Numeracy after an ABI
[This leaflet is part of the Lifeboat for Numeracy]
The needs of pupils who have sustained an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), are subtly,
but significantly different from those of non-injured pupils and those who have
specific learning difficulties. However sometimes needs overlap and materials may be used
for pupils with an ABI. What is most important is that school and parents work together.
Pupils need to practice their skills every day, especially over the school holidays; little and
often is the key to success.
Maths is probably the most conceptual subject tackled in schools which makes it extremely
difficult for pupils with an ABI, who find abstract ideas difficult. It is also a subject where
sequencing is important. The steps in algorithms are very precise, yet these pupils have
trouble thinking sequentially.
Many young people try to learn all maths as skills – remembering ‘how’ to work out a
problem by rote. This is often unsuccessful after an ABI because of the difficulties with
memory. Unfortunately in many classrooms Maths is taught as a procedure, with pupils
having to remember sequences of instructions. Some techniques, such as long division, have
to be taught this way, and are really only understood if you pursue studies to a higher level.
Also some ideas have no real explanation - it is just the way it is understood.
Maths is a mixture of concepts and skills; concepts need to be understood and linked into
other aspects of mathematical understanding, while skills have to be learned and practiced.
Once a concept is in place it should not be lost, but skills will need to be revised to keep them
active. Thankfully there is not much knowledge to be learned in maths. All concepts will
need to be demonstrated using concrete materials, and it is often very helpful to ‘tell a story’
in order to explain the need for a technique or skill. This group of pupils will need much
more practice at any one stage than other pupils and should spend about 2 weeks on each
stage before moving on, as well as revising the ideas at a later point. This does not fit in
with the pattern most schools currently follow and a level of ingenuity will be required from
teachers to fit this in. It is recommended that teachers of younger pupils obtain a copy of
Thyer and Maggs: Teaching Mathematics to young children (2nd or 3rd edition) from Amazon.
This book is now out of print but provides lots of different tasks for repeating learning ideas
without becoming boring.
Then there are the applications of the skills and concepts; first you have to understand the
question, which is often couched in a situation, before deciding what the idea is and then
what skills or techniques to use to tackle the problem. At the end you have to ask if you
have got a reasonable answer and whether there is more to do to answer the problem fully.
This is the problem faced by pupils with ABI in SATs. But after ABI young people frequently
have difficulties with comprehension, with choice, with monitoring what they are doing and
keeping on task, and then with evaluating what they have done. It’s tough. Maths
investigations pose similar problems and will need a lot of guidance. There are ways to
approach these, including the use of frameworks and plenty of practice is needed.
Teachers also need to be aware that many of the common words in maths have more
common uses in everyday life. The idea of difference is one which confuses not only pupils
with ABI, particularly in the lower years. But with ABI pupils the confusion will persist well
into KS 3 and 4. However careful teaching can overcome some of these problems.
Beyond numeracy, it is important to ensure that the pupil’s understanding of shape, space
and movement is well grounded. They may remember the names of the basic shapes, but
they will also need to be able to identify their properties and be able to visualise them when
rotated.
 Inset puzzles can be very helpful here.
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
Lotto games eg colour and shape lotto
Moving on from that you may find Brainy blocks, Patternblocks, Tangrams or pentominoes
useful. These also give an idea of area. Pinboards are also useful to establish properties of
shapes. Stile Shape and Space book is helpful for testing this in a fun way.
The idea of transformations is introduced in KS2 but only formalised in KS3, but an idea of
balance in symmetry may be introduced at a younger age.
 Artwork: string pulls, ‘butterfly pictures’
 Look in nature at balance in faces, insects etc
 Mirrors - use a geomirror
 Folding shapes and using tracing paper is also helpful
Rotation starts with the idea of turning
 Turning a dial, clockwise and anticlockwise, fractions, right angles and degrees of a
turn
 Points of the compass
 Rotational symmetry - use tracing paper to move shape around and explore idea of
centre of rotation early on
 Bearings
 Formal rotation
The idea of space includes where you are in the world and use of maps and co-ordinates.
These may be studied from the point of view of maths or geography, and includes work on
symbolic representation, perspective
 Co-ordinates as markers for theatre tickets, drawing pictures, Battleships
 Co-ordinates as markers for items on a map, eg Introduction to maps, Oxford First
Atlas and workbook, Mapwork 1 & 2, Beat Dyslexia
© SHIPS Project August 2009
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