Hi, everyone. Welcome to the What in the World
is Dyscalculia podcast. I am the host of the
podcast, Dr. Honora Wall, and What in the World
is Dyscalculia is sponsored by Educalc Learning.
If you visit EducalcLearning .com, you can find
out a lot of great training and free information
as well about the math learning disability. You
can also visit our nonprofit. the Dyscalculia
Training and Research Institute. That's the DTRI
.org and you can find lots of great information
there about dyscalculia and about NBD math. But
first what I want to talk about in today's podcast
is a conversation we've had a few times but it
doesn't seem to be going anywhere and that is
the conversation about offering accommodations
for students especially whether or not they have
that official paperwork. So this came about today
because of a conversation this morning with a
colleague who helps families whose children are
struggling in school for a wide variety of reasons
and we were discussing one particular student
and getting them the right accommodations and
of course it's a little bit of a struggle with
their school because the student transferred
from a different state, the paperwork is in flux,
and it's causing some issues. And within that
conversation, my colleague and I discussed the
accommodations her daughter receives in school.
Now, her family would rather not do diagnostic
testing. They are not interested in labeling
their child. which is very valid in a family
decision and something a lot of people worry
about. So they know she has tendencies that indicate
dyslexia and that she does exceptionally well
when she has unlimited time. So for state testing,
for AP classes, for any standardized test, unlimited
time really works best for her. And she can score
at the top level. of any one of those tests.
If it's a five on the state test or an AP test
or the highest grade in the class, she has a
track record of doing very well. Well, her school
is changing their approach right now and they
are removing the unlimited time they gave everyone
after COVID and they're putting some structure
back around. They're testing time limits and
they don't want to give this student unlimited
time anymore. because she does not have a diagnosis
and therefore does not have an IEP or a 504 plan.
Even though the school is well aware that she
uses every moment of that extended time, it's
definitely clearly an appropriate accommodation
for her. But now this family is having to have
this conversation and this fight. And that really
is what I want you to reflect on in this podcast.
Why do we make it so difficult for students to
use accommodations that are helpful for them?
When we can see as educators, when students are
engaged, when they're trying, that an accommodation,
whether it's extended time, calculator use, notes,
for memory triggers during assessments, whatever
is best for them, we know that it's beneficial.
We know it allows them to display knowledge at
their best appropriate level. Why do we have
to argue so hard to get students this kind of
help? It's very frustrating. If you work with
students who have learning disabilities, dyscalculia
or dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, autism, if you
have students who have depressive disorders or
anxiety disorders, then you've seen this too.
You've seen that they are fully capable, average
to above average intelligence, and that they're
invested and they're trying as hard as they can.
So not letting them have the right accommodations.
I'm not talking about interventions. That's different.
I'm talking about accommodations, especially
during assessments. When we don't let them do
that, it's like blocking off the wheelchair ramp
in front of City Hall. We are creating the barrier
that stops the person with the disability from
accessing in a fair and equitable appropriate
manner. So we're clearly going against federal
law at this stage. And that's not what schools
are trying to do. I know that schools are trying
to do everything that they can and that they
want their students to be successful. So why
do we have this disconnect? And the disconnect
is very school and district specific. I work
with students and families and educators across
the country. And every place you go has a slightly
different approach. So the kind of support a
student gets is usually more tied to where they
live. And I'm not even talking about socioeconomic
neighborhoods. I'm talking about Your district,
your state, your region, your specific school,
be it private or public, might have their own
approach. And it might be very easy to get the
school and the teacher on board with the right
accommodations. Not a problem at all. I do have
that happen in quite a few places. Those are
great success stories, and those students do
very, very well. I have a student with dyscalculia.
I've talked about her on this podcast before.
who has been lucky enough to get the right accommodations
without too much of a fight at this stage. We've
been having these conversations for years. This
is a military family. So every time there's a
new place they have to move to, we have the same
conversation with the new schools and the new
teachers. But we've been very lucky to get her
accommodations. Well, she's in high school now.
She's on the honor roll in the honor society.
taking upper level math and science classes and
doing great because her accommodations work for
her and allow her to demonstrate knowledge. When
they are taken away, she immediately drops down
to a low C, maybe a high D on occasion level
for her assessments. And with the right accommodations,
she's a high B, sometimes even a low A consistently.
So that does happen. And then we see the students
succeed. When the opposite happens and we just
have these barriers and these arguments and it's
gone on for nine weeks or 12 weeks or we're into
the third section of the grade book of the year
and we haven't done anything to support the student
properly, now we have a real issue, especially
in high school, because now we're not earning
credits needed for graduation. So accommodations
are not just legally protected and appropriate,
tied to research. All of that is true. But not
having those accommodations is a real barrier
to high school graduation. And of course, then
whether or not a person goes on to college and
how successful they are in higher education.
So we're causing some real long term impact in
addition to the short term. impact. So what do
we do? Let's have more conversations with the
teachers that your student interacts with. Teachers
who are your colleagues if you're working in
school. Talk to the district. Go to school board
meetings and bring this up. Talk to the school
principal. Find some materials that can be used
as references, either on my websites, educalclearning
.com or www .thedtri .org. You can look up LDA.
You can look up Understood. You can look up the
researchers yourself on Google Scholar. Lots
of places where we can get this information because
it's valid. That's why you can find it everywhere.
Get that information to the people in charge
of accommodations. And let's have these conversations
in schools. Let's try not to make it such a fight.
Let's give kids the support they need so that
they can succeed. For dyscalculia, those appropriate
accommodations are going to include either a
multiplication list or a one -to -one hundreds
chart in elementary grades, multiplication list,
calculator, really from fourth or fifth grade
up. They're going to include extended time and
we need to train students how to use that time.
They're going to include paper and pencil or
oral assessment, something that gives them different
methods of showing their knowledge. And they're
going to include using notes during the assessments.
That could be guided notes, worked examples,
if those are working for a student, notes that
the student puts together. reminding themselves
where did they usually get stuck, what are the
memory triggers they need, how do they match
a formula with a problem type so that they can
apply it and show you what they know. Those are
some of our standard accommodations I recommend
for dyscalculia. If you'd like to know more or
if you have other questions comments or concerns
please find me on any of the socials I'm on Instagram
We have a teacher support group on Facebook,
LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok. You can leave a comment
here wherever you're listening to the podcast.
And you can email me, hanora, H -O -N -O -R -A,
at thedtri .org. Remember, accommodations are
free. You can just give them out. like Halloween
candy without any monetary investment on your
part. Just help your students see where they
succeed and where they are better able to show
you what they've learned. And then we can truly
make a difference in the lives of students with
dyscalculia. Thank you so much for listening
to What in the World is Dyscalculia? I hope that
you're getting some good knowledge from the podcast.
If you have any other topics you'd like me to
talk about, let me know. And thanks for listening.