Many people have heard of dyslexia, a learning disability in which children have trouble reading. Dyscalculia is a similar problem, seen less often, where someone has trouble with numbers and math rather than letters and reading.

Experts use lots of terms to describe different learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia or central auditory processing disorder. What it boils down to is that the brains of some people have a hard time receiving, organizing, remembering or using information. People are different, with their own special strengths and weaknesses.

Children with dyscalculia usually have normal intelligence and may do very well in other school subjects such as English and history, but they score lower than average in math and often have a hard time solving basic math problems. They may mix up the numbers by reversing their order when reading them, or they have difficulty organizing math formulas. For example, they may not be able to understand the symbols used in math, such as the "plus" and "minus" signs in addition and subtraction, nor be able to tell the time on a face clock.

The cause of dyscalculia is not always clear. It may be present at birth or happen after an illness, injury or exposure to a toxin. There are no clear criteria for diagnosing someone with dyscalculia, and people with this learning disability can have this disorder in varying degrees. In fact, some people go well into adulthood without ever having their learning disability discovered.

There is currently no cure for dyscalculia, but the right treatment can make this disorder more manageable. Education for family, teachers and friends of children who have dyscalculia is very important, because it can appear that the child is being lazy or unintelligent when they really are not; they just don't process math information normally.

There may be special tutoring programs and education classes where the teaching style can be adapted to best fit a child's learning style. Emotional support is also very important, because these individuals suffer school problems and poor self-esteem that may have been avoided with the proper help.

Although the prognosis for children with dyscalculia depends on how severe it is, most children who are picked up at younger ages and have the right treatment can go to college, have jobs and have families as normal healthy adults.