Acalculia is a disability that is related to numbers which effectively renders the affected persons with an inability to understand mathematical concepts and perform mathematical calculations.
Anyone with acalculia will most probably not be able to process or recognize numbers, shapes, and sizes.
The patient might not lose the ability to process all numbers completely, this post talks about someone who was able to recognize the numbers 1 and 0 while he lost the ability to recognize the numbers 2 - 9.
There is a variety of acalculia known as spatial acalculia where patients lack the ability to write numbers correctly though their oral mathematical abilities would be better off.
Acalculia could caused by a number of reasons which could include
Genetic
Environmental
Medical
Psychological
Socioeconomic factors
Dyscalculia should not be confused with acalculia because unlike acalculia, patients get dyscalculia or are at least identified as having dyscalculia at their first stages of exposure to mathematics which is usually early in life.
Acalculia really doesn't have a known cure, instead it is recommended that any diagnosed patient be given adequate support and encouragement through therapy.
Parents and guardians are usually the first point of contact for children.
They are also the ones who teach them how to read and write among other things. It is important for parents to pay attention to and help their children with learning disabilities.
Support for a child with a learning disability could come in a number of ways.
One way is by being patient with them while they learn new skills or figure out something new.
Another way is by providing encouragement when they hit a roadblock in their learning process.
And finally, parents should make sure that they set up an environment where their child can easily learn and assimilate new ideas.
