Terrible at math average grades.

[Monachopia]

Having Aspergers is not a determining factor for academic skills. That presumption is based on stereotypes.

Personally, I understood all subjects (though struggled a bit with chemistry and physics at higher level) and was good at them at school - but had bad grades which was mostly due to crippling depression and laziness. Since then I have acquired 3 university degrees one of which was Computer Science. Normal math was always fine so long as I could revise the general rules, but when it gets to Calculus that's when I get very lost and don't understand it anymore. I am good at learning spoken languages, however, I don't understand programming languages, I can't seem to find the pattern to have them make sense.

So everyone's brains are different, we get some things, and we don't get others. I wouldn't worry about it. Being bad at math isn't anything to do with Autism - there's plenty of NTs who can't get a grasp of it either.

 

[tlc]

I've always been great at math, but struggled with algebra for the first semester until I got the hang of it, then it was easy. I think of math as a mechanical thing, you can get there many ways but there is usually one right answer. It doesn't change depending on how someone feels or whatever.

For the same reason I was great at spelling and grammar, shop, drafting.... Rules. Reading and writing fiction, history, government, pretty much anything else I was horrible at and just squeaked by.

When I was in school it was the coming of age of graphing calculators. I started algebra in 8th grade and there were 6 of us qualified to do so. It was fun, we teamed up together and worked out things on paper and the board. We learned how to think. Then along came the graphing calculator. I felt I didn't learn as much math-wise. It seemed we were more concentrated on how to use the calculator than on what we were actually trying to accomplish in the first place. But I went along with it and became the best TI-85 programmer in our little town. People would buy me a pop for writing them programs, even people who didn't really like me, which was weird but nice. The math teacher would pull me out of classes like government to write programs for his other classes and that was nice too.

But it's a change of times anyway. We get young people coming into the workforce and they were never taught how to visualize things from paper drawings, they need to see it in 3D. Where for me drawing in 3D is a hassle, it's way faster and easier to do 2D. It's very helpful knowing how to do things the old way, like when I'm standing around equipment and need to figure things out. But when the power goes out at work, we don't bring out the drafting boards, we go home.

 

[HannahMarie]

I think being a math genius is just a stereotype about people with Asperger's. Not everyone who has it is going to be good at the same things. I also generally struggled with math when I was in school. But I was quite advanced in reading and writing.

 

[Crossbreed]

My teachers thought I had an learning disability because of my poor math and average C grades.

"C" is not a bad grade for a subject that you are not into...

 

[onlything]

I remember that I was good at maths and physics - loved the problem-solving process - until I lost interest in it. Then it suddenly became a struggle to stay average.

 

[Adora]

Yes you can have Aspergers and struggle with maths. I struggled badly with math at school and my grades were not so good.I was even accused once of making up my problems with schoolwork and that really hurt since I genuinely was struggling.

 

[Nomen Dubium]

When I was in school I was terrible at math so bad that when I heard about Aspergers I though I did not have it. My teachers thought I had an learning disability because of my poor math and average C grades.

Because of this I never completed College flunked out and only worked once. This was all over 20 years ago.

My question is can someone have Asperger's but be generally bad academic?

My mathematical skill level can be described as 'remedial', so you're certainly not alone. My area of skill is writing, which is all kinds of ironic considering the language-based learning difficulties I've got. If I was ever able to climb one mountain, it was learning to write well, because that enabled me to bring to life other worlds to live in. I don't communicate verbally very well, what with the word-finding and stumbling, but I can write the hind legs off a donkey

 

[Tony Ramirez]

Glad I am hearing that you have to be a super genus especially in Math to qualify to have Autism Asperger's. Too think with my average grades I though I did not qualify and had more of a retardation disability.

I was even accused once of making up my problems with schoolwork and that really hurt since I genuinely was struggling.

I did the same thing when I could not understand Math I made up my own easier Math problems I could solve.

My area of skill is writing, which is all kinds of ironic considering the language-based learning difficulties I've got.

My writing skills were bad too however when I had a test in Math and writing I always though I know I passed the Math test but failed the writing test well it was always the opposite I bombed on the Math test but just about passed on writing.

 

[Fino]

I should have added that I'm not actually any good at math, I just like it anyway. But not geometry. Geometry is the only class I put genuine effort into but still failed. It makes no sense to me.

 

[onlything]

I should have added that I'm not actually any good at math, I just like it anyway. But not geometry. Geometry is the only class I put genuine effort into but still failed. It makes no sense to me.

Haha, for me it was always Statistics and Electronics - and people say they are easy! Well, not for me, they just... short circuit my brain

 

[Tony Ramirez]

Never got left back though. Thanks to my Grandmother and doing tons of extra credit in classes. Even Math had extra credit work to make just about pass. Also it was great my senior year Math was optional class and of course I was glad not to optionally take it instead opting for Photography which earned me an 100% in the class.

 

[GrownupGirl]

When I was in elementary school was great at reading and writing for a kid my age but I had a really bad time at math. In Grade 3 I used to cry almost every day at school because my brain would just go numb at the sight of fractions and long division. I hate the common misconception that everyone on the spectrum is supposed to be like Rain Man or whoever.

But at least I know that 1/3 is actually *more* than 1/4, unlike the customers in the 80's who thought A&W's new one-third pounder burger contained *less* meat than McDonald's quarter-pounder. Although I owe it to an episode of Square One on PBS that I saw as a teenager for learning that.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

Third grade is where I got lost in Math I use to like it when it was just adding and subtraction. Once I had to do multiplication, division and fractions I was bad at it since.