DARE - Disability Access Route to Education

Applicants with Dyscalculia must submit a full psycho-educational assessment, as specified below. Where information has been omitted from the report, applicants should request that the psychologist complete the ‘Psycho Educational Assessment Summary Sheet’.

• Cover sheet, including the student's name, date of birth, age at assessment, date of assessment, school, college or university attended, course (if relevant) and year of study.
• Introduction. Referral information; family, developmental and educational history; any relevant medical information and the student's perceptions of his/her challenges. Any previous assessments should be summarised. Where English is spoken as a second or additional language, details of the student's language history and current levels of competence should be included.
• Test behaviour, i.e. behaviour during the assessment that may have affected the results.
• General Level of Intellectual Ability. Measures of verbal and non-verbal ability should be reported. Profiles of scores should be discussed, with particular reference to any significant discrepancies between individual performance with majority peer group performance.
• Cognitive Processing, Deficits in working memory as evidenced on sub tests for example digit span, arithmetic and performance in diagnostic tests assessing competence in mathematical tasks, for example, tables. Performance in tests of motor control and/or attentional functioning may be included.
• Attainments in Numeracy. Evidence of reduced mathematical attainment, numerical operations, maths reasoning, calculation, maths fluency, problems and quantitative concepts. Suitable tests include standardized intelligence scales and tests of maths ability, numerical operations and maths reasoning, calculation, maths fluency, problems and quantitative concepts, arithmetic and maths computation.

Difficulty may be described at three levels:

1. Quantitative dyscalculia - a deficit in the skills of counting and calculating
2. Qualitative dyscalculia - the result of challenges in comprehension of instructions or the failure to master the skills required for an operation.
3. Intermediate dyscalculia – which involves the inability to operate with symbols or numbers.

Performance should be reported as standard scores and percentile points; age equivalent scores are not acceptable.

• Conclusion. It should be stated whether or not the student has a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) and whether their condition is disabling in the context of studying at second or third level. The effects of SpLD on the students' literacy and study skills should be outlined, taking account of compensatory strengths.
• Recommended Support. As students have an assessment of need on entrance to third level education, it is not necessary or appropriate to make detailed recommendations about technical support. A brief statement about the type of support which might help the student should be made here, particularly in relation to study skills tuition.
• Appendix, including a list of tests used in the assessment (with references) and scores achieved in these tests.
• Summary.

These guidelines are based on the 'Report of the Department for Education and Science Working Group on New Guidelines for Assessment of Specific Learning Difficulties for Disabled Student Allowance by Dr Chris Singleton, University of Hull, July 2004. These were updated by the SpLD Test Evaluation Committee (STEC) (DFS Guidelines) for 2007/2008. A list of suitable tests is available from http://www.texticweb.com/patoss/downloads/STEC_DfESGuidelines_200708.pdf

Tests should be age appropriate in all cases.

Student’s personal statement should outline the impact of disability on their academic and educational experience to date.

Academic Reference provides background information on the student’s educational experience and can confirm challenges, stating the educational impact of disability and describing the need for any teaching and learning adjustments. This form also helps to determine appropriate supports at third level.

The candidate is eligible for consideration where the psycho-educational report states that attainment in numeracy is at or below 10th percentile/SS 81 in two mathematical areas, and that there is a significant discrepancy with general ability. Mathematical difficulties should include two of the following: numerical operations, maths reasoning, calculation, problems, quantitative concepts, computation.