Hello and welcome back to another episode of what in the world is dyscalculia.
Previously, known as what in the world is dyscalculia and some people have asked me to go
back to the older pronunciation.
It's easier on their ears.
So if it's tomato tomato, data data, dyscalculia, dyscalculia, as long as we're
talking about the math learning disability, I think we're all doing fine.
This is Dr. Honora Wall, the host of our podcast.
And this podcast is hosted and sponsored by educalclearning, which is my for-profit company
with a full line of in-person and online training for teachers and educators, online
math classes for students and adults who have dyscalculia.
And I'm really happy to be talking with you today.
I have a one event this week that led me to a couple of different thoughts that I wanted
to bring up and discuss with you.
The wrap-up, the synopsis of what happened is that I was in an online forum for people
and families who are helping people with dyscalculia and a person posted saying they
recently got this diagnosis.
They were working with their case manager and they wanted to advocate for having the
calculator at all times.
They wanted to know what that wording was supposed to look like on a 504 or an IEP.
And I responded and paraphrasing said that they could ask that case manager to ask students
to take off their glasses before they take a reading test.
Would they ask a student who was on crutches to leave them at the door of the classroom?
No, for the same reason we don't limit calculator use for students with dyscalculia.
Well, of course, this was an online forum and I typed it and the person responded and
to paraphrase their response said, I'm not looking to take that kind of an attitude.
I just want to know how this is supposed to be worded so I can help my child.
And I thought, oh my gosh, when we type our tone of voice does not come out and what
I had typed the word choice made this sound very angry and combative.
So that was the first thing I thought I would just bring up it was such a good reminder
and I responded and thanked the person for reminding me that tone of voice is very important
in getting our ideas across.
And I expanded my thought which was really what I meant to say and this is what I think
is useful for our audiences that when we're talking to people who are brand new to the
math learning disability and they aren't sure about some of these accommodations and
interventions using a metaphor or an analogy can be helpful.
People are already used to supporting people who have things different from us, visible
or invisible disabilities or differences.
There are plenty of people in the world who do not wear glasses but they understand that
if a person has glasses or crutches they're going to need a little extra assistance.
So we're already used to supporting people in a number of circumstances whether or not those
circumstances apply to us.
And the same thing is true with dyscalculia whether or not a person has
has heard of
it or is familiar with it they can still provide the right accommodations and interventions.
I will say if you are putting that into a text or an email or an online support group
you can just expand your thoughts, watch your wording so that the tone comes through in an appropriate manner.
That was my first thought.
My second thought when I read this exchange I thought you know why do we feel a need to
walk on egg shells when we're advocating for legally protected interventions and accommodations.
They may have wanted to take a certain tone or take a certain attitude.
Why as a parent would they not be allowed to do that?
This is very common.
I have a lot of parents I talk to who don't want to make waves, they're.
Sometimes walking on egg shells, sometimes just making sure they're being supportive or
helpful or nice to the school.
Sometimes it's because they're a teacher or a staff member at the school or in the district
and they don't want to be known as the problem co-worker.
Sometimes they have other children in the same school or school district and they don't want to be known as the problem family.
Sometimes they feel like they're the lone voice asking for these interventions and accommodations for their child
and they don't want to be that problem parent single out their child for repercussions.
I wish I could say the repercussions never happen.
But I believe we all know that is not true.
There are times when people do think we're the problem family or the problem child or the problem parent
and those repercussions come back on our students.
So I completely understand where it is coming from.
But I have to say what we're asking for when we ask for interventions and accommodations.
We're not asking for anything special.
We're asking for things that are protected under federal law.
These are just the requirements of providing an equitable education.
And honestly they're not that difficult to do.
Letting a student have the use of a calculator or multiplication list or worked examples or their notes under all circumstances including quizzes and tests.
It's not that difficult.
That's not a hard thing to provide.
It might not be something an individual teacher wants to do because it doesn't meet their traditional ideas of what learning looks like.
In that case I would use the metaphor to say, well, you know, it's kind of like going to a doctor who wants to put leeches on you.
If you're sick, we know more about medicine now and we don't do that.
And we know more about education now and we know more about learning disability.
So there are things we do know that we did not use to do before.
And that's fine.
So other accommodations and interventions that we ask for having extended time, having a separate place to take a test without distractions, having some sort of prompt either through reference sheets or notes.
These are not excessive things we're asking for.
We're not putting teachers out when we ask for them.
And it's very important that counselors and case managers and the person in your school who is handling the stuff that they understand that they need to require.
They are required to offer these services.
And if you need more information about those services or what's appropriate for discount.
Please email me at educalclearning.com or visit educalclearning.com or thedtri.org.
That's the name of my nonprofit, the dyscalculia training and research institute.
www.thedtri.org.
That really brings me to my third thing I was thinking after reading this exchange. What the person was looking for was an example.
What should an IEP or 504 look like for a student who has dyscalculia?
And those are very hard to find.
So that's a project that I'll be working on very soon, getting that information just out on the website.
So that parents can have an example to take with them when they're having their meetings at schools.
And just to give you some more information about how to use that language appropriately.
I talk about that a little bit in my online training courses for teachers, but I think it is valid to have some examples out there that anyone can access it.
Any time that's a need that should be met.
If you have questions about what your IEP or 504 should look like, please let me know and I'll make sure to include them.
I definitely want to include what we need to do for dyscalculia
Mostly it's having the access to those external resources.
One to 100's chart or a multiplication list, not the chart, but the old fashion times tables.
And a calculator use as we get into fifth grade and above.
That's the biggest one that people seem to be unfamiliar with or struggle against providing.
There are some other ones that are really helpful for processing speed disorders, visual spatial issues or working memory issues.
And those are all pretty common for students who have dyscalculia.
So I think they can be handy to be included in an IEP or 504.
Of course, if you're lucky enough to have a full neuroscience evaluation, then we can use that to really specify based on the results of that evaluation.
What accommodations we need for processing speed or visual spatial or things like that.
And I'm happy to have more of a conversation with your specific situation if you reach out to me on that.
So my three takeaways this week, three things that I thought about and an important lesson I was reminded of.
One tone of voice over the written word is not always clear.
It doesn't always convey what we actually mean.
So it's always a good idea to sit back and reflect on what you're trying to get across and expand and clarify what you're trying to say.
Short and sweet does not work very well in the written communication.
And then my second thing, don't be afraid to advocate for your students or for yourself.
The things that we ask for to support people with dyscalculia are federally protected accommodations and they're really not that difficult.
It's not special treatment.
And people need to understand what the accommodations are and we have a right to ask for them.
And however, that form needs to take if you want to be nice and polite and not cause any waves that is one way to approach it.
And if you sometimes get angry and you've just had enough, that is valid as well.
And that's a normal human emotion.
You can be angry about your child or yourself not getting the support you are supposed to be getting.
And then my third piece is that I'm making this pledge to you that I'm going to get those examples out there.
If you're finding examples of 504, IEP language and you have a resource to share, please share it with me.
And I'm happy to put it out to that wider audience.
This is a way we can support each other as we move forward talking about dyscalculia and support more people with the math learning disability.
There are approximately 5 million kindergarten through 12th grade students in the United States alone.
Who have dyscalculia, whether or not it's diagnosed yet.
And that means we need to be sharing resources and sharing information.
And I'm happy to do that through my two avenues at educalclearning.com and the DTRI.org or through my Facebook page or LinkedIn where you can email me at honora@educalclearning.com
For any questions or help I can provide I'm happy to do so.
This is Dr. Honora Wall and I thank you for listening to what in the world is dyscalculia and I am off to work on some 504 and IEP language with clarity and making sure my tone of voice comes through properly.
Thanks for listening.