Rethinking Maths, Dyscalculia & Confidence: Scaffolding, Practice, and Practical Tool

In part 3 of our latest episode DR Shae and Michael focus on lived experiences of dyslexia and other neurodivergent conditions and explore maths anxiety, shame, and the lasting trauma of school experiences such as being discouraged from using fingers.

The conversation reframes “not being good at maths” as a difficulty that can improve with time, patient step-by-step scaffolding, and regular practice, noting maths is cyclical and offers repeated chances to fill gaps compared with literacy. They discuss how breaks can erase progress, how anxiety reduces working memory, and share practical mental maths strategies (counting forwards/backwards, skip counting, counting in tens, “close to 10,” doubles/near doubles).

To reduce financial barriers, they recommend Ronit Bird’s The Dyscalculia Toolkit, Steven Chin’s Maths

Explained videos, and Eddie Woo, emphasising narrative context, hands-on learning, and that it’s possible to learn with the right support.

00:00 Welcome to Dear Dyslexic

00:37 Maths shame and labels

01:56 Rebuilding maths foundations

05:37 Practice without burnout

08:19 Counting drills and patterns

10:03 Mental maths strategies

12:32 Affordable learning resources

19:00 Learning through narrative

21:24 English origins and morphology

26:36 Hands on maths scaffolding

29:12 Final encouragement and wrap

If this podcast has caused you any distress, you live in Australia and need to speak to someone urgently, please contact:

- LifeLine on 13 11 14

- BeyondBlue counsellor on 1300 22 4636 13

- 13 Yarn (13 92 76)

Featured Resources