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What is numeracy?
Numeracy means things like adding up and counting. You can use maths everyday. For example, you can use money to pay for things, or you can measure ingredients when you are cooking.
How do learning disabilities affect numeracy?
Everyone has their own special way of working and thinking. The way that you like to work may be very different from other people.
You may have difficulties with some of these:
- Adding up and taking away, multiplying and dividing;
- Following instructions with more than one step;
- Knowing the difference between right and left;
- Getting numbers mixed up numbers (for example, 6 and 9; 3 and 5);
- Counting money or making change;
Managing money;- Doing written calculations;
- Doing simple sums in your head;
- Using a calculator;
- Measuring.
People learn in different ways and at different speeds. Your teachers will be able to teach you in a way that helps you to do well and enjoy your lessons.
Self Help
Everyone who has a learning disability is different. Remember that the difficulties you have may not be the same as someone else's. What suits them may not suit you as well.
You should:
- Learn to speak up for yourself! Think about what sort of support really works well for you and make sure you let your tutor know;
- Learn to use a calculator or the one on your mobile phone.
Click on
‘disclosure’ for more information about how and when you should tell someone about your disability.
Click on
‘personal organisation’ for more information about how to manage your time and resources.
What can my tutors do to help me?
Your tutors should:
- Ask you what helps you the most;
- No one should talk about your disability in front of your classmates unless you are happy with this;
- Help you to find ways to remember things
- Break up information and instructions into small pieces to help you remember;
- Encourage you to ask for help;
- Give you short, simple, clear instructions;
- Give you extra time to complete a task;
- Give you lots of encouragement and recognise your successes;
Make sure that you have access to assistive technology that may be of help to you;- Give you extra time to think about answers;
- Ask the school to provide access to:
-
- ‘Talking’ calculators;
- Computers that talk to help you if you have difficulties with reading and writing;
- A scanner for putting text onto a computer;
- Speech recognition software that changes what you say into written text on your PC;
- Other tools, if you need them, such as large pad keyboards and foot pedals that replace the mouse on a normal computer.
If you are not already getting the above help, print off a copy of these pages and have a chat with your tutor about what they can do to make sure you get the most from their teaching. You can choose to do this in private if you prefer.
Your tutor should keep your personal information private. To learn more select
‘confidentiality’.
Useful links:
- BBC: Factsheets, worksheets, quizzes and games to help improve your skills
- British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD)
- EmpTech: Emptec aims to provide information resources on assistive technologies that are designed to help those with specific difficulties or disabilities work and study more effectively. The database includes product descriptions, links to manufacturers, suppliers with addresses as well as other related resources including advice and training guides where available.
- NHSGGC Public Health Resource Unit - Learning Disabilities Resource Directory For links to resources that cover a wide range of topics from health and wellbeing to safety or bullying.
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