Many problems start with the difference between the picture of a number of objects, such as and recognising this as symbolised by the digit 3, where ‘3’ is not only symbolic in itself, but also has a sound which does not equate to the picture.

The confusion and poor ability to express what is in the picture then follows the same format as for dyslexia.

Another common set of issues is not understanding concepts such as sequence - when a person sees pictures often everything they need is contained within the picture itself. If you take a picture with a house, trees and blue sky, it does not matter which part you describe first as all have the same relevance. With Maths however, we have to follow a sequence in order to come to the desired answer.

Building on the example, the picture may be something like:

Somebody who does not understand what the symbols of = + - x or / mean cannot undertake the sum because they only comprehend part of what they are seeing, and how do you express a 0? Equally, someone who does not know which part of the picture to look at first, does not know where to begin.

We sometimes find that this aspect of client’s learning also helps with time management as they gain an integral understanding of what the picture of a clock means to their situation and allows them to equate and calculate passage of time with what they are doing when compared to what they need to be doing later on.