The quadratic equation may have ___1___ horror in many of us. But for some 5 to 7 percent of the population even basic math—like the concept of the numbers 5 and 7—causes ___2___. You may never have heard of the disorder called dyscalculia, yet it’s as common as dyslexia, according to research in the journal Science.

Dyscalculia means “___3___” which is ironic since those who suffer from it need to count often. Here’s what I mean: They can only tell that a playing card is a number eight by counting the number of objects on the card. If asked to count down from 10 they count up from 1 to 10, then 1 to 9, then 1 to 8, etcetera. ___4___. Estimates are hard, too. Asked the height of a room, they might guess 200 feet.

According to researchers dyscalculia is inherited, and specific abnormalities in the brain might be a cause. Despite their challenge, many become ___5___ at geometry, stats and computer programming. With the right teaching—that focuses for example on using beads to improve the processing of numbers—they can count themselves among the math literate.
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