Mathematics for Dyslexics and Dyscalculics: A Teaching Handbook, Fourth Edition

A Handbook for the Mathematics That Doesn’t Come Easily

For many learners, mathematics is not simply another school subject. Number facts, place value, fractions, and time can become persistent sources of confusion, anxiety, and lost confidence. Mathematics for Dyslexics and Dyscalculics: A Teaching Handbook approaches those difficulties with a rare combination of diagnostic clarity and practical classroom guidance. This fourth edition, published in 2017, builds on the work Steve Chinn and Richard E. Ashcroft have developed since the original 1993 handbook, with a foreword by David C. Geary.

What the Handbook Explores

The book begins by setting out definitions of dyslexia and developmental dyscalculia and examining why mathematics itself can be taught in ways that create or compound barriers. From there it looks at the factors that may contribute to mathematical learning difficulties, including the cognitive and thinking styles learners bring to number work. The result is not a single prescribed method, but a framework for recognising where a learner is getting stuck and why.

Later chapters move through the building blocks of numeracy: the concept of number, early recognition of quantity, number bonds, place value, addition and subtraction facts, times tables, and written computation. It then extends into multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, and time.

From Assessment to Instruction

A recurring strength of the handbook is its attention to diagnosis. The book includes a diagnostic test protocol and considers attitudes and anxiety alongside more formal assessment. That emphasis matters because two learners can struggle with the same topic for very different reasons. By connecting assessment to teaching, the material helps educators plan support that responds to the actual difficulty rather than a broad label.

Number, Arithmetic, and the Full Curriculum

Chapters on the four operations and rational number are detailed and example-led. The author addresses rote learning strategies for times tables while also exploring understanding-based approaches, the commutative property, and methods for learners who find fact retrieval difficult. Similar care is given to fractions, decimals, and percentages—areas where fragile foundational understanding often becomes especially visible.

The later sections broaden the focus to the wider mathematics curriculum, including practical discussion of time, algebra, geometry, and problem-solving. There is also guidance on attacking and checking questions, classroom management, structuring a course, and internal assessment.

Who This Handbook Is For

This is a professional resource for teachers, special educational needs coordinators, tutors, educational psychologists, and others who support learners with mathematical difficulties. It is also relevant to parents and home educators who want to understand the roots of maths struggle and the kinds of teaching adjustments that can help. The material assumes an interest in teaching and intervention rather than a need for advanced mathematics.

Why the Fourth Edition Matters

Dyscalculia research has continued to develop, and this edition reflects the ongoing conversation around definitions, assessment, and intervention while retaining the practical orientation of the original handbook. It offers a grounded, informed perspective for anyone who wants to teach mathematics with greater awareness of how learning difficulties actually present in the classroom.

Digital Delights offers this ebook for readers seeking a serious, well-established guide to mathematics teaching, dyslexia, and dyscalculia.