Dyscalculia

[Pondering]

Many people seem to associate Asperger's Syndrome and Autism with being good at math and there are many people with AS or autism who are. However, I was reading about a mental disability called dyscalculia and when a person has it, their brains do not easily learn and/or perform even basic arithmetic. I have read that people with dyscalculia are not all that uncommon, but I have never met another person with it. It isn't that they can't do math at all, it has more to do with how much longer it takes for them to figure it out. I have to count on my fingers for even 5 + 2 and 2 x 5. Where most people can count in groups of up to 8 at a time, a dyscalculic can only count one at a time because their brains don't work a certain way. It is said to be like dyslexia with numbers. I can easily mistake 123 for 213. They often have average to very high literary skills and skills in other areas. I can remember all the letters in a license plate but I can't recall any of the numbers. I have so much trouble recalling numbers and I struggled in math classes as many dyscalulics do. I always thought I was just really bad at math, one can be bad at math for a lot of reasons; dyscalculia is a real problem and a real mental disability. It took me three years in a row before I passed Algebra 1. Though dyscalculia can be either mild to severe, I was lucky to have it mild and I doubt I would have passed without a calculator. I only stumbled upon the word and have never heard it used prior to a few months ago and I've never heard anyone who knew what it was (not even math teachers). That's another thing too: I get confused between something that happened a few months ago or a week ago; my perception of time is off. Of course there are other symptoms of dyscalculia and I'm not going to list all of them, as it is very detailed where I read about it. Does any one else have dyscalculia?

 

[Ronin82]

I do!!! I can't remember a formula to save my life! Took me forever to get through Algebra classes. Even in college my math grades were C's (and happy to get that!) while I was getting A's in everything else. Math has always been a huge challenge for me, even though I'm very intelligent in other areas. I can understand math when its explained properly, but i also tend to switch numbers at random. So irritating!

 

[Beverly]

My daughter has it, she never did well in math and, still cannot grasp that you do not do math left to right when you have columns of numbers to deal with, she can't grasp carrying or borrowing either.

Give her this:
976
245 +
--------

You get 111111 as her answer. To her, each column add up to 11 so, that's the answer. I've tried and tried to explain it to her but, it's like there is a brick wall keeping it out of her brain, tell her, show her and then ask her to do a problem and, she still does it her way. Good thing lawyers are allowed to use calculators.

 

[Adora]

Maths was a big issue for me at school,I couldn't figure it out regardless of how many times it was shown to me and if I knew I had to do a maths test or just learning about mathematics that day I use to get so anxious to the point of feeling sick,it made it even worse that it also gave the kids at school another reason to bully me, I even had these boys come up to me one time before our class started and they asked me a maths question knowing that I would get it wrong and when I did they laughed at me,now I still struggle with maths but I can count money and know what change I should get back but maths has always been a weakness of mine.

 

[karen70]

I've just past foundation for maths level one. I had to do a lot of practice work before the exam to do that. But the initial assessment showed I was working level 3 in anything to do with numbers in money (I used to work out a very complicated system for how much commission I earned at one job.. and was always having to correct payroll department) But everything else, I could not fathom at all. Constant migraine. I can't remember times tables etc, but then I did truant a lot from school because the embarrassment was too much for me.
And yes, I do get numbers mixed up sometimes.

 

[Tom]

I was ok in math till about 7th grade. Then it kept on going but I could no longer keep up. Once it hit formulas I was doomed. I often come up with my own methods of doing some calculation. I use the touch math method for counting numbers and also counting fingers at times.

 

[Mr. Cat]

While I can often do math just fine, it takes me a lot longer because I over complicate it and I don't know how not to. In fact, my specific diagnoses was autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment; specific learning disability in math. I'm not sure if it was because I was slow at math on paper (I know my answers were fine) or if it's because I refused to answer any of the math word questions she read out loud (my working memory is terrible).

 

[Mr. Cat]

I was ok in math till about 7th grade. Then it kept on going but I could no longer keep up. Once it hit formulas I was doomed. I often come up with my own methods of doing some calculation. I use the touch math method for counting numbers and also counting fingers at times.

I was considered gifted in math until high school, where I was thrown into an advanced algebra class with people 2 grades above me. After that, I almost failed all my math classes, even when they put me back into the regular class for my grade. It was terrible.

 

[Tom]

I was considered gifted in math until high school, where I was thrown into an advanced algebra class with people 2 grades above me. After that, I almost failed all my math classes, even when they put me back into the regular class for my grade. It was terrible.

I had a similar arc. I led the class early on, and even was selected to go to a math competition with two others around age 14. But I barely got thru the test which was more advanced then I was used to. From then on it was just try to pass. I rallied briefly in geometry, perhaps because it was still something I could visualize, but went no further then algebra 1. Trig? Calc? Physics? You have got to be kidding

 

[Progster]

I was very good at geometry, but struggled with algebra. I can't do algebra to save my life! I'm definitely not mathematically minded. Even now, I find it hard to do calculations in my head. I feel that not being so good at maths, specifically algebra really held me back at school, because I was good at sciences, and had I been better I could have pursued a career in the sciences and been more successful in life.

 

[Mr. Cat]

I was told it's actually really common for those with autism to be great at math and then regress after algebra is introduced because it's more abstract in nature.

 

[Maelstrom]

I made it through collage Algebra and did well in in geometry it is more shape oriented...but it was a struggle. My imaging thing does not work on text, I can not see text words in my head. With my dyslexia and not being able to see text numbers it is very hard for me to remember math formulas correctly, even when I have learned how to do them. I have to use visual reminders in class to recall the picture of how the formula works.
I can learn to do the math fine the math text just slips off my mind like water off a ducks back....text doesn't stick, all my reading and spelling is mostly phonetic.

 

[EndSerenading]

I have this, it was really painful in school because sometimes I would stare at the board and not be able to write down a single answer cos my brain couldn't comprehend it. I'm fine with basic math but algebra and anything like that just short circuits my brain. They made me stay behind after school a few times and forced me to do the work because they thought I was being lazy. They also assumed that I would be some kind of math/science genius after my diagnosis, and then they got mad at me when I turned out to be awful at math and mediocre at science.

 

[Sully]

My daughter has it, she never did well in math and, still cannot grasp that you do not do math left to right when you have columns of numbers to deal with, she can't grasp carrying or borrowing either.

Give her this:
976
245 +
--------

You get 111111 as her answer. To her, each column add up to 11 so, that's the answer. I've tried and tried to explain it to her but, it's like there is a brick wall keeping it out of her brain, tell her, show her and then ask her to do a problem and, she still does it her way. Good thing lawyers are allowed to use calculators.

Arthur Benjamin makes a good case for doing all math from left to right. You might want to get her one of his books. I like Secrets of Mental Math. There really isn't a need to carry or borrow. For example when I read your problem my brain sees 1245-25=1220, 1220+1=1221

Sometimes when people struggle with a particular method and then they see it done a different way it will click.