Should Dyscalculic Students Use Calculators?

In my webinars and workshops I am often asked about the use of calculators for students with a math learning disability / dyscalculia. I have a few thoughts to share with you about this topic.

Calculators can be a great tool for students to access and help them "keep up" (maybe) with the other students in the class. It’s rarely appropriate for teachers to deny a dyscalculic student access to a calculator in class. It should be an accommodation for every student with a math disability in the general classroom.

But it’s also important to keep in mind that using a calculator is not the answer to solving the challenges of dyscalculia. When my daughter was first diagnosed, I remember friends and family saying, "Well at least she can just use the calculator on her phone." The problem with that idea is that it’s not a very good understanding of dyscalculia.

Yes, dyscalculics struggle to calculate quantities, to work out problems with numbers, to multiply, divide, add, subtract, yes. But the real problem for dyscalculics is they lack that sense of numbers and quantity, and an understanding of how it all works together. A calculator does not address that core issue. It doesn't help them be able to have a foundational sense of numeracy and quantity, and connect that to their everyday life experience.

So a calculator is not the answer to all of the dyscalculic’s challenges, but it's also a tool that should not be denied them in the classroom. It’s a fine accommodation. But with the calculator there needs to be the support and the education for gaining a sense of numbers. So they can effectively use calculator while understanding the mathematical processes they are using it for. The calculator can help speed up what will normally be a longer process for a dyscalculic student.

As you can see, it's a complicated answer to the question on whether calculators are ok for students with a math learning disability.

To sum it up: Calculators should absolutely be an accommodation for students with dyscalculia. To not allow the use is similar to denying someone with a broken leg the use of crutches. That's not fair. So give them the crutches, allow them to be able to access the classroom. But also teach them to have a sense of numeracy and understanding of numbers and quantities. Teach that alongside the use of a calculator. And finally, teach them how to use the calculator, and connect it to the foundational math concepts that they are learning in class.