Since Samuel Kirk first put forward learning disabilities in 1963, there are four theories abroad trying to explain the causes of learning disabilities. The first theory holds that learning disabilities are caused by defects in the nervous system, that is, children with learning disabilities have conflicts when processing sensory channel information such as vision and hearing; The second theory, also known as attention deficit theory, holds that attention deficit is the main reason for low academic performance; The third theory holds that the causes of learning disabilities are related to students' learning motivation; The fourth theory holds that there are some problems in information processing of children with learning disabilities, such as wrong information coding, storage and extraction. Because the research on learning disabilities in China is later than that in foreign countries, and most of the research focuses on the characteristics of learning disabilities, the research on its causes is less. In the study of the causes of learning disabilities in mathematics, the literature is even less discussed, but when it comes to the causes of learning disabilities, there are related discussions. For example, some scholars believe that the defects of learning strategies are the main reasons for the difficulties in mathematics learning, which are mainly manifested in poor mathematical representation ability, lack of flexible problem-solving strategies and lack of effective metacognitive skills. Of course, when analyzing the causes of learning disabilities, attention deficit, sensory integration disorder and learning strategy defect are also the main reasons for the low academic performance in mathematics. Because of sensory integration disorder and lack of attention, children can easily lose control and affect their academic performance. Although there is no systematic study on the causes of mathematical learning disabilities, these studies initially show that Chinese scholars have begun to pay attention to the psychological and physiological mechanisms of the formation of mathematical learning disabilities, and have achieved some preliminary research results.

In addition, many scholars have studied the cognitive characteristics of children with mathematics learning disabilities, and their cognitive defects may also be related to the formation of mathematics learning disabilities. At present, the research on the cognitive characteristics of people with mathematics learning difficulties in China can be summarized as the following two aspects:

1, short-term memory and working memory

At present, most scholars believe that short-term memory and working memory are the most important cognitive support systems that affect mathematics learning, and working memory defects and short-term memory defects are the key factors that lead to mathematics learning obstacles. Foreign studies have found that children with mathematical learning disabilities have worse short-term memory ability than normal children, and they also lack working memory ability related to digital information processing. Chinese scholars' research on short-term memory and working memory of mathematics learning disabilities is basically similar to that of foreign countries. First of all, it is considered that the working memory of children with mathematical learning disabilities is defective. In other words, people with mathematical learning disabilities have obvious defects in the visual space template, language circulation and central executive mechanism in the working memory model. Secondly, information processing speed is slow and short-term memory is insufficient. Children with mathematics learning difficulties not only have defects in working memory, but also have obvious deficiencies in speech processing speed, short-term memory, central executive function and overall working memory ability. In addition, the study found that children with mathematics learning difficulties have shortcomings in working memory span in speech and visual space. This deficiency is mainly manifested in the slow development, but appropriate educational guidance may promote the expansion of their working memory breadth.

2. Representation and organizational strategy of problem solving.

At present, there are many foreign materials reflecting the research results of problem-solving strategies for children with mathematical learning difficulties, mainly in the research of problem representation strategies, arithmetic strategies and applied problem-solving strategies. For example, some scholars put forward the arithmetic strategy change model. The model distinguishes four dimensions of the development and change of strategic competence: strategy type (different strategies that students can use to solve problems), strategy distribution (relative frequency of each strategy), strategy efficiency (accuracy and speed of strategy implementation) and strategy selection (adaptability of individual strategy selection). In terms of strategy types, it is found that children with mathematical learning disabilities, like ordinary children, have developed extraction strategies and counting strategies; In the distribution of strategies, children with mathematical learning disabilities rely more on immature counting strategies; On the accuracy of strategic self-efficacy, children with mathematical learning disabilities are not as good as ordinary children; In terms of strategy selection, ordinary children know how to choose strategies according to the difficulty of problems, use counting strategies when encountering difficult problems, and use extraction strategies when encountering easy problems, but there are few adaptive strategies for mathematics learning disabilities. On the whole, Chinese scholars' research on the representation and organizational strategies of problem solving reflects the characteristics of children with mathematical learning disabilities, such as lack of language knowledge and mathematical knowledge, single type of problem representation, or inaccurate representation, individualization of knowledge accumulation and lack of knowledge structure.