I remember my youthful days in high school and college, the constant struggle with math was a horrible experience. I came across this article on children who have trouble with math and it was as if that can of worms was opened up all over again.
This is a very interesting read and it reminded me of my young daughter who is struggling with math and is currently undergoing assessment for ADD. A good reminder of a personal experience that I can build on in helping her get through this.
“Children with ADHD typically have trouble with math, which requires sustained attention, good working memory (how much information can be held on tap at one time), tracking (keeping track of where they are in a problem), and self-monitoring. As students move into higher grades, math performance tends to decline.
Students with ADHD not only make mistakes; the mistake may vary with each reworking, leading teachers to conclude the errors are “careless.” It is helpful for these children to learn basic math facts—addition, subtraction, multiplication tables, etc. Few students with ADHD know their number facts. Most depend on counting up or down from those they know already. Standard drills and repetitive worksheets aren’t helpful. Interactive instruction (computer games, teacher-led activities, etc.) is likely to be more effective. In addition, board games can be adapted so that the number of moves is determined by getting the right answer to problems on flash cards. As math becomes more difficult it becomes more important to provide instruction that helps the child understand and therefore, commit the process to memory. Calculators make getting the right answer easier only when the student understands how to set up the problem and knows how it should be worked.
Two key ingredients make math instruction work for children with ADHD: Setting up a problem that the child really wants to solve, and capitalizing on understanding to reduce the need for sustained attention.”
You can read the original article at www.smartkidswithld.org
There’s a substantial difference between the precision of arithmetic and abstract reasoning of mathematics. Arithmetic is pretty mechanical. ADD kids can get hung up on arithmetic mistakes yet have great insights in solving mathematics problems. Word problems or calculus for example. I think the pedagogical hurdle is labeling any kid who makes sloppy errors in arithmetic as being subsequently incapable at math.