My nine-year-old daughter is extremely advanced with her language and vocabulary, but her teachers have expressed concerns that she may have dyscalculia. Is there anything I can do to help her with numeracy over the summer holidays?

First of all your daughter's teachers should have created an intervention plan according to the guidelines set out in DES Circular 24-03, The General Allocation System.

Once a teacher or a parent has a concern about a child's ability (or social, emotional, physical and behavioural) adjustment this circular requires that an intervention plan be designed, in cooperation with the parents, and implemented over two full school terms and then evaluated for its success. Did this happen?

If so what was the outcome because, if they feel she has dyscalculia, one of the Specific Learning Disability, she should be referred for additional assessment from the Learning Support teacher or the NEPS psychologist. 

Simply making a statement and expecting you to deal with it is not acceptable. You need to contact the school in September and ask for more information.

As for what to do about it, there isn't sufficient information for me to guide you because I do not know the type or pattern of her errors. The only way to find out if she has a SLD is to have a psychological-educational assessment completed.

Every week on Moncrieff, David Carey, a psychologist with over 25 years experience in both clinical and educational settings, answers your parenting questions. Tune in live today at 3pm, or listen back to the podcasts of the show.