary Education Commission’s online literacy and numeracy for adults test in 2016 and 2017 — 3.6 million answers submitted by 177,000 people.
They found the biggest error rate, 54 per cent, was on “proportional reasoning” questions such as, “If three lollies cost 10c, how much will 12 cost?”
Amazingly, Hughson coped with enormous spreadsheets of data.
“It’s not working with numbers, it’s the formula behind the numbers,” she explained. “That was okay because the formula is writing.”
Canterbury University psychologist Dr Anna Wilson, who runs the website AboutDyscalculia.org, said Hughson was on the severe end of a spectrum which affects about 6 per cent of people.
She said scientists had found an area in the brain that allowed even animals and human infants to judge quantities.
“So the working hypothesis is that for people with dyscalculia, that area of the brain isn’t working well.”
The good news is that the brain can build connections with practice.
“None of the interventions are quick or easy, they are all like a lot of work over a long time,” she said.