One question that comes up often in consult calls with teachers, tutors, and parents who are home-educating, is “What books or curriculum do you recommend?”

In this article I will answer that question and walk you through specific recommendations for books to use for your curriculum and lesson plan needs.

Some parents tell me that they bought all the books, but they can’t figure out how to use them. I felt the same confusion when I was starting out teaching my daughter. I had all these books by UK dyscalculia experts, but I didn’t know how to use them in a cohesive way for our daily math lessons.

Gratefully, I received some help from the specialists on how to use their books to create that sequential learning plan we needed.

In this section, I want to help you make choices on what to purchase, and where you can save your money. I want you to know how to effectively use the books as a curriculum-like format for math education.

These are the exact books I followed with my daughter, with other students struggling with number sense. In this unit, I will talk about both the strengths and the limitations of each book, and how to use it in your math instruction.

A word of caution about math books, programs, or worksheets for dyscalculia… Just because something says it’s for “dyscalculia” doesn’t mean that the author really understands dyscalculia math intervention.

When you find a book and wonder if it’s a good fit, I encourage you to return to the episodes on teaching strategies for dyscalculia, and check to see if the book in question aligns with these strategies.

Review the teaching strategies for dyscalculia in this article

Remember those teaching strategies are a guiding framework for choosing any teaching materials. And will help you sort out which books actually address your dyscalculic student’s learning needs.

Let’s start with my favorite book to begin your dyscalculia math education.

P.S. You can read the full article below, or listen in here.

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Brian Butterworth is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychology at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, UK, and my favorite dyscalculia researcher, scientist, and author.

Professor Butterworth’s dyscalculia research and work towards growing dyscalculia awareness has been immensely influential in my own understanding and education on this little-known learning disability.

Over the past several years Prof. Butterworth has graciously answered many of my questions, sent me research papers to read, and shared new resources with me and the Discovering Dyscalculia community. It was a great pleasure to finally meet with him in-person in London last year.

The second edition of his book, Dyscalculia: From Science to Education was recently published and I reached out him with some questions about this second edition. Below are his responses and thoughts about our current global situation surrounding dyscalculia research and awareness.

Laura Jackson:

In the first edition of Dyscalculia: From Science to Education, you wrote about filling the gap between personal stories, teaching guides, and the science of dyscalculia. Can you say more about this gap and why you felt it important to connect these through your book?

Brian Butterworth:

There are many books, courses and anecdotes by special needs teachers, psychologists, and sufferers that illuminate what it’s like to be a dyscalculic learner. These stories are valuable, and you’ll find them in my book. However, they can’t get to the root of the difficulty, and they are not designed to. Similarly, there are stories of practices that work for this or that learner, but the question is will it work for other learners? To get from personal stories to practices – assessments and interventions – that will work for most dyscalculic learners, properly designed scientific studies are needed. What I try to do in this book is show how the science is relevant to practice.

Unfortunately, many recommendations for assessment and intervention, including from official bodies, are not based on the science. This means that they have limited applicability. Following the recommendations that work for Johnny may not work for Jimmy.

However, there is no question that the insights of skilled and reflective practitioners can inform the science. In my own case, my science was informed by Dorian Yeo, and an exceptional teacher of dyscalculics, and by Diana Laurillard, a pioneer in the theory and practice of pedagogy.

There are innumerable (sorry for the pun) maths games available online that enable learners to practice concepts they already know. But the problem for dyscalculics, as Dorian pointed out, is that they don’t have these concepts, critically the relationship between sets and numerical symbols, and how operations on sets relate to arithmetical operations. So what is the best way to help them understand this? Here, having the right pedagogy is critical. Simple repetition with multiple choice answers doesn’t work. So what I recommend is Laurillard’s ‘constructionist’ approach, which incidentally mirrors neuroscience’s ‘prediction-error’ learning. The learner has a goal, chooses an action to achieve that goal, sees the effect of the action, and if it doesn’t achieve the goal, recalibrates the action to get closer to the goal. This is approach Dorian used in Dyscalculia Guidance with beads, number tracks and other concrete materials in carefully described games and activities. In the book, I describe a digital game, NumberBeads, based on this approach, which in several studies seems to work very well for dyscalculics and other early learners.

The really important thing is that any recommended method for assessment or intervention, should be supported by evidence, preferably by properly designed studies. In the book, I present evidence for each recommendation.

Of course, nothing is final in science, and better ideas and better studies will inevitably be produced. And described in a third edition?

Laura Jackson:

What compelled you to write a 2nd edition of Dyscalculia: From Science to Education, just several years after its first publication? What is new in this edition?

Brian Butterworth:

Much has changed since the First Edition in published in 2019. There have been significant advances in the science which I describe in the relevant chapters and some changes in the official recognition of dyscalculia. For example, both Scotland and the Republic of Ireland now have official definitions. Where dyscalculia was already embodied in law, for example in Italy’s Law 170 and USA’s federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the implementation has become clearer. There is now much more information on websites from official bodies, and other organizations, including those that can link to assessors and tutors. I list these in a new section on Resources. The psychologists’ ‘bibles’– DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association) and ICD (International Classification of Diseases) have revised their criteria, and I have described the relevant changes in Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 on number sense and the ‘number module’ has been updated to show new evidence for an abstract representation of numbers in the brain, along with new evidence on the infant brain’s number processing abilities.

In Chapter 3, I add new sections on the controversial role of fingers in the development of arithmetical competencies. There is an expanded consideration of the role of ‘domain-general’ factors such as reasoning skills, working and long-term memory, language and reading.

There are new tests of number sense and new evidence and new analyses of how core deficits in number sense interact with ‘domain-general’ cognitive and the social factors described in detail in Chapters 4 and 8. These lead to very different dyscalculic profiles, sometimes called ‘heteogeneous presentation’, despite a common core deficit.

I have extensively revised Chapter 5 on the typical development of arithmetical competence in the light of fascinating new evidence.

We now know more about how the dyscalculic brain differs from the typical brain, as I describe in Chapter 6. I also deal with claims that actually the dyscalculic brain in young learners is not systematically different from the typical brain.

Chapter 8 reiterates the original message, that should come as no surprise to any reader, that home, school and society affect a learner’s mathematical competence. But this is not to say that these factors cause dyscalculia, and so it is worth repeating that standardized tests of mathematics which are affected by these factors, don’t identify dyscalculic learners. Specific tests of number sense are needed for that.

I have stuck to the same messages in Chapter 10 on intervention, but I have added impressive new evidence from Singapore on the effectiveness of our NumberBeads game.

Laura Jackson:

You write about the virtuous triangle of Recognition, Science, and Policy, needed for societal change around dyscalculia. Has there been any notable movement in these three areas between the writing of the 1st and 2nd edition of your book?

Brian Butterworth:

Recognition: as I note above, there are now official definitions in two more countries since 2019. For practical recognition, teachers and educational psychologists need to be taught about dyscalculia. This rarely happens at the moment.

Policy: Chapter 11 on policy describes some of the main advances in official recognition by the governments of Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. And since the book went to press, there was a debate in the UK Parliament on dyscalculia. I am hoping that something will come of it, such as an official definition.

Science: The best new research reiterates the central theme that an inefficiency in number sense is at the root of dyscalculia. Some of this research comes from non-human animals that also possess number sense which is useful in foraging, mating, exploring, and in combat. We have a new paper which suggests that a single mutation in the genome of zebra fish makes them less good than wild type fish at choosing the larger shoal, a key ability to avoid predation.

Laura Jackson:

My experience and observations resonate with your definition of what is at the core of dyscalculia. But many researchers are unable to reach a consensus on how to define and identify dyscalculia. What do you think is getting in the way?

Brian Butterworth:

The main problem is that the core deficit presents in a wide variety of ways that depend on home environment, education, as well as other psychological factors, such as memory, language abilities including reading, and motivation.

All these factors affect mathematical competence, but are not causes of dyscalculia. So the variety of presentations has led some people, usually officials, policy-makers and teachers, rather than scientists, to infer that the variety of presentations means a variety of causes.

Laura Jackson:

When you, Jane Emerson, and I met for lunch in London over a year ago, I asked you who was following in your footsteps to carry on this critical dyscalculia research and work. At that point there wasn’t someone specifically at the UCL. Has that changed? Are there other researchers or universities we can be following who are building on from your work and research?

Brian Butterworth:

Since I retired, no-one has taken over the numerical cognition group at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. Poor succession planning by me. Fortunately, there are other people working more on the educational aspects in the UCL’s Institute of Education though not on the basic science.

However, there is excellent science coming out of Italy, for example, from Marco Zorzi’s lab at the University of Padua, and Manuela Piazza’s lab at the University of Trento. There is also good new science at universities in Belgium, in Louvain and Leuven. Daniel Ansari at Western University in Canada has done pioneering work on the brains of dyscalculics, as I note in the book.

Laura Jackson:

As a parent focused mainly on the “Recognition” section of the virtuous dyscalculia triangle, I work with three main groups: Parents, Educators, and Dyscalculic Adults. What is one piece of advice you would give to each of these groups, perhaps one thing they can do to help grow dyscalculia awareness?

Brian Butterworth:

Parents: if your child is having difficulty with basic arithmetic, I would advise proper screening for dyscalculia by a competent qualified person. Just being bad at arithmetic is a symptom of dyscalculia, but it is also a symptom of many other causes. Maybe the student doesn’t like the teacher; if the lesson is first thing in the morning, the student could be tired or hungry; and so on. So it important to eliminate other possible reasons so as to get the appropriate support. If dyscalculia is officially recognised, then an assessment could lead to appropriate support and accommodations in, for example, timed exams.

Educators: dyscalculia is not usually part of teacher training. Where this is the case, teachers should request a CPD (continuing professional development) course in dyscalculia.

Adults: if an adult has always had difficulty with simple arithmetic or numbers more generally, they should seek professional help. However, this is rarely available since there aren’t tests standardized for adults at the moment, and there is little training for educators to support adult dyscalculics. The materials for young learners may not be suitable for adults. In my experience, just being recognised as dyscalculic rather than stupid, usually helps adults by reducing stress, and feelings of low self-worth.

Get a copy of Brian Butterworth’s second edition of Dyscalculia: From Science to Education at your local or online bookstore. This book was published by Routledge originally in 2018, 2nd edition in 2025. Other books by Butterworth include, Can Fish Count?, The Mathematical Brain, and Dyscalculia Guidance (co-authored with Dorian Yeo).

New to Discovering Dyscalculia? I’m Laura M. Jackson, parent, author, and dyscalculia specialist supporting families, educators, students, and adults in their journey with dyscalculia. I write and speak for dyscalculia awareness, education, and support here on Substack and on DiscoveringDyscalculia.com.

Looking for further dyscalculia support and resources?

🧭 Book a 1:1 dyscalculia consulting call

📖 Read my book

🧑‍💻 Check out my website

Most of the early days of our dyscalculia journey I detailed in my book. But I wrote that five years ago, and so much has happened in that time.

I have shared this part of my story with some of you in consultations and speaking engagements, but I wanted to share it with this community here in Substack.

This is the story of how my daughter and I explored math together at home, navigated middle school and high school math, and where we find ourselves now in this adventure.

Teaching my dyscalculic daughter math at home was not something I thought possible, especially through the middle school years. This was a decision I made out of desperation, not a dream or desire.

This is the story of how I ended up teaching math, and the surprising success we experienced.

Special Education Begins | 4th and 5th Grade

In fourth grade, after receiving a math learning disability diagnosis, I figured the school would know how to teach a student with this challenge.

The school established an IEP (individual education program) for my daughter. I remember filling out form after form, completely unsure about the confusing language on types of supports, learning objectives, and accommodations. I simply assumed the school knew what my daughter needed to succeed in math.

My daughter began receiving pull-out help from the special education teacher, a couple of times a week in a small group. She also received accommodations in the classroom like a multiplication chart, and access to a teacher aid for questions. I was hopeful these supports would be enough for my daughter’s math struggles.

Yet, as the weeks went on, I slowly came to realize that the school didn’t know how to help students with a math learning disability. There was no specific program or curriculum in place to help students with dyscalculia, no understanding of it, and no teacher training. Even the special education teacher had not received any university training for this learning disability.

It was devastating to realize that no one at the school had any idea how to teach this bright kid with a math learning disability.

I spent hours searching online for curriculum and programs, comparing my findings with the special education teacher. We both couldn’t find clear answers on how to teach math for dyscalculia. We found only a hodge-podge of books, with no clear way forward. I was discouraged, realizing that support for my daughter’s math education, was only just beginning.

That fourth grade year, and all through fifth grade, I witnessed my daughter struggle her way through special education math, making no progress in her math understanding. She became more discouraged and anxious. Now, even with “help,” she still didn’t have any grasp of basic math concepts.

New School and New IEP | 6th Grade

The following year we tried a new school, in a new district, with the promise of a separate math class and help five days a week. But one month into her 6th grade year, the hope of learning math in this new setting was shattered. My daughter was once again stressed, anxious, dreading math class, and spending hours after school slogging through math homework.

The special education teacher was not open to collaborating or trying any of the new methods I was finding in my research on dyscalculia. It was clear she didn’t know how to help either.

At this point I knew we needed to do something drastically different. I didn’t feel equipped or prepared to take on my daughter’s math learning. But I did not want to waste another year without any math progress.

My investigation ramped up and I read every book I could find on teaching for dyscalculia. Since I couldn’t find adequate dyscalculia math resources in the US, I turned to researchers and educators in the UK who seemed to have a better grasp of the subject.

With these new resources to try, I pulled my daughter from 6th grade math class, to explore math together at home. My daughter began with math class at home in the morning, then I would drive her to school for the rest of the day.

Building Number-Sense | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

I didn’t know how long we would do math at home. It ended up being for three years, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

During this time, we explored a new way of learning math. And most importantly we worked to help my daughter develop a better sense for numbers and quantity. I was surprised to see first-hand all the concepts she did not grasp, math concepts I assumed everyone innately knew. I could more clearly see why math at school had been so difficult.

And it was exciting to see her make new connections about numbers, experience new ways to explore quantities, and to shed that anxiety and confusion that had been a part of her life for so long.

It was slow, developmental work that couldn’t be rushed or forced.

As we looked ahead to my daughter’s transition to high school, she wanted what she called “the high school experience.” Math at home with mom was not part of the image a now 15-year-old wanted for high school. And she was tired of explaining to her peers why she wasn’t at school for the full day.

That summer before 9th grade, I met with the school and showed them the dyscalculia math books we had worked through. One teacher looked at me with her eyebrows raised skeptically, “You know this material only goes through fourth grade, right?”

I was aware. But it was all foundational numeracy skills my daughter never mastered before, and now she had.

The High School Experience | 9th - 12th Grade

With my daughter determined to attend high school full time, I figured we could always pull her out of Algebra later and continue at home if needed. So, with new accommodations, a smaller classroom, and a flexible teacher, my daughter took her newly developed numeracy understanding and applied them to Algebra class.

My daughter and I were both surprised as the year went on. She was hardly ever stressed about homework, received “As” on most of her exams and quizzes, and even helped struggling peers with their homework.

I did not expect this kind of success! I had mentally prepared for hours of helping her after school, many after-school teacher meetings, and her just barely making it through with the same anxiety and stress we had experienced in elementary school.

Even my daughter was surprised at the difference.

Now, the dyscalculia and math struggles had not gone away. She was still very dyscalculic. We were still uncovering the many struggles with number and quantity in other school subjects, as well as many aspects of daily life.

What was new was the better self-understanding she had for her unique experience with numbers. She had language and new visuals for quantities to help her when things were confusing.

Many times, she did not understand the teacher’s instruction in class, so she would put on her headphones and draw out the visuals she had learned to help her grasp the math concepts.

She ended the year with an A in algebra. We were shocked. The following school year, an A in geometry.

She became her own peer advocate, giving questionnaires to friends struggling in math to help them determine if the struggles were because of dyslexia, or perhaps dyscalculia like her. Several peers reached out to her for help. I remember hearing her on the phone with a friend, asking them questions, and helping them think through their difficulties in math to determine if they might also have a learning disability.

A Way Forward

My daughter has commented to me many times over the past few years, just how lost she would still be without those years exploring dot patterns and digging into early number sense together.

If you’ve read my book, you’ve read the letter she wrote to another struggling student about this time of learning a new way. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to get a copy. It’s encouraging to any student on a similar journey of developing numeracy later in life.

This kind of intensive math learning does not make the dyscalculia go away. My daughter will always experience numbers and quantity differently than most of her friends and society around her. She will always need to self-advocate and find her own solutions with tasks involving number and quantity.

We are continually becoming more aware of the impact dyscalculia has on other areas of daily life – time, money, dates, memory, driving, cooking… the list continues to grow. But we also understand dyscalculia so much better now, so we are better able to make pivots, provide adequate supports, and know when and where our daughter will need specific help.

Learning this way has also done so much for her mental and emotional health, growing her confidence and self-advocacy, and acceptance of herself.

I’m not saying it’s been easy. I have had many frustrating, exasperated, and overwhelmed moments. My daughter has too. There are highs and there are lows, just like all of life’s complicated journeys. I am grateful for the help, guidance, and support we have received along the way. We will continue to lean into those supports ourselves, as we are still very much on the journey.

My daughter is now finishing her senior year of high school, and enrolled in the honors program at her first-choice university for next year.

I could never have imagined this all was possible years ago, given our start of her crying in 3rd grade and asking me, “Mommy, am I stupid?”

There is no recipe for an unexpected experience like this. Every student is different and has their own challenges and unique circumstances to work through.

But I want to encourage you that it is possible to support dyscalculic students in tangible and life-changing ways. It’s also possible to teach math in a way that these students can connect with and translate to everyday life.

Supporting a loved one with dyscalculia is a process, a journey, a continued exploration. It helps to embrace the long-term reality and settle in for the adventure of it.

Your fellow parent in the journey,

Laura Jackson

If you want to hear more about the details of our dyscalculia math learning experience, join me here in Substack where I am posting a series of articles and audio recordings detailing the teaching strategies, books, tools, and accommodations we explored. You’ll find these in the Guide to Math Education for Dyscalculia section on the main page.

The series includes articles like these:

New to Discovering Dyscalculia? I’m Laura M. Jackson, parent, author, and dyscalculia specialist supporting families, educators, students, and adults in their journey with dyscalculia. I write and speak for dyscalculia awareness, education, and support here on Substack and on DiscoveringDyscalculia.com.

I am honored to be on this journey with you.

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter. Or visit my website for my blog, book, speaking events, or consulting services.

DiscoveringDyscalculia.com

You might hear educators and professionals say how there is a lot of mystery around how to teach students with a math learning disability, but I’ve found that when you really dig into understanding dyscalculia and how it impacts learning, the specific math struggles are a lot less mysterious.

It becomes clearer what is needed for effective instruction.

What are the specific teaching strategies that are successful for dyscalculic students? And how do they compare to traditional math instruction in school?

Read more

Teaching Strategies for Dyscalculia

In this article we’ll continue to explore effective teaching strategies for students struggling with dyscalculia. I’ll share examples for each, so you have a clearer idea of how and why these strategies work.

As a quick overview, they are:

✅ Begin by Teaching the Foundations of Numeracy
✅ Focus on Teaching for Understanding
✅ Reduce Memory Work

And in this article I’ll discuss these:
🟩 #4 Utilize Multi-Sensory Tools
🟩 #5 Pay Attention to Language-Based Difficulties
🟩 #6 Employ Empathy and Awareness

These all work together. They are not individual options to try on their own. A successful approach to math education for dyscalculia would be to incorporate these together in your teaching.

Read more

Teaching Strategies for Dyscalculia

In this article we’ll continue to explore effective teaching strategies for students struggling with dyscalculia. I’ll share examples for each, so you have a clearer idea of how and why these strategies work.

As a quick overview, they are:

#1 Begin by Teaching the Foundations of Numeracy
#2 Focus on Teaching for Understanding
#3 Reduce Memory Work
#4 Utilize Multi-Sensory Tools
#5 Pay Attention to Language-Based Difficulties
#6 Employ Empathy and Awareness

These all work together. They are not individual options to try on their own. A successful approach to math education for dyscalculia would be to incorporate ALL of these together.

The next strategy we will discuss is Reducing Memory Work.

Read more

Whether dyscalculia math intervention is at school, private tutoring, or at home, decisions must be made about the frequency and timing of the math lessons.

Keep in mind that helping a student develop a sense for numbers is deep, slow work. It requires patience, and an acceptance that you are embarking on a longer process.

It’s understandable that we would wish for quicker results, but this meaningful and transformative work is not about giving students a few tips and tricks to help them get through school. It’s about helping students develop number-sense for everyday life.

Many of us have already tried approaches promising faster results, and we’ve seen how unhelpful, and even harmful those shallow approaches can be to our struggling students.

When it comes to planning for the time needed, it’s helpful to remember that students with learning disabilities experience the most growth and success when the specific intervention is consistent and frequent.

Read more

These six school accommodations are the ones that have stood the test of time and have been helpful every year, even through high school. These are the ones I recommend for all dyscalculic learners.

Just a reminder that accommodations simply make the classroom more accessible and help lessen anxiety. They are not learning tools for math instruction. More on that in this article here:

When students have more than one learning disability, they will need additional accommodations specific to their learning needs.

The ones I will discuss here are focused on the particular needs of dyscalculic students.

I have a longer list of about 25 accommodations for dyscalculia, which you can download this list at the end of this article. Such a long list can be overwhelming to sort through which ones are best, and schools can realistically only implement maybe 6-8 accommodations effectively. So it’s important to choose the most supportive ones, which I hope to do here.

The goal with this section is for you to be equipped and feel confident in the accommodations you are establishing for your dyscalculic student, whether you are a teacher or parent.

Read more

Time is a such a complicated struggle for dyscalculic individuals.

How to support students in the classroom with their struggles with TIME deserves its own post, or maybe multiple posts. And I clearly have much to say on this topic.

Let’s start with the suggestion that accommodations for time struggles should be provided in every classroom, not just math class.

Then let’s talk about my favorite accommodation and tool for time support in the classroom and at home.

Read more

There is a persistent confusion about learning disability accommodations circulating among parents and teachers.

I often hear from parents and teachers who are frustrated by the seemingly unsuccessful use of accommodations in the classroom. They may feel they haven’t found the “right” accommodations, or they are confused why the accommodations in place are not helping as expected.

Accommodations are felt to be the best answer to a student’s struggles and are applied to a student’s learning plan without any real understanding of the specific learning disability or the real purpose of the accommodations assigned.

Parents frequently ask me for a list of dyscalculia accommodations, hoping the list will solve, or seriously alleviate, their child’s struggles.

Read more

This is your monthly newsletter with the latest in dyscalculia awareness, education, and support.

In this month’s issue:

• Amateur - Netflix Film Highlighting Dyscalculia

• New Dyscalculia Podcast Episode

• The Adulthood Lens on Dyscalculia

• A Parent’s Guide

• Ask-Me-Anything

• Laura’s Latest Writing

Amateur - Netflix Film Highlighting Dyscalculia

For a recent family movie night, we watched the Netflix movie, Amateur. I’m not a movie expert, but I think I can safely say this is the only movie with a main character who is dyscalculic. This engaging movie tells the story of a middle school student and basketball prodigy who struggles to reach his dreams of playing professionally.

Those familiar with dyscalculia will recognize the everyday moments impacted by this learning disability that are highlighted throughout the film. Moments such as, reading a clock, telling time, directional confusion, math class comprehension, countdowns, timing, remembering numerical sequences and numerical data.

This film by Ryan Koo is playing now on Netflix. It is rated MA for language. I highly recommend it for parents, educators, adults, and students.

New Podcast Episode on Dyscalculia

Understood.org’s new podcast, Everyone Get’s a Juice Box shares the everyday stories of parents with neurodivergent children and is hosted by journalist and radio host, Jessica Shaw. I was recently invited to share my story of struggling to find resources for dyscalculia in the school setting. Check out the new episode on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or your favorite podcast player.

The Adulthood Lens on Dyscalculia

I recommend following On Dyscalculia for an adult perspective on life with dyscalculia. Sasu is an adult with lived dyscalculia experience, studying for a doctorate degree on adult dyscalculia at the University of Eastern Finland.

“The aim is not to offer quick fixes, but to build a more accurate, humane understanding of how numeracy, learning differences, and mental well-being intersect across adult life.” (from the On Dyscalculia Bio)

This on-point note in Substack shares a most insightful perspective; Sasu suggests that the lens of adulthood helps clear much of the confusion and mystery around dyscalculia. I agree. Expanding our observations and conversation outside of the math classroom is most helpful in better understanding dyscalculia.

Subscribe to On Dyscalculia with Sasu

Parent’s Guide to Supporting a Child with Dyscalculia

This guide is a helpful place to start for parents beginning the journey of supporting a child with dyscalculia. I offer three steps to getting started, including specific suggestions, links, and personal experiences.

You can find a similar version of this guide on my website as a free 7-day email course, but it’s available to read it in its entirety here now.

Read Parent's Guide (Free!)

New! Ask-Me-Anything Live Conversation

Have a question you want to ask about dyscalculia? Maybe about school, parenting, education, supports, everyday life, mental health? Join me live for an Ask-Me-Anything about Dyscalculia video chat!

These sessions are live stream video of me showing up with a cup of coffee ready to chat about dyscalculia with you and answer your questions. (I am the only one on video, leave your questions in the chat or submit ahead of time and I’ll answer live.)

If you can’t make it live, video recordings will be available inside your paid Substack feed.

Next Live Sessions:

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 10:00-11:30 AM. PACIFIC TIME*

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 10:00-11:30 AM. PACIFIC TIME*

* Click on the link on these dates to see what time this is in your city.
Just add your city at the top and it will calculate the time for you.

Subscribe now

If you are not yet a paid subscriber, click on Upgrade to Paid to join these live calls.

Paid Subscribers will receive an invite to send your questions in the Substack Chat, along with information on how to join the live sessions.

Laura’s Latest Writing on Dyscalculia

Here are some of my latest written pieces on dyscalculia.

For all Free and Paid Subscribers

For Paid Subscribers

New to Discovering Dyscalculia? I’m Laura M. Jackson, parent, author, and dyscalculia specialist supporting families, educators, students, and adults in their journey with dyscalculia. I write and speak for dyscalculia awareness, education, and support here on Substack and on DiscoveringDyscalculia.com.

I am honored to be on this journey with you.

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter. Or visit my website for my blog, book, speaking events, or consulting services.

DiscoveringDyscalculia.com

Your dyscalculia guide,

Laura M. Jackson

It’s difficult to find good information and support for dyscalculia. It is no wonder parents feel confused, anxious, and overwhelmed.

Every day after school my daughter would slump into the backseat of our car, exhausted.

After years of extra help at school she continued to struggle. The school lacked the knowledge and training on how to support a student with this learning disability. Their standard approach was to follow traditional teaching methods but slower and with more repetition.

That approach wasn’t working – it only led to frustration, anxiety, and exhaustion.

I knew there had to be a better way.

Searching for Answers

I began to ask questions, read books and articles by dyscalculia experts, explore alternative teaching methods, and receive help from educators in the field.

This quest began when my daughter was 9 years old. Today she is 18, successfully navigating high school and enrolled at her first choice university for next year.

But we didn’t just happen upon where we are now. It has been a long, winding journey of ups and downs.

After navigating this trail for the past 9 years, I want to tell you:

There is information, resources, and teaching methods available on dyscalculia that will make a world of difference for your family, and your dyscalculic child.

You can make it out of the confusion and overwhelm. And gain more understanding, confidence, and clarity on how to move forward.

Three Important Steps

These are my personal recommendations for you, based on my family’s experience and from walking with hundreds of other families on a similar journey.

• Start with understanding dyscalculia, what it is and how it impacts.

• Identify the specific needs of your dyscalculic learner.

• Clarify your next steps to helping them thrive.

In this guide, I’ll help unpack each of these steps.

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Step 1 | Start with Understanding

Understanding dyscalculia is a critical first step in effectively supporting your dyscalculic child.

The Summer Camp Analogy

Supporting a child with dyscalculia (or any learning disability) is similar to helping your child prepare for overnight summer camp.

Before packing, you need to understand the terrain, the weather, the environment; you must understand the situation so you know what to pack and how to prepare.

If you don’t do this, you risk your child being unprepared for the camp experience. Not packing enough clean socks is inconvenient, but missing a warm sleeping bag will negatively impact the entire experience.

Many parents try to fix the math struggles by hiring a math tutor, buying math workbooks, and allocating more time laboring through math homework after school.

But so much time, energy, and money is wasted when you don’t understand what the real issues are and what is actually needed. To stick with the analogy, you may be filling your child’s backpack with unhelpful gear that takes up too much valuable space.

When you begin with a curiosity to understand dyscalculia, the path will lead you to the best supports, the best teaching methods, and the best resources that fit your child’s exact situation.

The Path to Understanding

You don’t need to enroll in a graduate program to understand dyscalculia. (There are none in the U.S. yet anyway.) But there are two simple ways you can understand how dyscalculia impacts your child.

Observe your child and be curious about their experience.

Without judgement, notice what’s difficult for them with anything involving numbers or quantity. Where do they get stuck? Observe without trying to fix or problem-solve.

Instead of telling your child how they should solve a math problem, with genuine curiosity and interest ask them, “How would you think through a situation like this?”

Listen and try to see things from their point of view. Refrain from sharing your own ideas or tips on how you would approach the problem. Reply with: “That’s so interesting/clever,” or “I love hearing how you think about that,” or “I want to learn more about how your creative mind works.”

Become better educated on dyscalculia. Joining this Substack as a Paid Subscriber is a great place to start. It gives you access to a growing library of dyscalculia articles, a monthly newsletter, downloadable PDFS, and Ask-Me-Anything live sessions. I highlight the research, books, events, and new resources for dyscalculia.

You can also download this book list for recommended reading, or check out these webinars and podcast on dyscalculia. And if you haven’t already, read my book, Discovering Dyscalculia about our early days.

Step 2 | Identify the Specific Needs

After we develop a deeper understanding for dyscalculia, our next step is to identify our child’s specific needs at school and at home.

Identify what is needed at school

When my daughter was in elementary school, I assumed the school would know exactly how to help a student with dyscalculia. But I was disappointed to learn that most educators in the U.S. are at a loss for how to support dyscalculic learners. They simply have not received specific training on this learning disability, even special education teachers.

So as the parent, you will need to lead the school on what your child needs to succeed in school with their specific learning disability.

Here are a few things your dyscalculic child needs in school:

• Teachers who understand the nuances of dyscalculia; or who are committed to their own dyscalculia training and education.

• A focus on concept comprehension and number-sense development. Not on better test scores or grade-level expectations.

• Consideration for low numerical memory capacity.

• Clear and explicit language, and sequential, step-by-step lessons.

• Positive learning environment

• Recognition and accommodations for dyscalculia in all subjects, not just math class.

This list is not a comprehensive list. It’s simply an example of a few specific supports and tools your child needs as a dyscalculic learner.

(If you want to dig deeper into this, I have compiled a whole Guide to Math Education for Dyscalculia on this topic, and also meet with many parents for consult calls to find the best solutions for their family).

Your school may not be able to provide all of these; most likely you will need to consider outside places to support and supplement your child’s learning experience.

Identify What is Needed for Home and Everyday Life

Most parents are surprised to hear all the ways that dyscalculia impacts every day tasks. It’s not just about math class.

Even after all these years, I am still observing how my dyscalculic daughter’s daily experiences are so different from the rest of our family.

When observing a new impact of dyscalculia, I often breath a sigh of relief because something that was confusing or frustrating now makes perfect sense.

I remember finally understanding why my daughter was always late getting out the door. Dyscalculia made it difficult for her to have a sense of where she was in time, understand how time passed, tell time on the clock, and make simple time calculations.

Most recently we have experienced the impact it has on her ability to learn to drive; an experience that took her 2.5 years, while her younger sister picked it up in a matter of months.

As our understanding of dyscalculia has continued to grow, we have implemented creative tools and processes at home that support our dyscalculic family member, such as:

• Visual tools to help with telling and tracking time.

• A modified calendar for dyscalculic minds.

• Guidance on how to self-advocate with teachers, coaches, or supervisors.

• Unique tools for measurements in the kitchen.

• Thoughtful ways to budget and understand important money concepts.

The goal is to help our children navigate these confusing and overwhelming moments. Then we slowly help them self-advocate in various aspects of life including school, sports, hobbies, work, and social situations.

As my daughter has grown older, parenting has become less about me providing specific supports, and more about supporting her as she makes her own choices about how to advocate for herself.

Step 3 | Clarify Your Next Steps

First understanding dyscalculia, then identifying your child’s specific needs, will both guide you in the best way forward. Consider these two suggestions for choosing your next step:

Clarify your top priority for this moment

What is most important for your child right now? Don’t think about a year or two down the road, how they will graduate, or have a career. Only decide what is most important in this season, or this very month.

• For families considering the possibility of a dyscalculia diagnosis, the top priority may be to pursue options for a professional evaluation.

• The priority may be the mental health of your child. You may need to focus on finding immediate relief from the pressures and anxiety your child is facing.

• For families who have been struggling to get adequate support at school, the priority may be to explore creative options for their child’s education, thinking outside of the box for solutions.

Start small

You might feel desperate for an instant win after years of going nowhere. You might feel ready to do all the things now! I understand.

But I suggest choosing just one or two tangible pivots, so the small successes will give you the motivation and inspiration to keep going forward in this new direction.

Suggestion for Next Steps

Here are a few options for small next steps:

1) If you have questions about identifying dyscalculia, evaluations, or are just beginning, read my short book, ​Discovering Dyscalculia. The book covers how to identify the symptoms of dyscalculia, private and school evaluations, the research, anxiety, and practical home supports.

2) If you need guidance on effective teaching strategies, books for curriculum and lesson plans, or school accommodations, check out my ​Audio Guide to Math Education for Dyscalculia.​ Or read my individual Substack articles on these topics.

3) If you are not sure where to begin, then sign up for my next live Substack Ask-Me-Anything session to chat with me there. Or inquire about a 1:1 consulting call on Zoom.

Guide Wrap Up

I hope you found this guide helpful and hopeful. And that you will join me as we support our children together.

If you’d like personalized support and resources for your next steps, please check out my website or join me for the next Ask Me Anything session here on Substack.

Your dyscalculia guide,

Laura M. Jackson

New to Discovering Dyscalculia? I’m Laura M. Jackson, parent, author, and dyscalculia specialist supporting families, educators, students, and adults in their journey with dyscalculia. I write and speak for dyscalculia awareness, education, and support here on Substack and on DiscoveringDyscalculia.com.

I am honored to be on this journey with you.

Ask about dyscalculia in general, the impact on the everyday lives of children, students, and adults, or get personal with questions about my experience parenting a child with dyscalculia.

I am an open book to chat with you! And I would love to hear about your own journey.

These live sessions are hosted here in Substack for paid subscribers. You can join for a monthly fee, or save by a one-time yearly fee. These session are live stream video (just me) showing up with a cup of coffee ready to chat about dyscalculia with you!

Submit your questions in the chat and I will answer them live. Or, submit your questions ahead of time and I will answer them during the session. Video recordings will be available to watch after, inside your paid Substack feed.

Upcoming Live Sessions

Tuesday, May 19, 10:00-11:00 AM pacific time

Click on the link on these dates for a time zone converter. Just add your city at the top and it will calculate the time for you.

How to Join

1. Paid Subscribers will receive a link to the live video chat in the private Chat space and via email.

2. Free subscribers can upgrade to be a Paid Subscriber at a monthly rate, or save money by paying the once-yearly fee.

3. Watch your inbox or Substack app for upcoming dates and live call links.

4. If you are unable to attend live, leave your questions in the Chat (link at top of of my Substack page) and I will answer your question during the live session, and you can watch the replay.

I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Laura M. Jackson

Where do we start math instruction for dyscalculic leaners?

The answer will not be found in another math assessment to determine what the student does or doesn’t know.

We develop number sense by first introducing and exploring specific visuals for numbers.

When teaching students to read, we help connect visuals in their mind to the words. When working with numbers, we do the same.

Read more

In this month’s issue:

• Recommendation for Teaching Resources

• Email Template for Parents + Template Poll

• Digital Tool for Fractions, Decimals, Percentages

• Latest Writing Pieces on Dyscalculia

• The Book’s 4th Anniversary

A Recommendation for Teaching Resources

This past year I joined Made for Math’s new CRA Club (stands for Concrete, Representational, Abstract). I needed help with the next steps of instruction for a dyscalculic student I am working with. We were ready to tackle Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages, however, my favorite dyscalculia authors and educators did not have the best teaching tools for these topics.

So I joined The CRA Club and am so grateful I did! It’s been a wealth of information and support, both on dyscalculia, and also how other learning disabilities impact math understanding. What I appreciate about the club:

• A terrific Base Camp section to get a solid overview of how to teach for dyscalculia.

• Easily accessible sections for specific topics that include videos, worksheets, reference sheets, and more.

• Twice monthly coaching calls where you can submit a question and they will walk it through with you live at the session, or you can watch the replays. I had a specific question and Heather spent 20 minutes walking me through options for instruction.

The CRA Club has more information than I have time to take in, and what I have received has been worth the membership cost! I highly recommend this resource for any tutor, teacher, or parent who is working with dyscalculic learners or students struggling in math. Learn more about the CRA Club here.

My Current Writing on Dyscalculia

Here are some of my latest written pieces on dyscalculia. Each article is written by me (not AI). Your paid subscription to this content enables me to do this ongoing dyscalculia work and help support my family financially.

How to Write an Email to Teachers about Your Child’s Learning Disability Every school year I dreaded writing an email to my daughter’s teachers informing them of her learning disability. In this post I share 3 tips for making it easier, plus an email template you can use.

Teaching Strategy: Focus on Understanding Instead of Procedures. Contrary to how most math is taught in school, dyscalculic learners need math instruction that helps them to understand math concepts before teaching how to calculate and solve. Read more in this article.

Begin with the Foundations of Math - it’s going back further than you think. This is the most important teaching strategy for supporting dyscalculic learners. Let’s talk about what the foundations are.

Email Template for Parents

This past year I sent out a poll asking what types of resources you all would like. Many of you requested email templates for communicating with schools. I have written my first template for you, which is an initial email to send to all teachers at the beginning of the year, or when you have a new diagnosis. This template can easily be modified to include additional or alternative learning disabilities, or your middle or high school student can modify it to send to their teachers.

Download Template in this Post

This downloadable PDF resource can be accessed in Substack as a paid subscriber.

Want more templates? Please fill out this poll to let me know what other templates would be helpful for you!

Digital Tool for Fractions, Decimals, Percentages

I mentioned that I’ve joined Made for Math’s CRA Club to help me with teaching the concepts of fractions, decimals, and percentages for a dyscalculic student I work with.

After creating a deeper understanding of these concepts, we are now learning how to use a digital tool to help my student make these same calculations in the faster-paced classroom and for everyday life.

This tool is the DysCalculator App. One feature that I love is that the DysCalculator can translate between fractions, decimals, and percentages easily in one button.

To figure out the decimal and percentage for one half: enter 1/2 using the fraction button, then [EQUALS]. The DysCalculator will give you the percentage and decimal that are equal to one half, including a helpful visual for the fraction. It can also be used the other way around, enter 50%, then = and it will tell you the fraction and decimal equivalent to 50%.

For those of you who are concerned students will not learn how to correctly compute these, I understand your concern. And I agree it’s critical for students to understand the concept and how to calculate with fractions, decimals, and percentages. But after that is solid, and especially as these students are navigating the school classroom and everyday life, it’s important they have a tool like the DysCalculator App at their fingertips to lessen anxiety and help them quickly compute.

DysCalculator App Website

My Book’s 4th Anniversary

This month was the 4th year anniversary of my book’s publication. I continue to hear from you all how helpful it has been for navigating your child’s, or your student’s, or your own dyscalculia journey.

I also hear from parents of children with other learning disabilities that this book has helped them with the school system and their feelings about their child’s learning disability.

If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend picking up a copy, and consider an additional copy to share with family member or educator.

I’m honored to hear how the book is helping families, educators, students, and adults from all around the world.

Thank you also to those of you who help to spread the word by leaving your positive reviews on Amazon. Thank you!

Listen to the Introduction here:

Listen or Read Introduction Here

Join me on Substack

This monthly newsletter is now hosted on Substack, an online newsletter platform. Substack was created for writers like me who are not fans of Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

You can receive this free monthly newsletter in your email inbox, or receive extra resources and support as a paid subscriber, including:

• Exclusive content. Twice a month, receive a personal email post from me with a downloadable PDF, audio recording, email template, or guidance,

• Community and connection. Ask questions, leave comments, or respond to myself and others about the dyscalculia articles.

• Full archives of dyscalculia resources. Access all the resources in past newsletters and exclusive content posts.

Your paid subscription enables me to provide ongoing dyscalculia resources while providing financially for my family. I invite you to upgrade to a paid subscription for $8 a month or $80 per year. I am so grateful for your support and commitment to spreading dyscalculia awareness, education, and support.

Subscribe now

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter!

Visit my website for my blog, book, speaking events, or consulting services.

DiscoveringDyscalculia.com

Your dyscalculia specialist and guide,

Laura M. Jackson

Every school year I dreaded writing an email to my daughter’s teachers informing them of her learning disability.

I felt overwhelmed, and would procrastinate, setting down my laptop in search of something crunchy to munch on.

Sometimes because it felt so heavy, I would wait until my daughter really began to struggle in class before I would finally sit down to write that email.

This one task held so much emotional weight.

Underneath the surface, frustration simmered. Why must I detail and explain what dyscalculia was and how it impacted my daughter? Schools should already be informed about this learning disability. If my child was ADHD, I wouldn’t have to explain what it was and how it impacted learning. And I had enough experience to know that dyscalculia awareness in school was rare.

In the early years of learning about dyscalculia, it felt daunting to describe something that I was only just beginning to understand myself, let alone describe to a principal or teacher.

I also felt uncertain at what sort of response I would receive. Would the teacher be open and curious, or unaware and defensive? Common unhelpful responses included “I’ve never heard of that, it must be really rare,” or “She can just use a calculator or multiplication chart.”

It was understandable that this seemingly small task was no small thing. It brought up so many uncomfortable feelings and frustrating experiences.

My daughter will graduate from high school this coming spring, and while I am finally done writing these school emails, I imagine that my daughter will be calling me from university asking me to edit her self-advocacy emails to her professors.

In truth, I began helping her craft emails to her teachers each year beginning in 8^th grade. It has never been an easy task because the responses she received from her teachers were often mixed.

In 11^th grade, one of my daughter’s teachers referred to her dyscalculia as a “perceived struggle” and denied my daughter’s request to meet and talk about her specific struggles in the class. My daughter felt humiliated and misunderstood.

That same year my daughter’s social studies teacher responded with openess and curiosity, inviting my daughter to meet and discuss the particular difficulties her dyscalculia caused in class. Together they discussed the specific challenges and came up with a few simple accommodations to make the content more accessible. My daughter felt seen and empowered.

It’s hard to be vulnerable with others when we don’t know how we will be received.

If I could do those years over again, I would be gentle with myself for the resistance and dread I felt each year. This seemingly simple task was so much more involved emotionally. If you are parent in this stage, I hope you will be gentle with yourself too. Communicating with teachers about your child’s learning disability can be overwhelming and difficult.

In looking back at our years of writing emails to teachers, I thought it might be helpful to offer a few tips to make this task easier for you, and to provide an email template you can use.

Here are a few tips to consider when communicating with teachers:

• Keep the initial email simple. The first email is just a notification of the specific learning disability(ies) or diagnosis(es), and the impact on learning. You are not requesting accommodations or supports. You are simply informing the teacher.

• Include an invitation to meet and speak together more in-depth about your child’s needs. This longer conversation about supports and teaching methods should happen when the teacher is ready and receptive. They too don’t want to be bombarded with too much information and requests all at once.

• Keep the resources simple. List one or two resources for learning more, not an exhaustive list of everything you’ve read or watched on this learning disability.

That’s it!

If you’d like to use my Email Template, you can download it in this post. It can easily be modified to include additional or alternative learning disabilities, or your older student can modify it to send to their teachers.

This template is available for paid Substack subscribers. Thank you for supporting my dyscalculia advocacy work!

I hope this helps make this task a bit more doable for you. Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section. You can also post any helpful or unhelpful responses you receive from these communications, and share this process with other families in the same boat.

Your dyscalculia guide,

Laura Jackson

Paid Subscribers can Download the Email Template to Teachers below.

Subscribe now

Read more

See below for all the details on an annual Dyscalculia Day event hosted by the Dyscalculia Network. It is a global event for dyscalculia awareness, education, and supports. And there is something for everyone - Parents, Educators, Adults, and community members.

Dyscalculia Day - join a global movement

Dyscalculia Day is back, and this year it is all about raising the profile of dyscalculia and sharing EXCLUSIVE research into the lived experience of children, young people and adults with dyscalculia.

Dyscalculia Day (March 3rd) aims to raise awareness of dyscalculia and other specific learning difficulties in math, highlight the challenges faced by those with dyscalculia and provide educational resources and promote understanding in schools, homes, and workplaces. It aims to increase awareness, reduce stigma and advocate for better support and accommodations for people with dyscalculia.

This day is part of a broader effort to improve access to learning and support for people with various learning differences. This is an opportunity to support the dyscalculia community and make a difference to millions of adults and children with this under-diagnosed and under-represented learning difficulty.

Go to the Dyscalculia Day Website

Here are the highlights of the events detailed below:

• Free General Intro Webinar and Q&A for everyone

• All Day Educator Conference

• Parent Sessions offered three different days, one-hour sessions

• Dyscalculic Adults Sessions and Meetup

• Laura’s tips on Time Zones and Cost for dyscalculic minds (scroll to end)

Just Getting Started? A Free Event for Everyone

This is a general introduction webinar (Tuesday, March 3rd) on specific learning difficulties in math and dyscalculia, suitable for anyone to join! Online and recorded.

Join Free Intro Event

We will also offer a free Q&A webinar (Tuesday, March 3rd) for anyone to join. This is online only – not recorded.

Join Free Q&A

For Teachers and Educators

We are hosting a full-day educator conference on Friday, 6th March, kindly sponsored by Nessy. We will be sharing EXCLUSIVE research from our HEIF funded collaboration with UCL University on the lived experience of children, young people and adults with dyscalculia (full details in the links below). This will be live online but recorded, so it’s accessible to our worldwide audience.

Sessions Include:

• Dyscalculia in Practice: From Cognitive Understanding and Assessment to Effect with Giannis Karagiannakis , Marie-Pascale Noel

• Exploring variations in cognitive profiles of people with dyscalculia with Prof. Jo Van Herwegen, Dr Laura Outhwaite

• Listening to and learning from the voices of lived experience with Dr Helen Williams , Associate Professor, Elisabeth Herbert

• Dyscalculia or maths learning difficulties? with Judy Hornigold

• Practical strategies for teaching learners with SpLD in maths/ dyscalculia with Nichola Evans

• Practical tips for using Maths Manipulatives and Games with Rob Jennings

Learn more and sign up for the educator event here:

Join Educator Event

For Parents

As in years past we are offering expanded Parents Webinars – a series of three parent, guardian or interested person webinars for those with an interest in supporting children who struggle with math or have dyscalculia.

Parents of young children in the early years (Thursday, March 5th)

Join Early Years Session

Parents of primary or elementary school children (Monday, March 2nd)

Join Primary / Elementary Session

Parents of secondary, middle-school, high-school students (Wednesday, March 4th).

Join Secondary/Older Students

These will be live online but recorded, so they’re accessible to our worldwide audience.

For Adults

Our annual Adult Webinar and meet-up for dyscalculic adults will be Tuesday, March 3rd. This is an exclusive opportunity to learn about the results of the research from our HEIF funded collaboration with UCL University on the lived experience of adults with dyscalculia, plus a talk by an adult with dyscalculia and an online meet-up to share experiences and chat about dyscalculia and maths difficulties. Online with talks recorded (the meetup part will not be recorded).

Sessions Plus Live Discussion:

• Listening to and learning from the voices of adults with dyscalculia with Dr Helen Williams, Professor Jo Van Herwegen, Dr. Laura Outhwaite , Associate Professor, Elisabeth Herbert

• My Story with Emily Lynn- Graham

• Chat Time (not recorded)

Join the Sessions for Adults

For Employers and Adults

This new workplace webinar will be (Tuesday, March 3rd) and is titled “ Numeracy in work – the model of quiet inclusion,” where employers can find out more on how to support people in the workplace with dyscalculia or low numeracy. Online and recorded.

Join Workplace Session

Laura’s Tips on Time Zone and Costs for dyscalculic minds

Each year I receive questions on the tricky parts of registering for a global event when you are dyscalculic. Here are some tips that I hope make it easier for you, but feel free to email me directly if you need more help, or reach out to the Dyscalculia Network. They totally understand these types of real complications!

This Time Zone information only matters if you plan to attend one of the events live online. If you are watching the replays, or listening to recordings like I do, then it won’t matter what time the event is.

Time Zone Tips:

When you see the Event Registration, it should automatically list your current time Zone, like this image. I live in the PST (Pacific Standard Time), so this event will be 10:30 AM for me, even thought it’s an evening event in London.

Another option I recommend is this Time Zone Converter. You add the location (UK- London and time listed on the registration form), and the date of the event, then you add your own city and it will translate the time for your area.

Shown here is a Parent Session that starts at 7:00 pm (seven in the evening) in London, but for me, that will be at 11:00 am (eleven in the morning) on the same day.

Cost Tips

The other complication is that the event costs are listed in English pounds, so you’ll need to change that to your local currency. You can use an app or website like this to convert the cost. Here I typed in the cost to attend the Adult Sessions, and see that 11.55 pounds translates to $15.75 in US dollars.

In my opinion, all the events hosted by the Dyscalculia Network are minimal in cost compared to other similar resources - and there aren’t many on dyscalculia. I always consider the price I’m paying for these sessions as education I am receiving in return, but also as a donation towards the spreading of dyscalculia awareness, education, and supports. I personally love to be as generous as I can to groups like the Dyscalculia Network who are doing such great work globally.

Hope these tips make registering just a bit smoother for you!

This monthly newsletter was a little different than usual, so stay tuned for next month’s newsletter in our regular format.

To connect more often than monthly, or access exclusive dyscalculia resources, become a paid subscriber here on Substack.

Visit my website for my blog, book, speaking events, or consulting services.

DiscoveringDyscalculia.com

Your dyscalculia guide,

Laura M. Jackson

New Year greetings! This is your Discovering Dyscalculia monthly newsletter with the latest in dyscalculia awareness, education, and support.

In this month’s issue:

• Writing on Substack means more resources for you!

• How to say dyscalculia – help from a children’s book

• How I write on dyscalculia

• Download the 2026 calendar for dyscalculia

• Book review

• Dyscalculia Day Events

I’m Writing on Substack

I have just transitioned this newsletter to Substack, an online newsletter platform. What does this mean for you? Through Substack you can sign up for more than just this free monthly newsletter. Receive extra resources and support as a paid subscriber, including:

• Exclusive content. Twice a month, receive a personal email post with a downloadable PDF, audio recording, email template, or guidance - something to help you on your dyscalculia journey.

• Community and connection. Ask questions and join the discussion to connect with me and others around dyscalculia.

• Full archives of dyscalculia resources. Access all the resources in past newsletters and exclusive content posts.

Your paid subscription enables me to provide ongoing dyscalculia resources while providing financially for my family. I invite you to become a paid subscriber for $8 a month or pay a once-yearly $80 payment. You will receive so much more than that in resources and support from me over the coming year! I am so grateful for your support and commitment to spreading dyscalculia awareness, education, and support.

How to Say Dyscalculia – help from a children’s book

In The Dafoompah and Me: a Story for Children with Dyscalculia, author and psychologist Dr. Brennan Whitley provides a helpful tip on how to say dyscalculia. Dr. Whitley breaks this complicated word down in this way:

“DYS (rhymes with miss) – CAL (rhymes with pal) – CULIA (rhymes with Julia)”

I have found this so helpful in guiding others on how to pronounce it correctly and confidently. To learn more about Dr. Brennan Whitley, author of this imaginative children’s book, check out this YouTube interview. Dr. Whitley talks about her journey discovering her own dyscalculia and the work she does supporting students with learning disabilities.

How I Write on Dyscalculia

Here are some of my latest written pieces on dyscalculia. Each article is written fully by me, on my laptop, usually with a short extra-hot latte on my desk. I like to print out my drafts to edit with pen and paper, and then my husband does the final edit of each piece. Old school, real person writing. My husband joked that I write with BI (biological intelligence) rather than AI.

To the Tired Parent Raising a Child with Learning Disabilities. In this piece I share about how exhausting it can be to support a child with learning disabilities, while offering some hope and encouragement as well. I tell of a recent moment of success our family celebrated in our current journey with dyscalculia.

Let’s Talk about Learning Strategies for Dyscalculia. This is a written piece and audio recording from my paid product, the Audio Guide to Math Education for Dyscalculia and helpful for parents and teachers who want to know how to help struggling students succeed in the math classroom.

Why Calendars are Problematic + Downloadable PDF Calendar. While this post is for all, paid subscribers can download the printable PDF of my daughter’s calendar in this article. Use it to help your student better understand calendars this new year.

Access these pieces on Substack as a paid subscriber, only $8 per month, or once-yearly for $80.

2026 Calendar and Planner for Dyscalculia

Do you ever wonder why your child asks you when something will happen instead of just checking the calendar? Or why your student resists using a planner to organize their schoolwork?

If your student is dyscalculic, their ability to understand and successfully use a calendar as a tool is impacted by their dyscalculia.

Using her own experience, my dyscalculic daughter redesigned a calendar so it would make more sense for dyscalculic minds. She uses this calendar as her daily planner to track due dates for schoolwork, appointments, and events. I use it as our family wall calendar for easy reference for our whole family.

The feedback from other dyscalculics is that it has been immensely helpful for them! Learn more about her calendar in this free post on Substack. Paid subscribers can download her 2026 Calendar and Planner for themselves.

Book Review

Thank you to a parent from Thailand who wrote me this week and had this to say about my book:

“You have written a hands-on story, very relatable…Your book is like a roadmap for us parents…Your book was the best starting point ever.”

I’m honored to hear how the book is helping families around the world. If you haven’t read it yet, get your copy here. It’s a short, easy read packed with helpful information and relatable stories.

Dyscalculia Day 2026 Events

Dyscalculia Day is coming up in March! The Dyscalculia Network UK hosts this global annual event for parents, educators, and dyscalculic individuals. There are separate days for each specific group so you can register for whichever is of most interest to you – for Teachers, Parents, or Adults. Because of the time zone difference, I register each year and listen to the replays. Learn more and register on the Dyscalculia Network website.

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DiscoveringDyscalculia.com

Your dyscalculia specialist and guide,

Laura M. Jackson