sounds like my son who is 8, pleae let me know if there are any responses, where do you live?

Here is a great link to virtual math manipulatives:

nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html

Manipulatives are concrete objects which are used to illustrate a math concept. For example, when a student is learning place value, he might bundle and unbundle craft sticks to represent groups of tens, hundreds and yes, even thousands. He physically experiences the growth of quantity. When he begins learning fractions, he might "break the stick" to indicate subtraction and regrouping form the unit to the fraction. In fractions, something has to be cut into parts. By cutting pizza or toaster waffles, he can experience fraction concepts and even operations. You do not need expensive manipulatives to illustrate math concepts. I use pipe cleaners and beads to illustrate linear functions in algebra. I use simple unifix cubes to illustrate exponential growth. What is important is that your son understand the underlying concepts and not learn math from a purely procedural perspective.

riefzech...what exactly is manipulatives? My son is in 8th grade (will be high school next year) and math is a disaster (he is dyslexic)...I am at a loss on what to do to get help for him and, although I wish I understood what you are talking about exactly, I am a HUGE fan of research based evidence...

I actual have a learning disability in reading and math. I asked the teacher for help when I needed it. I am still asking my 7th grade Advance Math Teacher questions due to my disability in Math. I just out grow my disability by asking questions when I needed help. Tell your son that if he is having trouble to ask his teacher. That is what I do with my math and Reading disability.

There is FMRI research which suggests that when a child moves to multiplication he is using more of the language hemisphere of the brain...to retrieve math facts (for quantities he cannot see). Sally Shaywitz, in her book Overcoming Dyslexia, talks about language processing (speed) having an affect on math.

Try having your son construct his addition and subtraction facts, and then multiplication concepts with manipulatives like craft sticks and/or unifix cubes. He will have a visual and tactile memory of the concepts that way. Play dice and domino games for visual patterns. Always try to link the language of what he is doing with the visual and tactile memory. Use large font and ample white space on all paperwork and teach concepts with easy numbers.

My son is 10 and academically his major area of difficulty is math. He has fine motor difficulties which make writing difficult for him. He seems to have good language skills, though when he was younger he needed a language specialist to help with sequencing and word retrieval. I do wonder if this is playing a role in some of his math difficulties. His processing speed is low, specifically his coding subtest was in the 1st percentile and his symbol search was in the 9th percentile. His visual perception was high, but his motor coordination he had problems with, which makes sense being on the spectrum. His visual memory was 0.3. That must be playing a big role. How do I help increase his visual memory?

I would disagree that older students do not need manipulatives. One study in the Journal of Learning Disabilities Research and Practice (Witzel, Mercer & Miller,2003-18-2)found that algebra students who used manipulatives out performed their peers in both post testing and retention over time. High School teachers have the flexibility to add some skill practice as a small part of each day. They can teach concepts with "easy numbers" and save the computational complexities for the calculator. There is also evidence that multisensory instruction is stronger for association and memory (Wake Forest University-Laurienti). Upper level math can definitely be taught with manipulatives and using multisensory strategies. Some multisensory math programs are based on an O-G approach to math instruction.

How old is your son? Is math his only area of difficulty?

What specific traits does he have that put him on the Spectrum? Are his language skills a strength (such as in NLD) or a weakness for him?

Is visual-spatial a severe weakness or just lower-average range? (Beery Buktenica and Bender-Gestalt are two common tests for visual-spatial processing.) How are his abstract reasoning skills--such as shown on the WISC-UIV Perceptual Reasoning subtests?

In my opinion, the effectivness of various instruction strategies depends on the child's age and unique learning style. Younger students with math LDs may need more practice with manipulatives to shore up number sense. Older students with math LDs may memorize math facts easily without needing manipulatives or "skill-and-drill," but struggle to apply abstract math strategies.

And since your son is on the Spectrum, you may also have to consider any impact of his attention span, sensory issues, and/or social issues.

Lindamood Bell has a multi-sensory math program called On Cloud 9, but it stops with 6th grade curriculum.

We have found very little out there for older students with math reasoning LDs. And high school teachers do not have the flexibility to slow down or adapt college-prep curriculum for bright students with weaknesses in math--especially math reasoning. Even if the student has an IEP with math goals, high school teachers do not change the instructional methods in college-prep classes.

My child has difficulty in math throughout the years. I have found most often, is how math is taught inside the classroom. The second factor are the math books being produced today. There is no clear examples, step-by-step instruction or connecting the laws of math to the concept being taught. As a result, I had to come up with my own methods, and I basically teach my child at home, using home-made manipulative's, clear examples and breaking down the steps plus making the connection to the laws of math. I also found it very important, that a child should have a firm foundation in basic arithmetic which is often rushed in the primary and elementary grades. Children who are struggling in math, like to be shown how to do it with lots of practice to developed the understanding that lies beneath the problem.
The use of manipulatives, in my own opinion is that they are used as often inside the classroom, because the teacher does not appreciate the differing learning styles of their students. Manipulatives helps my child to understand better, because it fits her learning style, whereas another student it may just confound them.
In my child's case, there is very little understanding of how my child learns and how the teacher's instruction impacts my child's learning. There is constant pressure for my child to learn the same things with the given instruction and materials as other children.
As for information and resources, I too comb the net looking for new ways of introducing or elimination of confusion on my child's part. Often the school is of no help, so I had no choice but to take this on as her personal tutor. So I would suggest to keep a close eye on your son's math. When you feel that there is a problem, more than likely as a parent you are right.
Since you alone know how your child learns, do not automatically think that a teacher will also know this.
Set up a system at home, that has flexibility and it is a good fit without spending hours doing math homework. I have a system, where I include manipulatives and lots of practice. Sometimes a cereal box will do. Sometimes it is a bit more complicated. And sometimes it is the use of lego building blocks. I also include basic arithmetic facts at least once a week, where my child goes on the computer to practiced simple math facts. My child does not have automatic recall as of yet, but she gets better each year. Hint, go on sites your child enjoys. Let him pick it out. He will spent longer than whatever minutes you will asked him to spend on.
I have also found this extremely helpful, and I call it the " Homework Helper ". Each unit in math of the year, will have a book composed of the relevant examples, laws, terms. I just take an exercise book, and write it in by hand, using funny diagrams, or whatever works, and sometimes I go on the internet, print it and paste it into the booklet. This comes in handy inside the classroom, when doing the work in the classroom. It promotes long-term memory of math facts, and works well for advance math. Keep the booklets, because they can be used in the years to come. I am in the process of making new ones that are more in keeping because of my child's age. Sometimes, it does take quite a few hours putting them together - but it is well-worth it!

There is research from the Journal of Learning
Disabilities to support the same information. Manipulatives help students understand concepts. The problem is that so few teachers truly understand ...first how to choose the correct manipulative and then how to use them.

Thank you everyone for your replies. There was a lot of helpful information. There has been new research out of the University of Maryland that shows that children who use Manipulatives in math do much better than those with worksheets, especially when working with fractions. We have an IEP meeting scheduled soon and I'm going to be talking with his teacher next week. Thanks for the help.

We are beginning to get much more research in the area of mathematics. Some ground breaking work has been done by Stanislas Dehaene (The Number Sense). Much of this research suggests that number/ quantity representation is a possible core deficit in mathematics and that without developing this sense of number, a child will have difficulty learning facts and progressing in mathematics. A book by Blakemore and Frith called The Learning Brain, also has a good chapter on mathematics. It is interesting to note that once a child begins multiplication fact work, he is using more of the language hemisphere of the brain (see above citation). This might help to explain why many children begin experiencing math problems at about third grade. Even children who do understand numberness/numeracy may have difficulty with word/names or fact retrieval due to language processing deficits.

There is some research to suggest that the use of manipulatives in teaching math concepts aids the child in learning math. You might also be interested to know that language based disabilities have a huge impact on MD because often the child is retrieving words for quantities he cannot visualize. This is one reason that manipulatives help.

There are some strategies you can employ to help. Do a lot of constructing quantities, naming them, describing them etc. Use a variety of manipulatives for counting and grouping quantities.

Make sure your child understands place value and can describe quantities such as twenty two is made of two tens and two ones. Have him touch quantities as he names them. Counting is essential, but make it fun and link it to hands on manipulatives so that he is not just parroting words which have no meaning.

Check in to multisensory math strategies and materials. An O-G approach to math is also excellent. It is systematic, incremental, cumulative and thorough. No one book or program is a magic bullet though. Learning math facts takes time and effort, but it can be fun.

A learning disability in mathematics is characterized by an unexpected learning problem after a classroom teacher or other trained professional (e.g., a tutor) has provided a child with appropriate learning experiences over a period of time. Appropriate learning experiences refer to practices that are supported by sound research and that are implemented in the way in which they were designed to be used. The time period refers to the duration of time that is needed to help the child learn the skills and concepts, which are challenging for the child to learn. Typically, the child with a math disability has difficulty making sufficient school progress in mathematics similar to that of her peer group despite the implementation of effective teaching practices over time. Studies have shown that some students with a math disability also have a reading disability or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Other studies have identified a group of children who have only a math disability.

We do not fully understand how a math disability affects a child’s ability to learn mathematics in all of the different areas because of the limited research base on math disability. To date, the majority of research has focused mostly on the skills associated with mathematics calculations including number, counting, and arithmetic (e.g., arithmetic combinations or basic facts) and on solving word problems. Much less is known about development and difficulties in areas such as algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability.

Maths difficulties are commonly associated with ASD, where visual-spatial working memory difficulties are relevant. Which can effect the development of a 'sense of numerosity'.
Though you could try what might seem absurd?
Introduce him to a 'Korean finger counting' technique, that is based on the abacus.
www.cs.iupui.edu/~aharris/chis/chis.html

You might also like to visit my Dyscalculia Forum:
www.dyscalculiaforum.com/

love the picture dhfl143, who does your hair?

Here are a few resources that may help:

www.dyscalculiaforum.com/news.php

www.nlvm.usu.edu/

www.resourceroom.net/math/index.asp

Hope these help.

My daughter struggles with math. Her particular problem is short term memory loss and sequencing issues. These problems cannot be corrected so this is a long term problem she just has to live with. She went through many different modifications till she found the one that worked for her. I would love to tell you one program worked better than another. But dyslexia and LD have so many different focuses. Just be aware that this is not a problem of intelligence but of processing. My daughter has developed tools that work for her; and we have tried everything. Some modifications work better at a young age, some better at an older age. For her we needed to find ways to learn by bypassing the short term memory, (cramming does not work) but repetitive, rote memorization is better. We learned for instance that phonic reading was difficult for her because it required more involved sequencing; whereas, whole reading was better because it relied more heavily on conceptual thought, which is traditionally long term memory territory. Unfortunately math is primarily the king of sequencing and requires memorization that relies heavily on short term memory. We have tried every program, tutor, game, and class to aid her in her quest for the perfect math score. My daughter would be a 4.0 student if it wasn't for math but we considered it a triumph when she moved out of remedial math into regular classes and gets c's in math. Keep trying everything, know that your child is never going to be a mathmatician and be proud if you can get him to the point where he can balance his checkbook someday, (a feat I have yet to acheive).