For most of us, that’s an easy equation.  We don’t have to think about it, because we see the numbers and are able to process the meaning behind those numbers.  We know that the first symbol in that equation represents the number five, and we also know what the number five means.  We might even picture five objects in our minds.  We do the same for the second symbol, and we can interpret the relationship between those symbols to come up with a response.

That’s a whole lot of visual-spatial processing going on behind the scenes for a simple equation, isn’t it?

But what if we can’t translate the symbols on the page into deeper meaning?  It’s not necessarily a lack of intelligence or even a learning disability.  Math struggles are often a sign of visual learning issues and vision therapy can help.

The most common back-up methods: counting on fingers and counting out loud.

Many adults still rely on these back-up methods and we might pass it off as being “bad at math,” when really, we never developed the skills to process the symbols using visual imagery.

Our educational system doesn’t always adequately address the importance of visual learning and visual-spatial processing when learning math, even though it’s the most efficient method of developing math skills.

If a child doesn’t develop functional vision skills early on, they fall further and further behind in math until, all too frequently, they write off the whole subject as too difficult.

Math gets a bad rap. But we can help.