Hello Sue
I have a 6th grader with very severe dyscalculia. She still uses her fingers to add and subtract within 10, and she has no sense of time at all. We have an IEP, but it hasn’t been helpful for math. Her special ed teachers are kind but don’t seem to really understand learning disabilities. We’ve worked with multiple tutors, but nothing seems to stick.
Honestly, I’ve been her most creative and dedicated math tutor—and even I can’t get through to her. She’s so discouraged. I call it “math amnesia” because she can learn a concept one day and it’s gone the next. She shuts down now, refuses to try, because she never feels successful.
We’re in a super-competitive school district where most kids are far ahead—and we are far behind. She’s a smart, capable kid with a normal IQ and tons of potential, just not in math.
How do I help her get through middle school and high school? Should I stop trying to force math and just focus on her strengths? Is there anything out there—a 1:1 program or approach—that might finally work for a kid like mine?
Giuliana
Dear Giuliana
Your message speaks to something so many parents are feeling but don’t always say: “We’ve tried everything. What now?”
What you’re describing—needing fingers for basic math, the inability to retain learned concepts from day to day, and the complete shutdown when math appears—are hallmark signs of severe dyscalculia, often rooted in poor long-term memory, particularly for procedural and factual information.
This isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a cognitive processing issue—and no amount of repetition, tutoring, or trying harder will fix it unless the underlying learning skills are addressed.
So what now?
1. Start by addressing the root, not the grade level.
Your daughter isn’t failing math because she’s not trying—she’s struggling because key cognitive skills haven’t developed as they should. Before she can succeed in middle school math, she needs support in areas like long-term memory, sequencing, working memory, and number sense.
Trying to keep pace with a fast-moving curriculum without those foundations is like trying to build a house on sand. What she needs first is a solid base, even if that means stepping back from grade-level content for a while.
2. Traditional tutoring isn’t designed for this kind of learning profile.
Most tutors—even well-meaning ones—teach the curriculum. But children with severe dyscalculia don’t just need help with math; they need help before math makes sense. They often lack core cognitive abilities, such as number concepts, visual-spatial understanding, and long-term memory for math facts or procedures.
This is why tutoring may seem to “work” one day and completely unravel the next. It’s not that your daughter is simply forgetting—it’s that the concepts were never fully stored in a way her brain can access later in the first place. Until those building blocks are developed, traditional tutoring will keep falling short—no matter how creative or committed the tutor is.
3. Build the foundation first — math will come later.
If your daughter can’t retain basic math facts or procedures, the problem isn’t the curriculum — it’s the cognitive and numerical architecture beneath it. Long-term memory, sequencing, and spatial reasoning must be in place before meaningful progress can happen in math, followed by number sense, mental math, and understanding place value.
Right now, she doesn’t need more worksheets or grade-level content. She needs structured, systematic work that strengthens the foundational skills on which math depends.
4. Yes, there are 1:1 programs that work.
Some programs—like ours at Edublox—combine cognitive development with academic instruction, targeting skills such as long-term memory that make learning possible in the first place. It’s not just about math facts; it’s about rebuilding the brain’s ability to store, process, and retrieve information.
This approach isn’t a quick fix, but for children like your daughter, it’s often the first time anything actually works. We’re happy to talk through what that looks like and whether it’s the right fit for her.
Kind regards,
Sue
More about Sue
Sue is an educational specialist in learning difficulties with a B.A. Honors in Psychology and a B.D. degree. Early in her career, Sue was instrumental in training over 3,000 teachers and tutors, providing them with the foundational and practical understanding to facilitate cognitive development among children who struggle to read and write. With over 30 years of research to her name, she conceptualized the Edublox teaching and learning methods that have helped thousands of children worldwide. In 2007, she opened the first Edublox reading and learning clinic; today, there are 30 clinics internationally. Sue treasures the “hero” stories of students whose self-esteem soars as their marks improve.
