thisisdyscalculia-blog

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Dyscalculia problems:

Figuring out how much your tip should be at a restaurant correctly...but then subtracting it from the total of your bill instead of adding it.

Lucky my friends caught my error, or I would have unintentionally stiffed a very nice waiter due to my atrocious arithmetic skills.

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Hi! I'm italian. Here there is a wonderful organization, specialized in diagnosing and helping both children and adults with learning disabilities. A neurologist tests you, with a procedure that lasts 4/5 hours for adults and a little more for kids. Universities have a support system if you have an official diagnosis, but it's not always good. (mine it's fantastic, luckily). Unfortunately dyscalculia is not well known, so usually it's diagnosed too late - I was 21 for example.

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I have a question, I can count just fine unless it's like by threes or something. And unless a box has more then something like six things in it I can tell how many there are. But anything like analog clocks, or math strategies like times tables and up i just cannot get to save my life? I can't tell left from right unless I shake my eating hand, the concept of time is otherworldly. I'm incredibly clumsy and have no coordination whatsoever. But I have a great memory? Is this still dyscalculia?

I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘great memory’. A lot of what you talk about sounds like textbook dyscalculia.

Memory is a funny thing. I can remember entire chapters of books, some of which I haven’t read in decades. I can remember songs I listened to when I was six, or that a kid I once babysat for had a hamster named Baron Jigglypuff. But I can’t remember the number of the bus I take to work (after googling, it’s 64), or the address of my friend’s apartment despite having visited it at least twenty times. My number-related memory is much weaker than my verbal memory. Memory itself is not a monolithic entity.

Memory is relative. Perhaps your memory is simply much stronger in other areas than it is in others. It doesn’t invalidate dyscalculia symptoms. 

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Hi! I was wondering how you get diagnosed with dyscalculia. I have always had major trouble with arithmetic and simple maths and have a horrible sense of time and a lot of the other symptoms but none of my counselors at school know what dyscalculia even is. Is there a test or something like that? thank you!!!

Please read through this blog; I answer this question very regularly. Thank you!

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only just realizing at (how old again) 24 years old I probably have this and not being able to explain at work why numbers bounce off me, because I was told through school I was just bad at math. and will now just sound like I'm making up shitty excuses because I'm not diagnosed. Why did she forget our street address she's worked here for a year? Why does she look like she dropped her ice cream when someone asks her a basic math question? I don't know haha I'm just spacy haha fuck

Sometimes it's such an absolute relief to know there's a reason for the 'spaciness' -- the forgetfulness, the fear of being asked to do math on the fly.

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Hey anon! It's called /r/dyscalculia !

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Wait, there's a dyscalculia subreddit?! I had no idea! I was diagnosed only a few months ago after struggling with math my whole life– it's nice to talk to people who understand!

I don’t use Reddit myself, but it appears there is!

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I talked to four different people about dyscalculia in reddit, and they thought it was cool! Well not cool, but they thought it was cool that was a thing? Idk. Two of them actually thought they had it and I showed them the subreddit.

Ah, that makes me happy! :) One of the best things I hear from people is their relief/understanding that dyscalculia exists. Sort of makes up for all the people who say we’re faking. :)

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(Non-dyscalculic anon here again) Okay, so um, can you have dyscalculia if you understand complex maths fine, but struggle with more "basic" maths? (Sorry, I don't know how else to phrase it, not trying to be condescending.) I have a friend who matches with a lot of the other symptoms quite well, but she's not so sure about it for this reason, so we were wondering if this was a thing at all?

That's actually fairly common! Some dyscalculic folks (like myself) will struggle with basic arithmetic and even reading and writing numbers, but be able to do complex types of math like calculus and geometry much more easily. And you didn't sound patronizing; don't worry! ☺

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Hey, do you mind if non-dyscalculic folk ask questions? Like, on behalf of other people, for instance?

I don't mind, as long as you're discreet and respectful!

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Really a confession, I am a psych major and I was explains dyscalculia to another person with a learning disability and she said "there is no such thing as that" and I felt so angry and humiliated because they couldn't understand my struggles, felt like she took away my trophy of being able to understand myself.

I’m so sorry, anon :( Please don’t let this person’s cruelty get you down, or try not to. Your struggles and emotions as a dyscalculic person are valid, and no one’s opinion makes them any less so. <3

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don't know if it's my dyscalculia, sleep deprivation or if i'm just making excuses but does anyone else have a really hard time with adobe illustrator? i'm an art major taking a computer graphics class and i sailed through learning photoshop but illustrator just gives me those bad dyscalculia spatial reasoning headaches....

I have never used Illustrator, so I’m going to open this up. Anyone else want to chime in?

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Is an inability to remember certain 'simple equations' considered a symptom? Like for instance sometimes (or with a calculator) i know ten times ten is one hundred but other times ill think that but then i second guess myself into a wrong answer

I think I know what you mean, yes, and it’s not a definite sign, per se, but it sort of plays into the other things that are definite symptoms--for example, dyscalculic people have notoriously terrible memories when it comes to math--I know I for one would go into tutoring three times a week, but I’d forget everything I learned between sessions so I basically had to learn it all over again.

Second, and this is harder to explain, but I think a lot of it has to do with the...impermanence a lot of us feel towards numbers. Because we tend to transpose numbers (ie, 679 becomes 769), it makes us feel as though number-related things are a little more...untrustworthy, so we tend to second-guess ourselves. I’m not dyslexic, but I hear the trope about letters ‘dancing’ on the page, and I feel that with numbers. Numbers that exist in one form one moment might exist in a different form the next moment. 

Thirdly, I think a lot of the time, because we’re so used to getting wrong answers, we’re much more hesitant to believe it when we actually get something right. I’m utterly baffled when I actually do math correctly or remember something right. 

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If there’s one thing you could tell the world about what it’s like to have dyscalculia, what would you say?

You are confused.

You always seem lost or unable to tell the difference between left or right.

You can’t tell if that pile of objects hold 10 or 5 objects it.

You struggle when you have to count because you tend to mix up numbers while doing so.

You are unable to read the analog clock so whenever someone asks you what time is it you get an anxiety attack because you have no idea how to tell them the exact tine.

Growing up being told to be lazy or just suck at math.

Being bullied and made fun of because that one time in 8th grade it took you more than a minute to solve a simple mathematical problem.

Learning a new language is toublesome when it gets to the ‘numbers’ and ‘telling the time’ part of lecture.

You develop an compulsive behaviour, because you cannot determine time and unsure how late you are to an appointment so you overlook your written down schedule or the time on your phone like 10000 times.

The faces of dissapointment of people who you tell them your inability to process anything numerical

The face and nag you get from your math tutor when you told them you aren’t able to tell time or solve a mathemathical problem.

Baking.

Historical timelines.

Timelines.

Distances.

Measurements.

If you’re an artist; proportions, perepective, size difference between two objects and distances are a hell to draw/paint

People who laugh or think you are faking it because they never heard of anything like 'dyscalculia’

“Oh I have that too! I’ve always been bad at math”

Because nobody has heard of it or the awarness isn’t as spread as other disabilities, you feel completely alone and feel like a complete imbecile from constant shame, overthinking and anxiety.

It is a learning disorder, like any other, it not only affects us in educetion but in our daily life too. And everyday, it’s a struggle to us.

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Unrelated Mod Post:

I just did my own taxes for the first time ever!

For someone without a learning disability, that’s pretty awesome. But for somebody with dyscalculia, that’s even more of a triumph.

Celebrate the little things.

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so i'm finally getting tested for dyscalculia but i'm freaking out over the fact that i might not have it and im just generally so stupid at maths,, what do i do if i don't have it?

Okay, anon, deep breath, okay? 

I personally have never met someone who got tested for dyscalculia who didn’t end up having it--although if there is anyone here who has had that experience, please chime in; we value your opinions. I unfortunately am unable to give you a concrete next step if this is the case.

If you don’t have it, there is always a chance you have another condition such as executive functioning disorder or ADHD. 

Barring that, please remember, dear anon, that even if you don’t have dyscalculia and you are just one of those people that is bad at math, that your worth as a human being does not depend on what you can and cannot do. There are so many other things you are incredible at. You may be kind, or talented at art, or athletic, or maybe you’re great at caring for your pets or being a good friend. Whatever your case is, please know that you are not defined by your weaknesses, but by your strengths. And I know you have strengths.

My heart is with you. I hope your testing goes all right. <3

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If there’s one thing you could tell the world about what it’s like to have dyscalculia, what would you say?

It’s not “just being lazy” or “just being bad at math” it’s a disorder that you can’t help and it is no fun whatsoever.