Massia Bailey | Dyscalculia and dysgraphia: Exploring lesser-known specific learning disabilities

WHILE DYSLEXIA is widely recognised as a learning disability, lesser-known conditions such as dyscalculia and dysgraphia often go unnoticed. Like dyslexia – where individuals with average or above-average intelligence experience specific difficulties in reading – dyscalculia and dysgraphia also involve distinct academic challenges. Though these conditions can co-occur with dyslexia, they are separate and may not be related to language and reading difficulties.

The prefix ‘dys’ means difficulty, bad, or abnormal. Accordingly, dyscalculia refers to difficulty with calculations, and dysgraphia refers to difficulty with writing. Increasing awareness of these conditions can empower educators and families to better support struggling learners both at school and at home. It is important to remember that learners with these disabilities are not lazy or ‘tough-headed’ – they are navigating genuine cognitive differences that will impact their academic achievement in multiple subject areas.

MORE THAN ‘BAD AT MATH’

Dyscalculia goes beyond just struggling with math. While many students may find math challenging and improve with instruction or support, individuals with true dyscalculia continue to struggle even when exposed to targeted, high-quality, and intensive instruction. They make little to no improvement despite obvious effort and apparent capability. Dyscalculia is a legitimate condition that is recognised as a neurodevelopmental learning disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It is defined as a brain-based condition that impairs the ability to understand numerical concepts, recall math facts, and solve problems.

Research shows that individuals with dyscalculia often exhibit congenital differences in processing numerical information. Brain imaging studies reveal less development and weaker connectivity in the brain regions responsible for number sense and mathematical reasoning. As a result, individuals with dyscalculia may struggle with tasks such as:

• Managing time in general, telling time, punctuality, and performing calculations involving time

• Comparing quantities (e.g., more vs less, bigger vs smaller)

• Recognising math symbols

• Performing basic computations

• Understanding number relationships (comparing and ordering numbers)

• Subsidising (instantly recognising small quantities)

• Using money effectively

• Reasoning through multi-step math problems

• Following directions

Dyscalculics can present varying degrees of severity. Some learners may experience mild difficulties with math concepts, while others may have significant impairments in all areas of mathematics. Since the condition is neurological in nature, learners will continue to experience challenges with math throughout their lives.

WHEN WRITING BECOMES A STRUGGLE

Dysgraphia is also a neurodevelopmental disorder. The DSM-5 includes dysgraphia under the ‘specific learning disorder’ category but does not define it as a separate disorder and does not describe specific characteristics for diagnosis. However, it is generally understood that learners with dysgraphia have difficulty with the physical act of writing and with translating thoughts into written language.

Writing goes beyond handwriting or the formation of letters. It is a complex process that requires the integration of motor planning, fine motor skills, spatial awareness, orthographic knowledge, idea generation, and organisation. For most people, this process becomes automatic over time. For those with dysgraphia, however, writing remains a slow and strenuous task.

Like dyslexia and dyscalculia, dysgraphia can present varying degrees of severity ranging from mild to severe. There are also different dysgraphia subtypes such as motor dysgraphia where the learner has difficulty with the physical act of writing, including effective pencil grip and fine motor coordination, spatial dysgraphia or struggles with spatial awareness, including letter spacing, alignment, and following lines. Other dysgraphia subtypes that may mimic dyslexia include lexical dysgraphia or difficulty retrieving and using words for writing, phonological dysgraphia (translating sounds into written letters, and dyslexic dysgraphia where the learner demonstrates difficulty with letter recognition and distinguishing letter sounds that impact encoding (spelling) and composition.

A learner may be dysgraphic if they demonstrate difficulty with:

• Forming legible letters

• Using appropriate letter size and spacing

• Writing in a straight line

• Writing at an age-appropriate pace

• Following conventions of written language (e.g., spelling, grammar, capitalisation, sentence structure)

Again, these difficulties may improve with specially designed instruction but will be persistent over the lifetime of the learner.

DIAGNOSIS AND ASSESSMENT

Despite their impact on academic achievement, dyscalculia and dysgraphia remain underdiagnosed and often misunderstood. Exact prevalence rates vary but current research estimates that dyscalculia affects five to seven per cent of a population, while dysgraphia may affect up to 10 per cent of school-aged children. Diagnosis typically involves a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation conducted by a trained specialist. These evaluations assess cognitive processing, academic achievement, and rule out factors such as vision, hearing, conduct and behaviour challenges, and other environmental factors. For dyscalculia, assessments may include standardized measures of number sense, math fluency, and working memory. For dysgraphia, evaluations often examine fine motor skills, visual-motor integration, spelling, and written expression across various tasks. Early identification and diagnosis are essential to ensure students receive targeted interventions and accommodations to minimise the achievement gap.

SUPPORT

With the right supports, students with dyscalculia and dysgraphia can learn to work with numbers and to write effectively. Success depends on intentional instructional planning, including the use of sequential, systematic, and explicit instruction, paired with appropriate scaffolding. Multisensory and multimodal teaching strategies have been shown to be particularly effective.

Students with dysgraphia may also benefit from occupational therapy and the use of assistive technology and tools. Both groups benefit from classroom accommodations such as:

• Extended time

• Alternative methods for expressing knowledge

• Access to special tools and supports such as graphic organisers and other visual guides.

At home, tools like pencil grips, handwriting apps, or graphic organisers can support students with dysgraphia. For those with dyscalculia, calculators and manipulatives can help make abstract math concepts more concrete.

Massia Bailey, EdD is an applied learning scientist, special educator, and adjunct professor of education in Florida. Send feedback to learninganddevelopmentdoctor@gmail.com