In special education, math disabled students often do not receive the same consideration as reading disabled students. “Even after being identified as learning disabled, few children are provided substantive assessment and remediation of their arithmetic difficulties…The studies in numbers and arithmetic are very consistent in their findings: Between 6% and 7% of school-age children show persistent, grade-to-grade difficulties in learning some aspect of arithmetic.”

Teachers would benefit from learning a program that is specifically designed to remediate certain math disabilities as well as to make the abstractions of mathematics more accessible for all students. Semple Math, authored by Janice L. Semple, is such a program. Semple Math is a basic skills mathematics program for beginning, high-risk, or remedial students. In four levels, the program carefully and cumulatively develops skills and applies strategies specifically designed to help students overcome difficulties with memory, sequencing, attention, spatial and directional orientation, and more.

This program is published by Semple Math and is truly the only mathematic's program that offers an approach unlike the norm. For some children, it takes more than practice to make perfect; so don’t try harder, try something different.

Semple Math Level 1
Grade Levels: K–2 or 3+ Remedially
Length: 4 - 5 Hours (Depending on the desired level of interaction between instructor and teaching staff)

Semple Math recognizes that many children have persistent trouble memorizing addition facts. The program addresses this problem by using mnemonic instruction, a well-documented (though underutilized) brain-friendly teaching strategy. Rather than assigning endless drills, Semple Math uses memory aids, ranging from visual images and stories to rhymes and songs. This first level involves the many skills of addition from acquisition of number facts to multi-digit addition. Intermingled with addition are writing for both right- and left-handed children, addition word problems, writing and reading cardinal numbers and money sums to 100, and rounding to the nearest 10 and to the nearest 100.

Semple Math Levels 2–3
Grade Levels: K–2 or 3+ Remedially
Length: 4 - 5 Hours (Depending on the desired level of interaction between instructor and teaching staff)
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Level 1

Semple Math recognizes that many children have persistent trouble memorizing subtraction and multiplication facts. The program addresses this problem by using mnemonic instruction, a well-documented (though underutilized) brain-friendly teaching strategy. Rather than assigning endless drills, Semple Math uses memory aids, ranging from visual images and stories to rhymes and songs. The second and third levels involves the many skills of subtraction and multiplication from the acquisition of basic number facts to complex multi-digit computation. Intermingled with subtraction and multiplication are word problems, expanded notation, and making change. The program also addresses reading, writing, recording, and rounding numbers through millions.

Semple Math Level 4
Grade Levels: 3–4 or 5+ Remedially
Length: 4 Hours
(This level may be used independently of Levels 1–3.)

This brain-friendly alternative mathematics program replaces rote repetition with mnemonics and other learning strategies. This level encompasses and demonstrates the correlation between division, fractions, decimals, and percentages. Level 4 would be an excellent companion resource for any regular text or the sole resource for learning disabled students. Differentiation of instruction within the classroom would be a snap!