Significant math difficulties affect 40% of dyslexic students. Dyslexia is more likely to be recognized than dyscalculia. unfortunately people often don't realize how much harder it makes math.

With Stern children effectively gain mastery of new concepts through a natural incremental progression, moving from a multisensory motor-based interaction with concrete materials to (a
symbolic understanding of a mathematical concept) abstract symbolic understanding.

Traditional teaching methods often rely on language and memorization, creating frustration, anxiety and low self-esteem rather than understanding for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

Signs of Dyslexia in Math

  • Kindergarten - 1st Grade

    • Miscounts when using fingers
    • Struggles to memorize basic math facts
    • Difficulty learning number sequences such as, skip counting and counting backwards
    • Switches the digits of the number when writing
    • Challenges connecting language to quantity and concept

  • 2nd - 5th Grade

    • Difficulty showing their work
    • Struggles with vocabulary for concepts and procedures
    • Word questions are hard
    • Works slowly
    • Low math confidence

Why Stern Math Works for Dyslexia

Dyslexia is more than “struggling with words.” It’s a specific learning difference that affects the language surrounding math. Stern Math addresses these challenges head-on.

  • Multisensory Learning: Math blocks engage touch, sight, and movement, tapping into multiple pathways for understanding.
  • Self-correcting: Students stay positive because the materials lead to the right answer without negative feedback from educators.
  • Spatial Component: Studies have shown that dyslexic people excel in tasks that require a global or holistic approach to visual-spatial perception.
  • Highly Structured: Structured boards move from small to large preventing directional problems reinforcing the creation of an internal number line.
  • Math Games: Our lessons focus on games making repeated practice fun, retaining attention, allowing kids to practice what they know and what they do not!

Let's Play the Snake Game!

Great for Kids 3+

This 3-minute game is a student favorite! Here, we see a Counting Board which is a key part of Set A. Students take turns flipping over numbers that correspond to blocks. As they gather the blocks, they lay them out, and the longest snake wins! This game has multiple variations to engage students at different math levels.

Let's Play: Remainder Is Your Score!

Great for students in 2nd Grade+

Practice dividing by 5 with “Remainder Is Your Score.” Using Set B, we shuffle number markers, see how many fives fit into each number, and use the remainder as points. Follow along for a quick way to practice division.

Empower Your Learners Today

Get started with our multisensory manipulatives.

Resources for Educators and Parents

We know that supporting a child with learning disabilities is a team effort. That’s why Stern Math offers:

  • Educator Trainings: In person or Zoom Training classes to learn how to use our materials most effectively.
  • 1-1 Consultations: Set up a meeting with our team to discuss what materials will work best for your specific classroom or child
  • Tutoring:  We have a team of tutors who work both in person and over Zoom to help struggling students
  • Ongoing Support: Our team is here to answer your questions and celebrate your student’s successes.
Email Us!

References

Margaret Stern | Structural Arithmetic and Children with Learning Disabilities

Link to Article

Margaret Stern was one of the creators of the Stern Math program and expert in teaching students with Learning Disabilities. She published this "Structural Arithmetic and Children with Learning Disabilities" in the 27th Annual Conference of The Orton Society, New York, New York, 1976.

Jerome Bruner | Toward a Theory of Instruction

Link to Article

Abstract:


Background
3–7% of all children, adolescents, and adults suffer from dyscalculia. Severe, persistent difficulty performing arithmetical calculations leads to marked impairment in school, at work, and in everyday life and elevates the risk of comorbid mental disorders. The state of the evidence underlying various methods of diagnosing and treating this condition is unclear.


Methods
Systematic literature searches were carried out from April 2015 to June 2016 in the PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, MEDLINE, ProQuest, ERIC, Cochrane Library, ICTRP, and MathEduc databases. The main search terms on dyscalculia were the German terms “Rechenstörung,” “Rechenschwäche,” and “Dyskalkulie” and the English terms “dyscalculia,” “math disorder, and “math disability.” The data from the retrieved studies were evaluated in a meta-analysis, and corresponding recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of dyscalculia were jointly issued by the 20 societies and associations that participated in the creation of this guideline.


Results
The diagnosis of dyscalculia should only be made if the person in question displays below-average mathematical performance when seen in the context of relevant information from the individual history, test findings, clinical examination, and further psychosocial assessment. The treatment should be directed toward the individual mathematical problem areas. The mean effect size found across all intervention trials was 0.52 (95% confidence interval [0.42; 0.62]). Treatment should be initiated early on in the primary-school years and carried out by trained specialists in an individual setting; comorbid symptoms and disorders should also receive attention. Persons with dyscalculia are at elevated risk of having dyslexia as well (odds ratio [OR]: 12.25); the same holds for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and for other mental disorders, both internalizing (such as anxiety and depression) and externalizing (e.g., disorders characterized by aggression and rule-breaking).


Conclusion
Symptom-specific interventions involving the training of specific mathematical content yield the best results. There is still a need for high-quality intervention trials and for suitable tests and learning programs for older adolescents and adults.

Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity | Math Introduction

Link to Website

About:

The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity (YCDC) is the preeminent source of cutting-edge research, informed advocacy and trustworthy resources to help those with dyslexia reach their full potential. The Center’s tools and resources are used widely by parents, educators and those with dyslexia to advocate for greater recognition and support for dyslexic children and adults. YCDC builds awareness in all communities and mobilizes grassroots efforts to close the reading achievement gap for all students, including low-income students of color, through policies that help dyslexic children succeed. The Center also showcases the remarkable success stories of adults with dyslexia, including writers, scientists, celebrities, and government and business leaders.

YCDC was founded in 2006 by Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz, world-renowned physician-scientists and leaders in the field of dyslexia research and diagnosis. Dr. Sally Shaywitz is the author of Overcoming Dyslexia (Alfred Knopf, 2003, Vintage, 2005), and Overcoming Dyslexia 2nd Edition, (Alfred Knopf 2020) , the seminal book on understanding and supporting those with dyslexia.

B. Pedemonte et Al. | Profiles of mathematical deficits in children with dyslexia

Link to Website

Abstract:

Despite a high rate of concurrent mathematical difficulties among children with dyslexia, we still have limited information regarding the prevalence and severity of mathematical deficits in this population. To address this gap, we developed a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests, known as the UCSF Mathematical Cognition Battery (MCB), with the aim of identifying deficits in four distinct mathematical domains: number processing, arithmetical procedures, arithmetic facts retrieval, and geometrical abilities. The mathematical abilities of a cohort of 75 children referred to the UCSF Dyslexia Center with a diagnosis of dyslexia, along with 18 typically developing controls aged 7 to 16, were initially evaluated using a behavioral neurology approach. A team of professional clinicians classified the 75 children with dyslexia into five groups, based on parents’ and teachers’ reported symptoms and clinical history. These groups included children with no mathematical deficits and children with mathematical deficits in number processing, arithmetical procedures, arithmetic facts retrieval, or geometrical abilities. Subsequently, the children underwent evaluation using the MCB to determine concordance with the clinicians’ impressions. Additionally, neuropsychological and cognitive standardized tests were administered. Our study reveals that within a cohort of children with dyslexia, 66% exhibit mathematical deficits, and among those with mathematical deficits, there is heterogeneity in the nature of these deficits. If these findings are confirmed in larger samples, they can potentially pave the way for new diagnostic approaches, consistent subtype classification, and, ultimately personalized interventions.