VISITOR: I am wanting to know more about whether or not I have Dyscalculia after having read various articles on the subject. All of this research came about yesterday as a result of playing a game of Triopoly--a more complex game inspired by Monopoly-- with my husband, in which I had such difficulty solving the subtraction and addition of money I had to collect or pay, that at one point, I had to fight back the tears because it was quite obvious that he could see I had a problem. You see, I knew I was no longer going to be able to hide the fact that I had a problem with solving certain basic math equations, retaining their formulas, and conceptualizing them effectively in my mind. I was so frustrated and embarrassed because out of all the subjects involved in education, MATH, was my biggest problem. No pun intended. All my teachers have recognized that I am intelligent and highly articulate; however, my math scores have been consistently low. Math is the only subject that makes me feel dumb-as-a-rock-stupid. But last nights game of Triopoly was the straw that broke the camel's back. I frankly told my husband that the numbers get jumbled in my mind to such an extent that I cannot solve many equations properly, or if I can solve them it takes longer than what is average because of how the numbers and or formulas tend to distort and get lost in these situations. My brain also seems to freeze, and a wave of anxiety overwhelms me so that I cannot even think. It's awful! The subject of Dyslexia followed my confession of the number problem, and after thinking about Dyslexia more, I wondered if there was a "math version" of it since there seemed to be some similarities between my symptoms and those of Dyslexia. It did not take long for me to discover that Dyscalculia does exist and that I have many of the symptoms that fit for that diagnosis. What I want to know is where to go from here. I also need to explain to an expert my educational situation (history), as it is a bit unusual and may be an obstacle in collecting evidence for this condition in the process of getting a proper diagnosis. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
DYSCALCULIA.ORG:
It certainly sounds as if you suffer with dyscalculia.
Here is basic guidance for adults:
When getting evaluated, ask these questions:
(1) Do I have health insurance that covers a neuropsychological evaluation? a clinical psychological evaluation? an ed psych eval?
(2) What relief will a diagnosis provide me? Is it worth the expense?
We can evaluate you, but if you disclose your location, we may be able to point you to a local expert.
