Developmental dyscalculia: Work in progress

Title: Developmental dyscalculia: Work in progress

Time: Thursday, 23rd October 2025 at 6.00 pm CEST.

Main speaker: Dr. Enrica Mariani

Organizer: ESLA - SLT Day & ESLA Webinar Series Task Force

ABSTRACT

Developmental dyscalculia is the most poorly defined learning disorder in

etiological, diagnostic, and rehabilitative terms. Therefore, it seems difficult to

establish which professional figures are most suitable to deal with this area of

fragility. Different countries have different diagnostic criteria and different

types of professionals responsible for intervention. Speech therapists play a

crucial role in addressing the disorder, just as in other countries, due to its

neuropsychological nature and its connection to multiple linguistic functions.

The etiology of DD, which is believed to be linked to the fragility of ANS

and/or inhibition processes, visuo-spatial working memory, and other domain-

general cognitive functions, continues to be disputed. The role of language in

the development of arithmetic skills is also the subject of study: phonological

processes, mathematical lexicon, language referring to quantities and

spatiality seem to be correlated with mathematical learning. Sharing some

thoughts on what we know about the learning disorder of numbers and

calculation, the interventions that seem to work best, and the research

perspectives that speech therapists can and must contribute to is an

important part of this vast and extremely varied landscape.

Learning objectives:

At the end of this session participants should be able:

- to summarize the currently most widely accepted hypotheses about

the origin of developmental dyscalculia.

- to recognize the primary indications for treating developmental

dyscalculia as per the Italian guidelines on learning disabilities

management

- to delineate the role of a speech therapist in assessing and managing

numeracy impairments.

Key words:

Developmental dyscalculia; Arithmetic learning; Dyscalculia intervention