The first step in learning more about any concern with your child is to check in with your child’s primary care provider (PCP). Your child’s PCP can review your child’s milestones and check whether physical conditions (like vision or hearing) may be causing problems. Your child’s PCP may also recommend dyscalculia screening.

Some families may request an evaluation with their child’s school. While a special education evaluation cannot diagnose dyscalculia, it can help children to access special education services.

Families may also choose to seek a dyscalculia diagnosis with a qualified mental health professional or a multi-disciplinary team. The diagnosis process looks at many parts of your child’s development (see this article from Understood). Dyscalculia diagnosis is often not covered by health insurance, so it’s important to check with your provider before getting started.

The symptoms for dyscalculia and math anxiety overlap and are often both present in the same child. But – dyscalculia and math anxiety are actually two very different things:

Dyscalculia is a learning disability that makes it hard to do math.

Math anxiety is an intense feeling of worry about math. Math anxiety often makes kids doubt their skills in math.

This article from Understood gives a side-by-side comparison of dyscalculia and math anxiety. You can also listen to this podcast about academic anxiety to learn more about anxiety symptoms and treatments.

A lot goes into finding the right professional to work with your child, but there are some general “buckets” you can think about to make things easier.

Experience
When interviewing tutors, be sure to ask about their educational background and experience. Special training on instructional approaches and/or certifications can also help you to evaluate whether the tutor is right for your child.

Personal Characteristics
You and your child may have personal preferences that help you to choose the best fit. For example, you may need flexible scheduling to accommodate other family needs. Or, your child may prefer working with a tutor who is the same gender. You can find some other examples of preferences in section 2 of this guide.

Consistency
If your child is receiving math intervention at school, a consistent approach is important. Your child’s school may have a list of tutors they’ve worked with before who can provide the same type of instruction.

Once you’ve thought about these things, you can search the Connecting for Kids Provider Directory or schedule an Ask Us 1:1 session to get help from a Family Resource Specialist.

There are several ways families typically pay for math intervention:

Insurance Funding
Families who work with an Occupational Therapist (OT) can sometimes use health insurance funding to pay for services. Before working with an OT, make sure to check insurance coverage and be sure that the OT has experience treating children with dyscalculia.

Funding Sources for Learning Loss
The pandemic created many problems for families, including lost opportunities for learning. In response, the state of Ohio created two funding sources: Learning Aid Ohio and Ohio ACE. To learn more, see Ohio Funding Sources for Learning Loss.

Jon Peterson Scholarship
Families with children who have an IEP may choose to withdraw their children from public school and use funding from the Jon Peterson Scholarship to pay for services instead. The amount of funding changes year-to-year and can be found under the Category Amounts in the Parent Information page.

From using manipulatives and calculators to chunking math assignments, there are lots of ways to help students with dyscalculia. This article from Understood lists classroom accommodations you can discuss with your child’s teacher.