The aim of this study has been to survey what kind of view primary school teachers have on the dyscalculia diagnosis, and which learning methods they believe are important for pupils with mathematic difficulties and dyscalculia. The study will also clarify what they believe is important in the development of the pupils’ self-perception. The following questions have been covered What is the primary school teachers view on the diagnosis dyscalculia? Which learning methods do the teachers consider to be the best for pupils with mathematic difficulties and dyscalculia? How are teachers in primary school reasoning over the identity of pupils with mathematic difficulties and dyscalculia? The method used to answer these questions has been the qualitative research method. This method goes in-depth with the goal of producing coherence and entirety. It aims to convey understanding (Larsen, 2009). The empirical material has been analyzed and discussed based on various theories as starting point. The theoretical starting points have been the sociocultural perspective, the concept of integration, the special education perspective and the concept of identity. The study shows that the teachers have rich, but different reasonings regarding dyscalculia as a diagnosis. They have different perceptions of how the teaching should be organized for pu-pils with mathematic difficulties and dyscalculia. The teachers believe that the school is playing a role in the self-perception of the pupils, but they are divided in their opinions re-garding whether it is decisive or not. They consider that there are various factors in the pupils‘ school life that has great influence on the pupils’ self-perception.

Η παρούσα εργασία αποτελεί μια μελέτη πάνω στις Μαθησιακές Δυσκολίες και ιδιαίτερα τις δυσκολίες που αντιμετωπίζουν οι μαθητές στα Μαθηματικά. Μελετάται επίσης ειδικότερα και το φαινόμενο της Δυσαριθμησίας. Αρχικά γίνεται μία γενική θεώρηση των Μαθησιακών Δυσκολιών και παραθέτονται τα χαρακτηριστικά των μαθητών με Μαθησιακές Δυσκολίες, έτσι ώστε ο καθηγητής του γενικού σχολείου παρατηρώντας τη συμπεριφορά του μαθητή να τον διακρίνει από τους τυπικούς μαθητές. Ακολουθεί η παρουσίαση των προτεινόμενων τεχνικών διδασκαλίας και στρατηγικών αντιμετώπισης. Η επιλογή αυτών των τεχνικών και στρατηγικών όμως γίνεται με γνώμονα τη δυνατότητα εφαρμογής από εκπαιδευτικό γενικής αγωγής στη Δευτεροβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. Στη συνέχεια παραθέτονται ενδεικτικά Σχέδια Διδασκαλίας μέσω δραστηριοτήτων σε κάποιες ενότητες, με στόχο να ενσωματωθούν σε αυτές κατά το δυνατόν περισσότερες από τις προτεινόμενες προσαρμογές. Ως δεδομένο θεωρείται ότι στην τάξη για την οποία σχεδιάζεται η διδασκαλία υπάρχουν μαθητές με Μαθησιακές Δυσκολίες, οι οποίοι αντιμετωπίζουν δυσκολίες σε συγκεκριμένες δεξιότητες, που οι έρευνες σχετίζουν με την μαθηματική επίδοση. Με αυτή την υπόθεση, η διδασκαλία απευθύνεται σε όλους τους μαθητές, βοηθάει εξαιρετικά τα άτομα με Μαθησιακές Δυσκολίες και δεν δημιουργεί πρόβλημα στους προχωρημένους ή/και τους άριστους μαθητές. / The present work is a study of the existing literature about Learning Disabilities and particularly the difficulties faced by students in Mathematics. Also specifically studied the phenomenon of Dyscalculia. Originally is presented an overview of Learning Disabilities and the characteristics of students with Learning Disabilities, in order to distinguish them from the typical students. The teacher of general school can observe the behavior of these students and distinguish them from the typical students. Next follows the presentation of the proposed teaching techniques and strategies. The choice of which is driven by the possibility of application from the teacher of general school in Secondary Education. Then are cited some teaching projects through activities in some sections in order to incorporate them as much as possible over the proposed adjustments. Considered as a given that the class, for which the specific teaching is designed, contains students with Learning Disabilities, who face difficulties in specific skills, which investigations relate to math performance. In this case, the teaching is open to all students, it helps extremely students with Learning Disabilities and there is not a problem for advanced and / or topnotch students.

This thesis focuses on specific learning disorders of primary school pupils and reeducational care that takes place in the school under the guidance of trained teachers. It deals with the oraganization and content of reeducational group in Vodňanská Elementary School in Prachatice. It captures the extent to which improved underdeveloped cognitive and motor areas of the pupils who attend the group. It finds out the efficiency of the group reeducation.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-04-04T15:54:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Tenorio do Nascimento.pdf: 17113710 bytes, checksum: 80f9aadb50d595b2c2a750da3a03529d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-04T15:54:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Tenorio do Nascimento.pdf: 17113710 bytes, checksum: 80f9aadb50d595b2c2a750da3a03529d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-07 / This research aims to evaluate the proficiency levels in math, students of the 6th year of primary school to the 3rd year of high school, with reference to the proposed content in the curriculum of the first four years of elementary education I. starts from assumption that these early mathematical concepts are very important in the mathematical logical reasoning construction process, being necessary therefore a follow-up arrest of this knowledge by students in later grades to key I, through polls and pedagogical interventions. With the quantitative and qualitative nature, characterized as case studies, carried out in two schools in the public school system, taking care to select one of those in peripheral region, which serve children from disadvantaged communities and other school in more centralized region in city center for pupils from different social classes of Franco da Rocha, city of São Paulo. The investigative research aims to identify the predisposition of dyscalculia among the evaluated students and the degree of difficulty that is presented in the subject, since the assessment that was applied consisted of questions with proposals abilities by the São State Education Paul, the mathematics curriculum and their technologies for students of 1st to 4th grade of elementary school, students in the 6th grade of elementary school II the 3rd year of high school. The research methodology was based according to the descriptive comments Robert Bogdan and Sari Biklen (1994). / A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar os níveis de proficiência em matemática, de alunos do 6º ano do ensino fundamental ao 3º ano do ensino médio. Teve como referência os conteúdos propostos no currículo oficial da Secretaria a Educação dos primeiros 4 anos do ensino fundamental I. Parte-se do pressuposto de que esses conceitos matemáticos são muito importantes no processo de construção do raciocínio lógico matemático, sendo necessário, assim, acompanhar a apreensão desses conhecimentos pelos alunos das séries posteriores ao fundamental I. Foram realizadas intervenções pedagógicas caracterizando-se como estudo de casos, realizado em duas escolas da rede pública, escolhendo uma região periférica e outra escola em região mais centralizada da cidade de Franco da Rocha, na Grande São Paulo. A pesquisa tem como finalidade identificar a pré-disposição á discalculia entre os alunos avaliados e seu grau de dificuldade. A pesquisa constava de questões com habilidades propostas pela Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo, no currículo de Matemática e suas Tecnologias para alunos de 1ª a 4ª série do ensino fundamental I, em alunos do 6º ano do ensino fundamental II ao 3º ano do ensino médio. A metodologia de pesquisa foi construída segundo as observações descritivas de Robert Bogdan e Sari Biklen (1994).

Dyskalkyli, eller specifik räknesvårighet, är en specifik inlärningsstörning som innebärstora svårigheter att handskas med siffror. Detta är en kvalitativ intervjustudie medföräldrar till ungdomar med dyskalkyli, där frågor kring skolgång, insatser och känslorkring diagnosen samt relationen mellan förälder och ungdom berörs. Åtta föräldrar, allamödrar till ungdomar med dyskalkyli som är mellan 12 och 19 år intervjuades.Analysen som gjordes är en så kallad tematisk analys. De åtta teman som studienresulterade i är: Från upptäckt till utredning, Hur påverkar diagnosen?, Livet utanförskolan, Skolans hantering av svårigheter och dyskalkyli, Föräldrars insatser, Relationentill skolan, Vilka insatser önskas? och Hur dyskalkylin påverkar idag och framtiden.Föräldrar upplevde skolgången som en jobbig tid för både dem och deras barn och imånga fall har kommunikationen mellan skola och hem brustit. Kunskapen omdyskalkyli upplevdes som otillräcklig i de berörda skolorna, vilket påverkadeungdomarna negativt. Föräldrar efterfrågade också tidigare identifikation och utredningav svårigheterna. Studien kom fram till att kunskapen om dyskalkyli i skolorna behöverförbättras för att dessa elever ska kunna bemötas på ett tillfredsställande sätt, derassvårigheter kunna identifieras tidigare samt för att kunna erbjuda tidigare insatser. / Developmental dyscalculia is a specific learning disability that involves greatdifficulties in dealing with numbers. This is a qualitative interview study with parents ofadolescents who have dyscalculia, which raises questions about schooling, interventionand feelings concerning the diagnosis as well as the relationship between adolescent andparent. Eight parents, all mothers of children between the ages of 12 and 19 wereinterviewed. The analysis made is a so called thematic analysis. The eight themes thatresulted from the study were: From discovery to assessment, The effect of the diagnosis,Life outside of school, The schools way of dealing with the difficulties, Parentscontributions, The relationship with the school, What types of interventions arerequested by the parents?, How dyscalculia affects today and in the future. Parents feltthe schooling was tough for them and their children and in many cases thecommunication between the school and the home had fallen short. The knowledge aboutdyscalculia in the schools was perceived as insufficient, which affected the youthsnegatively. The parents also requested earlier identification and assessment of thedifficulties. The study concludes that the knowledge about dyscalculia needsimprovement in the schools in order to give these students a better schooling, to be ableto identify their difficulties earlier and provide earlier intervention.

Les dyscalculie se caractérise par d’importantes difficultés d’apprentissage des maths, malgré une scolarisation adéquat et des capacités intellectuelles dans la norme. Même si ce trouble affecte 3 à 7% des enfants d’âge scolaire, ses causes restent encore peu connues. Il a été proposé que la dyscalculie consiste en un déficit spécifique de représentation des quantités numériques, causé par des anomalies cérébrales au niveau du sillon intra-pariétal (IPS). Cependant, de plus en plus d’études suggèrent que la dyscalculie serait dûe à des atteintes cognitives générales. Cette thèse s’est intéressée au lien entre apprentissage des maths et une forme de raisonnement déductif, à savoir le raisonnement transitif (A>B, B>C donc A>C). Dans une première étude en Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf), nous avons comparé l’activité cérébrale d’enfants dyscalculiques de 9 à 12 ans à celle d’enfants neurotypiques de même âge pendant l’écoute d’histoires comprenant des problèmes transitifs. Dans une seconde étude, nous avons évalué l’amélioration en maths des enfants neurotypiques 1,5 an après la session IRMf. Nous avons déterminé si les mesures cérébrales associées au raisonnement transitif pouvaient prédire l’amélioration en maths. Nous avons mis en évidence l’implication de l’IPS gauche dans le raisonnement transitif chez les enfants neurotypiques mais pas chez les dyscalculiques, qui étaient moins précis pour évaluer les problèmes transitifs. Par ailleurs, les capacités de mémoire de travail étaient corrélées à la performance et à l’activité de l’IPS lors du raisonnement transitif. Enfin, l’activité cérébrale de l’IPS pendant le traitement des problèmes transitifs prédisait l’amélioration en maths chez les enfants neurotypiques. Ces résultats soulignent l’importance du raisonnement transitif pour l’apprentissage des maths et suggèrent qu’un déficit de traitement des problèmes transitifs dans l’IPS pourrait contribuer à la dyscalculie / Children who struggle to learn math despite normal intelligence and adequate schooling may suffer from dyscalculia. Although this learning disability may affect 3-7% of children worldwide, its causes remain poorly understood. Previous research has suggested that dyscalculia was due to a specific deficit in the processing of numerical magnitude that results from neural anomalies to the Intraparietal Sulcus (IPS). However, a growing body of studies has highlighted the domain-general deficits exhibited by children with dyscalculia. The goal of the present thesis was to investigate the neural relationship between math learning and a type of deductive reasoning, namely transitive reasoning (A>B, B>C, therefore A>C). In a first study, we used functional Magnetic Reasonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity in both typically developing (TD) children and chidren with dyscalculia while they listened to stories that included transitive relations. In a second study, we followed TD children longitudinally and to test whether brain measures of transitive reasoning could predict math improvement. First, the processing of transitive relations was associated with enhanced activity in the left IPS in TD children, but not in children with dyscalculia. Second, children with dyscalculia made more errors when processing transitive relations than TD peers. Third, IPS activity and behavioral performance was correlated with working-memory skill across all participants, suggesting that working memory impairments contribute to impaired transitive reasoning skills. Fourth, math gain in TD children was predicted by brain activity around the IPS during the processing of transitive relations. Therefore, the present findings show that measures of transitive reasoning are associated with math achievement. Our results further suggest that impaired neural processing of transitive relations in the IPS may contribute to math difficulties in dyscalculia

The thesis deals with the topic of dyscalculia, which is officially recognized as a learning disability. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on the current status of knowledge about development of mathematical skills and their disorders in the context of dyscalculia. The empiric part of this thesis describes a research which compares the performances of individuals with dyscalculia and control participants on a range number and numerosity processing tasks. The main goal was to describe the image of possible causes of difficulties. Deficits in the processing of symbolic and nonsymbolic numerosities were observed in group of dyscalculic participants. We conclude that dyscalculia is related to specific disabilities in basic numerical and numerosity processing which affects ability to acquire arithmetical skills. KEYWORDS Klíčová slova (anglicky): Dyscalculia, numerosity, arithmetic skills, mathematical skills, specific learning difficulties

Dyscalculia means that one has specific mathematical difficulties. Teachers meet students with difficulties in mathematics daily, which made it interesting to examine teachers' experiences with dyscalculia. The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers describe their knowledge of dyscalculia and how they work with students in need of support to develop their mathematical skills. To investigate this, we have conducted a qualitative study where eight teachers were interviewed at different schools in different municipalities. The study rests on the compensatory perspective and the dilemma perspective in that the theories aim to understand the teachers' experiences around the concept of dyscalculia and how the teachers meet students with mathematical difficulties. The teachers describe that they have insufficient experience in dyscalculia but that they work a lot with concrete material. The national assessment support is used with students who are in or suspected to be in difficulties. The results show, among other things, that the teachers' experiences with dyscalculia may be because they have not been offered education or further training in dyscalculia. The teachers' perceptions are that there is more focus on reading and writing difficulties and therefore they have been offered more continuing education in that area than they received in dyscalculia.

O Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH) é caracterizado por sintomas de desatenção e/ou hiperatividade e impulsividade, causando prejuízos significativos na vida dos indivíduos desde a infância até a vida adulta. Pacientes com TDAH podem apresentar diferentes comorbidades, que causam prejuízos substanciais, repercutindo de forma negativa ao longo da vida. Um exemplo são os Transtornos Específicos da Aprendizagem (TEA), caracterizados pela presença de dificuldades específicas na leitura, na escrita e na matemática que podem interferir no desenvolvimento educacional, resultando em elevadas taxas de evasão escolar e por conseguinte, altas taxas de desemprego. O insucesso acadêmico é comum ao TDAH e ao TEA, havendo indícios de ser mais grave quando estes são comórbidos. Apesar da associação frequente entre TDAH e TEA, poucos estudos têm abordado tal comorbidade durante a idade adulta. Assim, o objetivo do presente estudo é investigar em que extensão o prejuízo acadêmico de adultos com TDAH pode ser explicado pela comorbidade com o TEA. A avaliação para TEA foi realizada por uma psicopedagoga em 53 adultos que apresentavam TDAH, previamente avaliados no Programa de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, com um protocolo especificamente delineado conforme critérios diagnósticos especificados pelo DSM-5. Portadores e não portadores de TEA foram comparados quanto às características sociodemográficas, gravidade do TDAH e outras comorbidades frequentes. A presença de TEA foi associada a baixas taxas de conclusão da graduação universitária (P = 0,016). Os dados indicam que a sobreposição do TEA ao TDAH pode ser responsável por uma parcela substancial do prejuízo acadêmico presente no TDAH, levando à necessidade de mais estudos a fim de confirmar ou não esta importante observação. / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity, causing significant impairments in individuals' lives from childhood to adulthood. Patients with ADHD may present different comorbidities, which cause substantial damage, negatively impacting throughout life. One example is Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), characterized by the presence of specific difficulties in reading, writing and mathematics that may interfere with educational development, resulting in high rates of school dropout and, therefore, high unemployment rates. Academic failure is common to ADHD and SLD, with indications of being more severe when these are comorbid. Despite the frequent association between ADHD and SLD, few studies have addressed such comorbidity during adulthood. Thus, the goal of the present study is to investigate up to what extent the academic loss on adults with ADHD can be explained by the comorbidity with SLD. The evaluation for SLD was performed by a psychopedagogue in 53 adults who presented ADHD, previously evaluated in the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Program, with a specific delineated protocol and according to diagnostic criteria specified by DSM-5 and were compared for sociodemographic characteristics, severity of ADHD and other frequent comorbidities. The presence of ADHD was associated with low graduation rates (P = 0.016). The data indicate that SLD overlapping with ADHD may be responsible for a substantial portion of the academic impairment present in ADHD, leading to the need for further studies to confirm this important observation.

<p>One of the big problems of the Swedish nine-year compulsory school is the large number of pupils who fail to achieve a satisfactory standard in mathematics. One explanation that has been increasingly considered over the last ten years is that the pupils have dyscalculia. Some research suggests that 6 per cent of compulsory school pupils suffer from this dysfunction, which would in that case make it one of the Swedish school’s greatest teaching problems.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine this problem area from two aspects. First of all by examining the concept of dyscalculia by means of a review of the literature from 1992 onwards. The second perspective has as its starting point a case study where the purpose was to give a detailed picture of the pupil with mathematics problems. The latter part of the study was carried out over a six-year period when 200 pupils, 13 of them with particular mathematics problems, were studied in detail.</p><p>A point of departure for the study was provided by a large database where as much information as possible was collected about pupils from Year 5 of the nine-year compulsory school to Year 2 of the three-year upper secondary school. The pupils were asked to fill in regular questionnaires and classroom observations were made of roughly 100 mathematics lessons, 40 of which were recorded on video. Finally there were in-depth interviews of the 13 pupils on two occasions, the final one being during Year 2 of the upper secondary school.</p><p>The review of the research showed a series of dubious and indistinct circumstances surrounding the dyscalculia concept, and also ambiguity with regard to the diagnosis of dyscalculia. The conclusion of the review was that the concept of dyscalculia ought at present to be used with great caution, or perhaps not at all. Admittedly the review does not provide grounds for totally dismissing the dyscalculia concept, but as long as it remains impossible to determine the concept unambiguously, and I have not been able to do this in the course of this study, there are no good scientific grounds for using the term dyscalculia in practice.</p><p>The empirical study shows the complexity of the problem area. Both the causes suggested by the pupils as the origin of the problem and the measures that helped them to obtain their mathematics grades form a complex pattern. The low work input of the pupils during mathematics lessons, an unsettled working environment, large classes, problems of stress and anxiety prior to tests, and obstructive gender patterns are among the causes suggested by the pupils as explanations of the occurrence of the mathematics problems. Good teachers, in other words teachers who can explain, set limits and give encouragement, were a significant factor in reversing the downward trend. Positive experiences of school changes, where the pupil felt that he or she could start again from the beginning, were also mentioned as significant by several pupils. Collaboration with fellow-pupils and the fact that the pupils themselves decided to get to grips with the problems were other important reasons for the change. The prospects of students with specific problems in mathematics nevertheless being able to leave compulsory school with satisfactory grades appear, however, from the results of this study, to be bright. All the pupils left the compulsory school with satisfactory mathematics grades and also completed mathematics studies at upper secondary school, despite major problems in the subject at intermediate school (age 10-13) stage.</p><p>The study indicates the need for research closer to the actual practical situation and to the importance of emphasizing good examples in practice. As the students themselves emphasize discrete communication between them as significant in the subject of mathematics, this is also an important area for future research.</p>