Beyond Remediation: A Case Study

In the following weeks, as I reviewed the student’s reports and data, I realized their challenge with math was crippling all other aspects of their life, both academically and socio-emotionally. In their early years, the student exhibited foundational number sense skills. They could recognize, count, understand the value of numbers, and do basic addition and subtraction. Their complicated relationship with math began when the academic demands increased, and they were expected to remember the multiplication tables, recognize patterns and relationships, predict, and estimate. These expectations exceeded their working memory and executive functioning capacity, and they began to experience increased cognitive overload. Added to this mix was a rigid, traditional teaching environment with limited differentiation and low emotional responsiveness in their previous school. As a family that moved internationally due to work, the student’s struggle with math intensified with each move. Their task avoidance and distracting behavior also escalated, along with defiance, which resulted in arguments and clashes with adults and peers. The behavior played out socially, too, outside the classroom, especially after receiving math results, in which, invariably, their peers would have done better on the test.

What helped the student turn a corner? How did someone who found it extremely difficult physically to get into math class start enjoying and engaging with math? How did someone who was constantly exchanging sharp words with peers end with strong friendships? 

This case study illustrates the power of a relationship-driven, individualized approach in supporting a neurodivergent student with Specific Learning Disability (dyscalculia) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It demonstrates how targeted intervention, consistent collaboration among educators, the student, and parents, and a focus on confidence-building can lead to meaningful academic growth and a notable shift toward a growth mindset. This journey offers practical insights for educators working with students who face similar learning and emotional barriers in mathematics.

Dyscalculia — The Silent Confidence Killer

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), both dyslexia and dyscalculia fall under the broader diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorder (SLD). Dyslexia is characterized by challenges in word reading accuracy, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Dyscalculia, on the other hand, is the impairment in mathematical abilities, including number sense, mathematical reasoning, and calculation skills. Despite its prevalence (3–7% of all children, adolescents, and adults suffer from dyscalculia, according to the National Institutes of Health and the British Dyslexia Association), dyscalculia often remains undiagnosed. Its symptoms are frequently masked by compensatory behaviors or misinterpreted as a lack of effort, motivation, or interest, causing many students to fall through the cracks. Research also indicates that approximately 30% of students with SLDs experience behavioral and emotional difficulties, and they are at increased risk for hyperactivity and other comorbidities, further compounding barriers to learning.

Impact in School Settings

Dyscalculia often acts as a silent confidence killer, gradually eroding a student’s belief in their mathematical abilities and, over time, their self-worth. Among the two SLDs, dyslexia and dyscalculia, dyslexia is more readily identified and addressed with interventions in early childhood. Reading difficulties tend to trigger immediate concern and action from educators and caregivers due to their visible and direct impact on a child’s access to the broader curriculum and their ability to communicate with the world.

In contrast, early mathematical struggles are frequently dismissed as developmentally typical or attributed to the perceived complexity of math as a subject. It is not rare to see adults dismissing math struggles as “normal,” as math is a “complex subject” for everyone. As Hannell (2013) notes in Dyscalculia: Action Plans for Successful Learning in Mathematics, difficulties in math are often normalized, with the assumption that tools like calculators will compensate for the problem. Research also shows a strong correlation between dyscalculia and math anxiety. Students with dyscalculia show twice as much anxiety compared to their peers (Sorvo et al., 2017). Often, the initial response of adults when a student shows signs of challenge is to normalize or overlook, rather than explore further into the signs of a learning need. This delays response and intervention, leading to a deepening learning gap, heightened frustration, and math avoidance. By recognizing the signs early and intervening with empathy and evidence-based strategies, we can address skill deficits while also rebuilding the learner’s confidence and relationship with mathematics.

Strategies That Changed the Tide

• Connection and Collaboration Before Content

My mantra has always been, “Trust and emotional safety must come before skill development,” and the two are prerequisites for meaningful academic engagement, especially for students with a history of struggle. Given the student’s strained relationship with math, I decided to invest the first few weeks in building trust and getting to know them as a person before knowing them as a learner. I involved the student in all conversations that involved their learning and included their input in designing their learning journey. This empowered and motivated them to think deeply about their strengths, shortcomings, and what they needed to be a successful learner.

Collaborating with the student’s parents helped conversations at home. Consistent communication and shared language reinforced progress across settings. The feedback loop between home and school allowed for real-time course correction. This alignment gave a sense of consistency and stability, which was critical for their growth.

• Making Goals Visible and Achievable

This visual goal chart gave the student a sense of direction and progress. They were able to visually track their journey. They could see how far they had come and how many more steps they had to take before achieving their goal. They began by placing a sticky note in the first block (skill acquisition) and moved it forward as they demonstrated understanding, fluency, and application. This approach converted their “abstract goals” into concrete, achievable milestones.

• Minimal Viable Intervention (MVI)

The approach is two-pronged:

1. Target the most high-leverage learning gap—one that, when addressed, unlocks access to current content. In the student’s case, it was fractions. It was a low-hanging fruit. I knew that once they got the hang of the concept, applying it in the current curriculum would give them immediate gains.

2. Deliver instruction in short, focused bursts—which sustain attention, reduce fatigue, and maintain motivation. I used the Pomodoro technique (Cirillo) to divide the 80-minute block into chunks of 20 minutes, with a five-minute break after every 20 minutes. This made time visible and also put the student at ease, knowing a break was coming up in the next “x” minutes.

• Chunking Instruction and Assessment

What changed the student’s trajectory and made them turn a corner was chunking. Collaborating with the student’s math teacher, it was decided that their debilitating anxiety had to be addressed before differentiation and intervention. High-stakes assessments had historically triggered emotional distress and cognitive shutdown, rendering traditional support and interventions ineffective.

It was decided to not only chunk content but also assessments. The student’s summative assessment would span two days instead of one, and they would continue to receive accommodations of extra time and a separate setting on both days. This reduced cognitive overload, as it allowed them to process smaller segments of content, supporting working memory challenges and alleviating anxiety and emotional regulation difficulties (Sweller et al.; Alloway & Alloway).

This truly proved to be a game-changer, and the student started experiencing success, something they had never experienced before. This fueled their motivation, and they were ready to launch into learning with a positive mindset.

Conclusion

The student’s journey is a powerful testament to the impact of personalized, strengths-based, and relationship-driven support. The success seen in this case was not the result of one isolated strategy, but rather the thoughtful layering of small, intentional interventions—academic, emotional, and behavioral. It highlights the importance of shifting the focus from mere checkbox intervention or remediation to building a learner’s identity, self-efficacy, and confidence. This case study highlights a broader principle in inclusive education—that students not only need support, but also require a sense of being seen, heard, and capable. With trust, belief, and the right scaffolds, even students with long-standing struggles can find joy, purpose, and success in learning.