SPACE currently offers dyscalculia screenings for children aged 7 to 14. Our lead assessor is an accredited teacher of dyscalculia and a qualified, AMBDA-registered assessor with the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), as well as a professional member of the BDA. She brings over 20 years of teaching experience, including extensive leadership roles, and currently serves as Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and SENCO in a primary school.
Please note that a dyscalculia screening is not a full diagnostic assessment and cannot provide a formal diagnosis. The screening involves a one-to-one session of up to two hours, during which the assessor guides the learner through a range of tasks designed to identify strengths and areas of difficulty, in line with the SASC (2025) definition. A written report will be provided within two weeks, outlining the findings and offering tailored recommendations.
Understanding Dyscalculia
The definition for Dyscalculia has recently been updated. Here is the SASC definition of a Specific Learning Difficulty in Mathematics (2025)
Features:
A specific learning difficulty in mathematics is a set of processing difficulties that affects the acquisition of arithmetic and other areas of mathematics.
In dyscalculia, the most commonly observed cognitive impairment is a pronounced and persistent difficulty with numerical magnitude processing and understanding that presents in age related difficulties with naming, ordering and comparing physical quantities and numbers, estimating and place value.
Some individuals may not present with a specific cognitive impairment in numerical magnitude processing but have an equally debilitating specific learning difficulty (SpLD in mathematics) due to other processing difficulties. Difficulties in language, executive function (verbal and visuo-spatial working memory, inhibitory control) and visual-spatial processing may also contribute.
Impact:
Mathematics is a very varied discipline. Difficulties with learning mathematics may present in specific areas (for example, basic calculation) or across of the mathematics studied by the individual in relation to age, standard teaching and instruction, and level of other attainments. Across education systems and age groups, difficulties in arithmetic fluency and flexibility and mathematical problem solving are key markers of a SpLD in mathematics. Persistent difficulties in mathematics can have a significant impact on life, learning and work. This may also have a detrimental impact upon an individual’s resilience to apply mathematical skills effectively.
Presentation:
The presentation and developmental trajectory of a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) in mathematics depends on the interactions of multiple genetic and environmental influences. It will persist through life but may change in manifestation and severity at different stages.
A SpLD in mathematics frequently co-occurs with one or more of the following: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, developmental language disorder (DLD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Maths anxiety commonly co-occurs with a SpLD in mathematics but is not an indicator in itself.
We offer supportive and impartial advice and are available to answer any questions you might have. If you want to find out if your child has dyscalculia but are unsure if a screening is right, please contact services@spaceherts.org.uk
Or you can go straight to booking an appointment for a dyscalculia screening