Consider what’s involved in math. Which areas are causing the problems for your child?

Math is complex. Let’s look at a math problem and determine what skills are required.

• Juan is a driver for XYZ Delivery Company. His truck is bright yellow with red lettering. The inside of the truck measures 9 feet deep by 8 feet wide by 8 feet tall. He needs to deliver a large shipment of feathers to a town 20 miles away. The feathers are in boxes measuring 3 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet that weight four pounds each. The truck can carry a maximum weight of half a ton. How many cases of feathers can he deliver at one time?
• First, we must be able to accurately and efficiently read and comprehend the problem. Then we must use reasoning to determine what information is relevant and what is not. We must be able to imagine (visualize) the situation. We must use reasoning to to determine what operations are required and must possess the math facts to make the calculations. Using working memory, we must hold all this information in our heads as we figure out what to do with it and make the necessary calculations. We must also depend on our good selective attention, divided attention, sustained attention, sequential processing, overall processing speed, and working memory.
• The driver’s name, company name, colour of truck, and distance to the destination are irrelevant. Feathers are light and so they will weigh less than half a ton, also irrelevant. All we really need to know are the inside measurements of the truck and the outside measurements of the boxes of feathers. We must be able to use visualization to determine how the boxes might be placed in the truck and we must be able to add and multiply.

Math is very much a cognitive skill! If just one of your child’s cognitive abilities is a bit on the low side, math can be very difficult indeed.

Our programs train a broad range of cognitive and processing abilities. An initial assessment will determine the problem areas.