Sixth grade science class with Mr. K. was fun and interesting. The bulk of the learning was through hands-on activities and experiments, which meant my daughter would return from class excitedly sharing with me everything she had learned.

One day the experiment involved using the large wall clock as a timer while chewing gum for various lengths of time. (I honestly cannot remember what the study was about, but it sounds fun!) While she was looking forward to another engaging class activity, my daughter realized that her dyscalculia would impact her ability to participate.

Her dyscalculia made it difficult to decipher the time on the clock, track the amount of time that had passed, calculate time differences, record amounts, and understand the implications of the numbers on the completed chart.

At this point she was becoming more confident in her ability to self-advocate, so she quietly let her teacher know about her clock and timing difficulty. Mr. K. was understanding and was able to accommodate her need for help with the timing aspect so that she could still learn the basic concepts of the experiment without being derailed by her lack of number-sense. His openness to her difference made it safe for her to ask for the help she needed. She did not have to feel overwhelmed by trying to do something she could not do or embarrassed by trying to hide her difficulty.

Because her teacher was understanding and flexible, my daughter was able to really enjoy science class, even with a lack of number-sense. Together, they were able to find other workarounds for her struggle with numbers so that she could still engage in the class and all the interesting material they were covering.

I remember a couple of times during the year where instead of the traditional timed science exam, Mr. K. asked the students to convey what they had learned by any creative means they wanted – it could be a video, a story, a drawing, a model. The requirement was to clearly communicate a full understanding of the topic they had been covering in class.

Teachers like this are a great asset to a child’s educational team. I don’t think Mr. K. knew much about dyscalculia, but he was still able to flex and accommodate our daughter’s needs in science class. The overall vision seemed to be for students to grow in their curiosity and interest in how the world works, so he didn’t get bogged down in requiring every student to learn the same way or check all the same boxes. He was open to different experiences and ways of learning, so having dyscalculia did not mean that our daughter could not also love science.

In fact, her great interest and continued in-depth study of birds began in this very science class.

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