Proving your Child Has Dyscalculia

Proving that a child has a math learning disability called Dyscalculia may be something of a process.  The symptoms which will be described below could describe almost any normal child in the normal range of learning abilities.  It is difficult to evidence that a child really has this condition especially at the severity level required by Social Security programs to be approved to receive disability benefits.  This is likely the type of disability that might need to be combined with other learning, mental or physical disabilities to equal one recognized severe disability for the purpose of obtaining benefits.  It seems unlikely that even if an applicant could prove the a child has this disability that it will be considered severe enough to interfere with his ability to engage in daily function tasks on a level of severity that would afford him benefits.

Symptoms of Dyscalculia

• Normal or accelerated language skills
• Inability to keep track of time
• Mistaken recollection of names
• Inconsistent ability to successfully complete addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems
• Inability to grasp math concepts, rules, formulas, order of operations and basic math skills
• Inability to comprehend a mechanical process if asked
• Poor long term memory of math operations
• Poor sense of direction; gets lost easily
• Poor ability to understand music or learn to play an instrument
• Poor athletic coordination
• Difficulty keeping score in games

Proving a Child has a Dyscalculia Disability

The medical and psychological community does not yet understand the causes of dyscalculia although they are investigating the condition.  There is no known good treatment for this condition.  It appears to be a neurologically centered condition associated with lesions to the supramarginal and angular gyri between the temporal and parietal lobes of the cerebral cortex.  Thus, the best method of proving your child is suffering from this condition would be to have a neurologist make a series of tests of the child’s brain to document that the generally known lesions in the brain tissue do in fact exist and to provide Social Security with the necessary medical documentation of the disability.  

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed by a medical physician with a Dyscalculia learning disability it may be helpful to discuss the diagnosis, the disability and the application for benefits submitted to Social Security with a disability law attorney.  An attorney can provide important guidance through the application and the disability determination service evaluation of medical tests and records submitted to establish a disability that severely limits a child’s ability to engage in daily functions.