Dyscalculia

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Dyscalculia ICD-10 F81.2 R48.8

Dyscalculia is the medical term for experiencing severe difficulty in making mathematical calculations, for instance struggling to add up numbers or making more mistakes in math than in the past.[1][2] Dyscalculia is the result of a physical brain condition.[2] Dyscalculia is a cognitive symptom and is more common in people with severe M.E.[3]

Presentation[edit | edit source]

Dyscalculia in ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia[edit | edit source]

People with chronic fatigue syndrome were found to have difficulty even when adding up single digit numbers, a poor working memory and information processing contributed to the difficulties with numbers.[1] Dyscalculia in ME/CFS is more severe than that found in depression, and occurs in people with ME/CFS who do not have depression.[1] ME/CFS and fibromyalgia patients report having trouble with arithmetic.

Prevalence[edit | edit source]

  • 1995, Katrina Berne, PhD, reported a prevalence of 75-80% for 'aphasia' (inability to find the right word, saying the wrong word) and/or dyscalculia (difficulty with numbers) - although she notes that this symptom is probably underreported and more prevalent than indicated.[4]
  • 2001, In a Belgian study, 71.6% of patients meeting the Fukuda criteria and 75.1% of patients meeting the Holmes criteria, in a cohort of 2073 CFS patients, reported a difficulty with calculations.[5]

Symptom recognition[edit | edit source]

Research studies[edit | edit source]

  • 2013, Cognitive impairments associated with CFS and POTS[1] - (Abstract)

Possible causes[edit | edit source]

Potential treatments[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]