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Understanding the Science Behind Dyscalculia, Working Memory, and Math Anxiety
Updated: Oct 5
Why Kids Struggle with Math: Key Insights
Quick answer: Kids struggle with math for three main reasons, each linked to different brain functions. Some children have a specific difficulty with understanding numbers, known as developmental dyscalculia. Others may have trouble holding multiple steps in their minds, which is common in children with ADHD. Additionally, some kids grasp math concepts but experience anxiety that makes their minds go blank during tests. Autistic children often face unique challenges, especially when math transitions from simple calculations to complex word problems. A thorough evaluation using tests like the WISC-V/WAIS-IV, WIAT-4, KeyMath 3, CAS2, and Conners Behavior Rating Scale can help identify the specific issues affecting your child.
Parents and teachers often think that a child who struggles with math simply "isn't a numbers person" or needs to try harder. However, research reveals a more intricate picture. Math difficulties are not a single problem; they can arise from at least three different sources in the brain, each requiring a distinct approach for support.
Understanding which issue is at play can significantly impact the support your child receives. A child with dyscalculia needs a different strategy compared to one who feels overwhelmed by multi-step problems. Both need different assistance than a child whose math skills are sound but who struggles with anxiety during tests. This article will explore the three primary reasons children face challenges in math, how autism influences these struggles, and the types of testing that can clarify these issues.
Let’s Find Out What Will Help
If math has become a source of frustration for your child, a free phone consultation is a great starting point. It’s an opportunity to share your observations and discuss whether an assessment is the right next step.
What Are the Three Reasons Kids Struggle with Math?
Research indicates that most math struggles in children stem from three distinct (and sometimes overlapping) root causes: a specific difficulty with numbers, an overloaded working memory, or anxiety that interferes with performance.
1. Trouble Understanding Numbers (Developmental Dyscalculia)
Developmental dyscalculia arises from differences in a brain region known as the intraparietal sulcus, along with weaker connections in the surrounding network. Children with this condition struggle with their basic "number sense" — their innate ability to understand quantities.
In daily life, this might manifest as a child having difficulty quickly determining whether 7 is larger than 4, struggling to recognize small groups of objects without counting them, or having trouble connecting a quantity (like a pile of blocks) to its numerical representation. Dyscalculia specifically affects number skills; a child's reasoning, reading, and language abilities may remain completely normal. The struggle is confined to numbers.
2. An Overloaded Working Memory (Executive Function Struggles)
The second cause is unrelated to number sense. Instead, it involves the brain areas responsible for holding and juggling information, primarily the prefrontal cortex. Children with this profile may understand numbers well but struggle to retain multiple pieces of information simultaneously and use them correctly. This is particularly common in children with ADHD.
Multi-step problems, such as regrouping, long division, or algebra, can overwhelm a child's working memory. When this occurs, math facts don't have the opportunity to "stick" in long-term memory. These children often genuinely grasp the math concept but lose their place while solving the problem.
3. Anxiety Getting in the Way (Math Anxiety)
The third cause is not rooted in brain structure but rather in emotion. Math anxiety involves the amygdala (the brain's alarm system) becoming overly active, while the working memory network quiets down (Young et al., 2012).
In practice, anxiety acts like a second task running in the background. Your child's brain must divide its attention between solving the problem and managing anxious thoughts. This often leads to "freezing" or performing poorly, especially on timed tests, even when they fully understand the material (Ramirez, Gunderson, Levine, & Beilock, 2013).
How Does Autism Affect Math Skills, and When Does It Show Up?
Autism does not create math struggles uniformly for every child. Research shows that the impact varies based on the child's age and the type of math task involved.
Early Childhood: Language Comes First
Differences in math skills can emerge before children even start school. Schopman and Van Luit (2020) found that early math skills, such as counting, sorting, and matching objects to numbers, often look different in autistic children between ages 4 and 7. Language delays significantly influence how well young children grasp number concepts.
Auriemma and Grapin (2021) tracked children from kindergarten through second grade and discovered that early number recognition is often adequate. However, by second grade, the gap between autistic children and their peers tends to widen, coinciding with a shift toward multi-step addition, subtraction, and word problems.
Older Kids and Teens: Word Problems Get Harder
The most significant struggles typically arise as math transitions from simple calculations to word problems. Oswald et al. (2016) found that math skills in autistic teens drop most noticeably on word problems, closely linked to attention, working memory, and reading comprehension — rather than basic calculation skills.
Wei et al. (2015) followed math achievement over six years and found that autistic children often start with average calculation skills. However, their progress in math reasoning slows significantly as lessons become more abstract.
When Does the Workload Become Too Much?
Titeca, Roeyers, Loeys, and Desoete (2014) examined when math performance declines for autistic children. They found that autistic kids performed similarly to their peers on simple, visual math tasks. However, performance noticeably dropped when tasks required significant verbal working memory, such as solving math problems in their heads or listening to a problem read aloud.
Mayes and Calhoun (2008) observed a similar pattern: math struggles were most apparent when there was a considerable gap between a child's reasoning ability and their processing speed or working memory. These challenges were particularly evident during timed tests or tasks requiring quick handwriting.
What Tests Help Tell These Causes Apart?
Given that these three causes can appear similar on the surface, a comprehensive evaluation is often necessary to differentiate them. The following tests assess math skills, general thinking abilities, and emotional or behavioral patterns.
WISC-V (for Children) or WAIS-IV (for Adults)
This test provides a comprehensive view of your child's overall thinking skills. The Working Memory Index, assessed through tasks like remembering strings of numbers, reveals how much information your child can hold and utilize at once. If this score is significantly lower than their verbal reasoning score, it suggests a working memory issue rather than a core math problem. The Processing Speed score also helps rule out slow processing speed, which can mimic a math disability on timed tests.
WIAT-4 (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition)
The WIAT-4 directly measures academic skills and can be compared to the WISC-V/WAIS-IV results. If your child excels in Math Problem Solving but struggles with Numerical Operations and Math Fluency, this pattern indicates a working memory issue. Conversely, if scores are low across all math sections while reading and language scores remain normal, this points to dyscalculia.
KeyMath 3 Diagnostic Assessment
This test identifies precisely where a child's math difficulties begin, breaking down skills into Basic Concepts, Operations, and Applications. It reveals whether a child struggles with foundational number sense (indicating dyscalculia) or only encounters difficulties when multi-step calculations are introduced (suggesting a working memory issue).
CAS2 (Cognitive Assessment System, Second Edition)
This test evaluates how a child plans, pays attention, and processes information without relying heavily on verbal skills. It helps determine whether a child struggles more with the mental "juggling" required for multi-step problems or with organizing spatial and logical information.
Conners Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS)
This questionnaire is completed by parents, teachers, and sometimes the child. High scores for inattention or hyperactivity can help explain working memory breakdowns during math. Elevated scores for anxiety and academic stress, alongside otherwise normal test scores, indicate that math anxiety is the primary issue rather than a deeper learning difficulty.
A Quick Summary of Common Profiles
| Profile | Achievement & Thinking Test Results | KeyMath 3 Results | CAS2 & CBRS Results | Likely Cause |
|---------|-------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------------|--------------|
| A | Low overall math score; normal thinking skills; normal reading/writing | Low Basic Concepts & Operations | Normal processing profile; normal behavior/emotional scores | Developmental Dyscalculia |
| B | Low Working Memory score; low multi-step math, but okay on Problem Solving | Low multi-step Operations; okay Basic Concepts | Weaker Planning/Attention; high inattention/hyperactivity | Working Memory / ADHD-Related Struggles |
| C | Normal thinking skills; poor timed math, but okay untimed | Normal untimed performance; more errors under time pressure | Normal processing profile; high anxiety and stress scores | Math Anxiety |
What Should Parents and Educators Do with This?
A child's struggle with math rarely stems from effort or ability alone. It often signals one of several underlying causes, each requiring a unique form of support. A child suspected of having dyscalculia benefits from clear, hands-on instruction that builds number sense step by step. A child with a working memory bottleneck often improves when the workload is divided into smaller tasks or when they are provided with scratch paper to track their steps. For a child whose primary issue is math anxiety, managing stress is crucial — simply drilling for accuracy won't resolve the problem.
If your child's math challenges do not improve with standard classroom support, consider requesting a full evaluation using tools like the WISC-V, WIAT-4, KeyMath 3, CAS2, and CBRS. This testing can clarify the underlying issues and guide you toward the most effective support.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between dyscalculia and math anxiety? Dyscalculia is a difference in how the brain processes numbers — it affects a child's basic sense of quantity. Math anxiety, on the other hand, occurs when fear and stress interfere with performance, especially under time pressure. A child with dyscalculia will struggle even with relaxed, untimed tasks, while a child with math anxiety may perform well when the pressure is removed.
Can ADHD cause math struggles even if my child understands the concepts? Yes, ADHD is closely associated with challenges in working memory and organization. A child with ADHD might fully grasp a math concept but still lose track during a multi-step problem due to the cognitive load.
At what age do math struggles in autistic children usually become noticeable? Typically, two key periods stand out. Differences in early number skills can appear as early as ages 4 to 7, often linked to language delays (Schopman & Van Luit, 2020). A more significant gap tends to emerge around second grade and widen through the teen years, as lessons shift from basic calculations to word problems and abstract reasoning (Auriemma & Grapin, 2021; Wei et al., 2015).
What tests help figure out the cause of my child's math struggles? A thorough evaluation usually includes the WISC-V or WAIS-IV (thinking skills), the WIAT-4 (academic achievement), the KeyMath 3 (specific math skills), the CAS2 (processing style), and the Conners Behavior Rating Scale (behavior and emotions). Together, these tools can help distinguish between dyscalculia, working memory struggles, and math anxiety.
Can a child outgrow math difficulty without extra help? It depends on the cause. Math anxiety and mild working memory struggles can improve with classroom support and stress-reduction strategies. However, developmental dyscalculia is a lasting condition that typically requires structured, hands-on teaching rather than time alone to improve.
References
Auriemma, D. L., & Grapin, S. L. (2021). Early math development in children on the autism spectrum: A longitudinal analysis. School Psychology Review, 50(2), 234–245.
Mayes, S. D., & Calhoun, S. L. (2008). WISC-IV and WIAT-II profiles in children with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(3), 428–439.
Oswald, T. M., Beck, J. S., Iosif, A. M., McCauley, J. B., Gilotty, L. J., Halfond, R., ... & Solomon, M. (2016). Clinical and cognitive characteristics associated with mathematics problem-solving ability in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 9(4), 480–490.
Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E. A., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2013). Math anxiety, working memory, and math achievement in early elementary school. Journal of Cognition and Development, 14(2), 187–202.
Schopman, E. N., & Van Luit, J. E. (2020). Early numeracy skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 75, 101574.
Titeca, D., Roeyers, H., Loeys, T., & Desoete, A. (2014). Mathematical abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder: The role of working memory and visual-spatial processing. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(11), 1567–1577.
Wei, X., Christiano, E. R., Yu, J. W., Blackorby, J., Shattuck, P., & Newman, L. (2015). Reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 19(2), 200–210.
Young, C. B., Wu, S. S., & Menon, V. (2012). The neurodevelopmental basis of math anxiety. Psychological Science, 23(5), 492–501.
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