VISITOR: Yes. I am 42 and I still do not have my GED. I have tried and failed. I was in Special Education classes in Junior High School. I always had a very difficult time with Arithmetic and Mathematics. I was told that I simply had a mental block. I've been trying to study for my GED again and I finally decided to search the internet for information about my extreme inability to comprehend mathematics. I found this website. I took community college courses in psychology. I scored higher on some of the exams than anyone else in the classes. I was told by my psychology professor that I could certainly acquire a Masters Degree in psychology but since there was no way I could complete the advanced mathematics classes and did not have a GED I could not continue progressing in the class. I watched the video entitled "Dyscalculia Signs & Research" and the people there with dyscalculia were doing exactly what I have always done. Counting the dots one by one. Adding on their fingers like me. Making all sorts of marks and equations on the scratch paper and counting out the numbers to do multiplication problems. I also do not have any memory for mathematics and always end up forgetting how to work through basic multiplication and division problems. I cannot visualize the numbers and the problems at all. I can't comprehend even basic fractions. I am certain that I have dyscalculia. I am here to fill out the checklists and to begin seeking ways to be tested so that the system can't railroad me anymore with mathematics that I am not competent at understanding.
DYSCALCULIA.ORG: Psychology will require statistics. You can get from here to there, but quite differently than others. You will need intensive and specific accommodations and academic adjustments. First get tested so your disability is legally documented. Then prepare for the GED. Apply to a college that will accommodate your dyscalculia. Although all colleges should, few know what to do. Start here:
Here's some helpful information for beating dyscalculia:
Manage It | Conquer It | Fix | To Do | Remediation
If you need diagnostic testing, see: Testing by Dyscalculia.org
Also see: College & Dyscalculia
Friday, September 23, 2016
Math Disability, No GED, No Degree
Monday, September 19, 2016
Number Switches but Generally Good at Math...Is it dyscalculia?
VISITOR: After doing some research I think I could potentially have a form of dyscalculia. While I am not 100% sure by any means I wanted to contact someone to see what's going on with me.
To start I have always been fairly decent at math, it does take me a little bit to process the information but I am actually able to get by and don't have too much of an issue solving complex problems (I even took a test to see if I have dyscalculia and got a 100% correct on it in a short amount of time without even struggling).
The issue I tend to have is what I could only call a jumbling of numbers. I regularly see a number and flip the numbers around. For example; just today I ran a deposit at my bank and ran it for 257.68 I saw the transaction was out of balance and couldn't figure out why. I had to look again and saw that it was actually 258.67.
This happens quite frequently where I see one number and then realize that I somehow rearranged the order of some of the numbers and got a different similar set of numbers. I find if I take my time and really pay attention and concentrate on what I am looking at with each individual number I am fine.
As someone who is good at math I find it really frustrating to have this issue, especially when I get things wrong because I misread normal numbers. Is this a form of dyscalculia or is it something else?
DYSCALCULIA.ORG:
Your logic, reasoning, directional sense, sequential memory, memory for math facts and procedures, and even your working memory must all be sufficient to perform complex quantitative tasks. Your problem seems to be isolated to digit processing. So while you eyes see fine (perception), the order of the digits is not entirely fixed. The visual impression of the numbers is somewhat weak or ambiguous, and during processing, the brain recalls them inaccurately when it comes to taking action on them, like during thinking about, reading, speaking or writing the numbers.Knowing that you are prone to this processing glitch, you must triple check place value by isolating numbers and thinking, "8 pennies, 6 dimes, 7 dollars, a fifty, and two hundreds...less than 300." Then look at the whole number and say it, "two hundred fifty seven and 68 cents." Isolate the digits and compare again after you have written or entered them. In other words, because the brain receives WEAK impressions of numbers, you need to DELIBERATELY pay attention to the order of the numbers and articulate some judgement or opinion about them. Triple check, and assure accuracy. When there is no room for error (like when something is being sent to the printer), ask someone to check your numbers for accuracy to avoid costly mistakes. And just admit it, sometimes you unconsciously make digit sequencing errors, like some other people make spelling errors.It is a very common characteristic of dyscalculia, which contributes greatly to inaccuracies and frustration. You are lucky that you don't have all of the other conditions that further frustrate number processing and performance.
Dyscalculia in Finland
VISITOR: What's going on with dyscalculia in Finland?
DYSCALCULIA.ORG: Here are some Dyscalculia References in Finland:
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=numeracyhttp://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=numeracyhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982207020726https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924151007.htmhttps://www.slow-watches.com/the-blog/eat-this-dyscalculia/
Dyscalculia at 48 and in college?
VISITOR: I am close to tears, yet very excited! I am a 48 year old woman, who can not do math. I have dealt with this my entire life, and always thought that there was something so very wrong with me! I think I may have dyscalculia. I am attending college right now working on getting my Bachelors degree in General/Special Education, and had my first math course in June, which I was unable to complete after the first 2 weeks, and had to withdraw due to complete confusion, and anxiety. I need help. I never pursued my dream of a college degree, because I knew that I could not pas the math and science. Please help me if you can I need to know what to do, and I just happened upon the website when I was doing some reading on LD and I did not even know what dyscalculia was! Any information/direction you can give me would be so greatly appreciated.
DYSCALCULIA.ORG: In order to get assistance with dyscalculia in college, you must be formally tested and have any learning disabilities properly documented. For complete instructions, see:
LD assessment by Dyscalculia.org and College & Dyscalculia
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
No Understanding of Time or Numbers, but As & Bs in Other Subjects.
VISITOR: I am the parent of a 12 year old who enjoys reading, but has a lot of difficulty with retaining and recalling basic math facts. She is able to understand math concepts, such as how to find the square root of a number, but spends an extraordinary amount of time trying to recall answers to even simple math facts, such as 5x5 or 2+8.
It is hard for her to identify and use place value, or to group like numbers. She also struggles to identify time in any form, estimate the passage of time, or make plans based on time. For instance, if she wanted to bake cookies to take to an activity 2 hours in the future, she would be unable to estimate if she had time enough to do so, even when provided with information about how long it would take to prep and bake the cookies.
While doing math problems, she becomes frustrated or distracted, as it takes a long, long time for her to complete assignments and tests. This is not helped by the fact that she seems unable to comprehend the passage of time; she may struggle with a problem for 30 minutes without seeking help, later to discover much more time has passed than she realized and she is far, far behind her peers in her work.
In the past, we have tried intensive work to memorize math facts, which has created anxiety and resulted in minimal retention. We have set timers to help her regulate work, but she is frequently shocked when the timer rings--to her, little to no time has passed.
The most effective intervention has been when teachers decrease the number of problems she needs to complete on an assignment; having fewer problems tends to decrease her anxiety and increase her overall productivity. Despite her difficulties with recalling math facts and telling time, she is a hard working student who earns A's and B's.
DYSCALCULIA.ORG: (1) Email the principal to request testing for learning disabilities, with a focus on math. (2) In addition to testing, make sure the school gives her Tier 2 intensive remedial math instruction for 30 minutes per day using methods proven effective with weak math learners. (3) If the school refuses to test her, tell them you will file a complaint. (4) Use our Money Lessons to teach place value and basic math understanding. (5) See this information take charge of dyscalculia: Manage It | Conquer It | Fix | To Do | Remediation | Accessing Math | Appreciating Math | Best Math Tools.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Computer Programming with Dyscalculia
VISITOR:
I am looking for help in overcoming my anxiety and improving my math skills. I am a front end developer skilled in HTML and CSS. I rely on my visual / artistic skills to connect the code to the outcome. As the industry become javascript and functional programming heavy, I need to be able to keep up. I am hitting very familiar walls when I try to learn the basic programming concepts of these, and other, languages. They rely on abstraction and the ability to remember sequences.
My math disability symptoms: (b) Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name-face association. Substitute names beginning with same letter., (c) Inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Bad at financial planning and money management. Too slow at mental math to figure totals, change due, tip, tax., (d) When writing, reading and recalling numbers, these mistakes may occur: number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals., (e) Inability to grasp and remember math concepts, rules, formulas, sequence (order of operations), and basic math facts (+-x/)., (f) Poor memory (retention & retrieval) of math concepts- may be able to perform math operations one day, but draw a blank the next! May be able to do book work but then fails tests., (i) Difficulty grasping concepts of formal music education. Difficulty sight-reading music, learning fingering to play an instrument., (j) Difficulty with motor sequencing, noticeable in athletic performance, difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing physical directions like in aerobic, dance, and exercise classes. Difficulty with dance step sequences, muscle memory, sports moves., (k) Difficulty remembering how to keep score in games, like bowling, cards, etc. Often loses track of whose turn it is. Limited strategic planning ability for games like chess., (l) Experiences anxiety during math tasks., (m) Uses fingers to count. Loses track when counting. Cannot do mental math. Adds with dots or tally marks., (n) Numbers and math seem like a foreign language.Try these for coding:
DYSCALCULIA.ORG: It is great that you do HTML and CSS. Since it is markup, it seems easier than programming. There are several great JavaScript tools, so use them to help instead of programming from scratch. Search for a JS to do a certain job, copy and paste the code and carefully change the variables inside the code. You are already exercising your sequential memory with HTML and CSS, so you are going to try to extend it.
https://codecombat.com/
https://scratch.mit.edu/
Here's some helpful information for beating dyscalculia:
Manage It | Conquer It | Fix | To Do | Remediation
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