Math challenges

The most common areas that adults may struggle with are:

• Remembering basic mathematical facts
• Having difficulty with word problems and terminology as a result of language disabilities
• Being reliable in written computation - they frequently reverse numbers and/or symbols and make careless errors
• Having an inability to develop a connection between math and meaning- that it is more than memorizing numbers and computations.

Individual adult learners may have unique strengths and struggles with math. They could have a combination of difficulties, which may include language processing problems, visual spatial confusion, and memory and sequencing difficulties. In most cases, if adults have struggled with math as a result of their learning disability, they will likely bring related anxiety to the tasks.

To meet the varied processing needs for each lea rner it is important to use a multi-sensory approach when teaching math. Objects should be visual, touchable and moveable. In addition, applying math to real life examples will help build meaning for math. This helps to make problems functional and applicable to everyday life. Information should be taught both orally and visually to meet the varied learner needs and to help strengthen areas of weakness.