It is different from dyslexia in that dyslexia actually has a specific effect that can be measured.

The same cannot be said for dyscalculia, where the diagnosis is basically “Oh, looks like you struggle with math and numbers. Must be dyscalculia.”

“Dyscalculia” is almost always the result of one or more other learning disabilities, whether a memory problem, a reasoning problem, a perception problem, or otherwise. You’ll never find dyscalculia without finding at least one other learning disability that causes dyscalculia.

So sure, if dyscalculia is just a label for a specific result of other disabilities, then yeah, it exists. But dyscalculia itself isn’t a specific disability with a specific measurable effect.

But in the end, regardless of the existence of dyscalculia, if there is one thing that needs to be stopped more than anything else, it’s the self-diagnosis by math students who struggle with math for one reason or another (usually the teacher’s or curriculum’s fault). And when they get that diagnosis, they give up on math, or stop trying as hard.

Again, I’m not going to validate an excuse for bad teaching practices and the discouragement of learning.