What Is Acalculia?

The word acalculia comes from the Greek a meaning "without" and Latin calculare, which means "to count", and is used to describe an acquired impairment in which patients have difficulty performing simple mathematical tasks, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and even simply stating which of two numbers is larger.

Acalculia should not be be confused with dyscalculia. Acalculia is distinguished from dyscalculia in that acalculia is acquired late in life due to neurological injury such as stroke, while dyscalculia is already observed during the acquisition of mathematical knowledge.

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of acalculia. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Benson's syndrome
• Brain tumour
• Encephalitis
• Gerstmann's syndrome
• Infection
• Stroke