#actually dyscalculic

[maths-screaming]

Things That Are and Are Not Changing as a Result of Re-Teaching Myself Basic Math

Things That Are Changing

I am less anxious about basic math.

I have more tools for doing basic arithmetic problems.

I'm better at identifying which will be the fastest or easiest tool for any given problem.

I can more quickly and easily ID when an exact answer is needed or when an estimate will suffice.

I'm marginally better at noticing when an answer can't be correct.

Things That Are Not Changing

I still transpose numbers frequently.

I still transpose operations frequently (adding when I should subtract, dividing when I should multiply, etc.)

I still have initial anxiety when looking at a math problem, before the "oh yeah, I have more tools for addressing this now" kicks in.

I still frequently mix up my right and my left.

My sense of direction is still bad.

I cracked Maths - No Problem! Textbook 4A today, putting me halfway through the series. I'm making this list for future reference, because I suspect the things that aren't changing will continue to not change.

Better math education won't change the fact that I have dyscalculia. I didn't expect it to, but I also didn't know what it would or wouldn't change. When I started this, I didn't know where my dyscalculia ended and my poor math education or math anxiety began.

Still, if we can fix "poor math education" and "math anxiety," I'll be much further ahead than when I started - and more willing to live with the dyscalculia.

[matchakuracat]

[boyfeelxo]

doing math feels like once you learn something and you do it well they suddenly add a new rule which makes everything you just learned basically uselees

[incognitopolls]

Note: options for people with dyslexia are included because anon is curious if dyslexics have the same issue.

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We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[raethehater]

do you struggle with coordination ? horrible dancer no matter how much you learn? mind goes completely blank when your looking at math that isn’t basic multiplication? failed multiple basic math classes? my friend i think you should look into dyscalculia!

[queerautism]

After much hard work my credit has gone from 'fair' to now 'Good' btw!! I'm proud of myself!!

I have dyscalculia so bad even the most basic math gives me trouble. It was difficult for me to figure out all my bills, utilities, taxes, disability benefits, etc but I tried really hard (getting some great help from Dave too) and now I have a system and everything is getting paid. I'm saving up a tiny bit, slowly. I'm trying to be responsible with money.

We're still poor af and it's fucking hard but it's slightly less stressful now. And I'm hoping a better credit rating will make it easier to move eventually.

[zebulontheplanet]

I have several learning disabilities. My official diagnosis is literally just “learning disability” not even kidding.

I have dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia. Each of which have impacted my life severely. On top of all of these, I also have ID, which affects my ability to learn. Overall, my brains a mess.

I wasn’t able to read chapter books until 8th grade, and even though I can now, they’re very overwhelming for me and I read pretty slow. My handwriting is also very terrible, like it’s barley readable to most. My dyscalculia is what I feel like impacts me one of the most. I can do very basic things with a calculator, like multiplication. Algebra is a hard no, and I can read an Analog Clock but they can’t be fancy and it takes me awhile to figure out.

Learning disabilities are a big struggle of mine, and it’s very demeaning and frustrating to have them.

Please be kind to your people with learning disabilities, we’re trying our best. I have so much more to say, and I’ll make some more posts on my experience with learning disabilities later.

[topazadine]

A Primer on Dyscalculia: The Learning Disorder You Weren't Told About in School

I rarely see people discussing this learning disability, to the point that many believe it doesn't exist (ie, saying math is the universal language and everyone understands it but just doesn't try) so I thought I'd explain a bit about what it is.

Dyscalculia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty with math, numbers, and some systematic learning that requires the use of memorization and application. Like its relative, dyslexia, it is not that someone is "stupid" or "not trying hard enough" to learn math; our brains are essentially wired not to absorb information in this form.

Common symptoms of dyscalculia include:

Inability to do basic math problems

Struggling to count, often using their fingers to count

Difficulty using multiplication and division

Challenges with visualizing heights, lengths, and widths

Difficulty counting change

Struggling to read a clock or divide time into reasonable measurements

Challenges with memorizing numbers, dates, and sequences

No one is actually sure how many people have dyscalculia because it is rarely diagnosed. Right now, estimates are around 3% to 7% of the population, but this is likely a vast underrepresentation.

Educators still believe the myth that everyone can do math and that those who say they can't are just refusing to apply themselves. This causes lifelong problems for dyscalculiacs because if not treated early enough, it is nigh-on untreatable.

Many people with dyscalculia may complete math problems in unusual and time consuming ways. For example, if you asked me to divide 145 by 5 without a calculator, this is how my brain would have to do it:

100 by 5 (20)

20 by 5 (4), then multiply this by 2 (8), then divide 5 by 5 (1)

And finally, add up all the results (20+8+1) to get 29.

Numbers that are not easily divisible or "chunked" like this would be nigh-on impossible for me to do in my head. I wasn't able to memorize the times tables and in fact needed a laminated times table well into elementary school (think 5th grade).

I distinctly remember feeling like everyone else was on the helm of the USS Enterprise when they could so easily shout out answers to simple multiplication or division problems, and I was always the last person to do those stupid times table sheets. Sometimes I couldn't even complete half of it by the time everyone else was done.

I failed 3rd grade math class and had to be assigned a tutor. This was despite getting all As in every single other class. In fact, I failed multiple math classes during my academic career.

Since my grades were so high in other classes, I had to petition to be put in a remedial math class. Everyone assumed that because I did well in things like English, science, civics, and so on, I must have been able to do what my peers could.

A college-level physics class was the hardest class I have ever done in my life, and I have a Master's degree in International Relations, which requires a lot of very dry and complicated political theory. That is the A I am most proud of because it required far more effort than anything before or since.

No one told me what dyscalculia was or identified a problem throughout my entire time in education. I had to seek out resources myself in adulthood before finally learning what my problem was. This, of course, led to significant "math fear" and self-esteem issues, especially in a society that is obsessed with STEM.

This learning disability can have far-reaching effects and impact things that other people may not even consider. There are many connections between systematized learning and math.

Dyscalculiacs may also have trouble with:

Learning languages

Playing musical instruments (because sheet music and tempos are a form of language + math, though it is possible to learn by ear)

Reading maps, including general world geography

Estimating distances

Navigating a new place because they can't make "mental maps"

Dancing (due to the sequencing)

Reading diagrams

Remembering step-by-step instructions without a cheat sheet

Completing complex tasks that have a lot of steps

Starting a project that necessitates doing things in a certain order, such as building something

Cooking or baking (because it requires measuring and matching measurements to specific ingredients)

Repeating sequences, like a phone number

Remembering numbered streets or highways (like I-480, 5th street, or etc)

Playing games that require counting or keeping score, like Yahtzee, card games, and so on

Completing spreadsheets with numbers

Of course, not every dyscalculiac will struggle with all of these things because there are different degrees of severity. Many also learn tactics to compensate. For example, I never learned sheet music but did well in choir because I memorized all the songs entirely by ear.

I have developed visualizations of common routes I travel and can navigate to them by remembering the landmarks I pass. If you tried to ask me specific step-by-step directions of anywhere, I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you that you'll pass a KFC on your right if you're going east (parallel to Lake Erie), and then you will turn left at the big shopping center.

There are plenty of adaptations that everyday people use which are lifelines to dyscalculiacs in ways that other people may never recognize. Formulas on spreadsheets, conversion websites, built-in calculators, and turn-by-turn navigation apps are all examples of accommodations that appeal to everyone but are especially important to dyscalculiacs.

So, the next time you scoff and say "everyone can do math, they're just being lazy" or "cooking is easy" or "anyone can learn a second language if they want to" or "using a calculator is cheating" and so on:

Recognize that you are ignoring a very real learning disability. These statements are ableist.

Such rhetoric is equally damaging as anti-dyslexic statements like "everyone can learn to read," "open dyslexic fonts are ugly," "audiobooks are cheating," "video lessons are lazy" and things of that ilk.

Ableism takes many forms, many of which people refuse to recognize. Difficulty with math is a widespread problem, and it often has nothing to do with trying hard enough or refusing to learn. I remember breaking down in tears trying to do my times table; I would spend hours trying to understand them.

These issues are NOT a lack of willpower or application. They have to do with real neurological deficits. Please be kind to those who can't do math, and stop assuming we're lazy.

[lesbian-disaster-academic]

Okay, I have a question for all the neurodivergents out there. A few mins ago, I was interacting publicly (reblogs, comments, etc.) with someone on another one of my sideblogs. And it occurred to me that, even though it's somewhat to a lesser degree, I'm still masking while on Tumblr dot com (a.k.a., Neurodivergent Central).

[robertseanleonardthinker]

the dyscalculia and hyperlexia combination goes crazy honestly. learning disability? yeah, dis ability to read 😎😎😎😎😎 also i cannot do basic multiplication

[maths-screaming]

Something Very Weird Just Happened to Me, Fam

I was doing some subtraction problems (no beans this time), and I encountered 35-28.

And my brain went "aren't those just 7s*?"

So I did 5-4, which is 1. 1x7 is 7. Also the answer.

I would have chalked this up to random chance on a randomized worksheet (mathisfun.com), but then the worksheet gave me a second example: 49-21. And then 35-21.

So I did the same thing with the multiples of 7. And checked my work. And I started to spot a pattern:

Multiples of 7, subtracted from one another, result in the multiple of 7 that's the difference of the ones that got subtracted.**

Is...is this what they mean by "number sense"? Did I grow some number sense? Why do the numbers make sense??

WHAT IS HAPPENINNNG

AND WHY IS IT THE NERDIEST COOL THING I HAVE SEEN SINCE END OF EVANGELION

* we were not taught to use the multiplication table in elementary, but we were drilled via flashcards until we knew everything through 9x9 cold. The result is that I can pull any of those out of my head, but I cannot just recite any list of them.***

**I am aware I explained that badly and also that there's probably a way to express that in algebraic notation. I'll get there. Ya girl just realized 7x5 minus 7x3 equals 7x2 for the first time in 40 years, lol.

***Except the threes, because I saw Schoolhouse Rock.

[sneefsnorf]

THIS DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH REMEMBER TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH DYSCALCULIA!!!

people with learning disabilities are so often overlooked by online advocacy communities, but especially dyscalculia as its one of the lesser known ones.

remember to include and celebrate the people that learn and process maths differently and with more difficulty than you.

and to my fellow dyscalculia havers (and others with learning disabilities), i love you!! we are amazing people. have a great disability pride month <3333

[rook-of-the-woods]

Uhm if anyone was wondering what dyscalculia is like..

[nuthinh3re]

[sunset-starr]

I was just reflecting on the fact that when I was an 8 year old with undiagnosed dyscalculia I was trying so hard to learn fast facts, and they just never stuck. All my teachers were telling me that I would need to have all my fast facts memorized in order to make it in life- but than as soon as I got out of middle school I always had a calculator. Tbh that’s so weird to me. Like even though I didn’t have dyscalculia explicitly diagnosed at the time, I feel like you shouldn’t be telling an 8 year old they’re not gonna make it through school if they don’t memorize multiplication table.