87: Part 3 Rethinking Maths, Dyscalculia & Confidence: Scaffolding, Practice, and Practical Tools
Dear Dyslexic PodcastShow Notes
Rethinking Maths, Dyscalculia & Confidence: Scaffolding, Practice, and Practical Tool In part 3 of our latest episode DR Shae and Michael focus on lived experiences of dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions and explore maths anxiety, shame, and the lasting trauma of school experiences such as being discouraged from using fingers.
The conversation reframes “not being good at maths” as a difficulty that can improve with time, patient step-by-step scaffolding, and regular practice, noting maths is cyclical and offers repeated chances to fill gaps compared with literacy. They discuss how breaks can erase progress, how anxiety reduces working memory, and share practical mental maths strategies (counting forwards/backwards, skip counting, counting in tens, “close to 10,” doubles/near doubles).
To reduce financial barriers, they recommend Ronit Bird’s The Dyscalculia Toolkit, Steven Chin’s Maths
Explained videos, and Eddie Woo, emphasising narrative context, hands-on learning, and that it’s possible to learn with the right support.
00:00 Welcome to Dear Dyslexic 00:37 Maths shame and labels 01:56 Rebuilding maths foundations 05:37 Practice without burnout 08:19 Counting drills and patterns 10:03 Mental maths strategies 12:32 Affordable learning resources 19:00 Learning through narrative 21:24 English origins and morphology 26:36 Hands on maths scaffolding 29:12 Final encouragement and wrap
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