Dyscalculia

That's great! Never be ashamed or embarrassed about yourself. I have epilepsy. It is under control now, but I had surgery in 2004 and there were pros and cons of course. The good part was that it decreased my seizures dramatically, but the bad part is that my memory, concentration, and grasping information has slowed down severely. I could forget something you told me this morning unless it was something I found truely interesting. It's like I have ADHD! I was in school for pharmacy technician, but after the surgery I failed the math class 3x, got bored so easy in my internships .. So I decided to take up auto technician. It's a fun job for me b/c I'm not doing the same thing all day long. I forget left and right .. you know what I do? Ur left hand always makes a big L with your thumb and first finger. Your right finger, just holding up your first finger as if saying "Right here!" .. That helped me! But never think you're anything less .. You can do so much! That's just a little skid mark in the road .. you just need a new tire. Not a whole new car! lol :)

Thank-youTransAm85for your warm response :)

I find the trick with the left hand very helpful! I still count on my fingers so I see no reason to use my hands as a neccessary aid to help me. I can relate to being easily distracted by my environment too, I have had moments where I'll go into another room to do/get something and I'll have completely forgotten the reason once I'm there!

@TransAm85 Thanks for sharing.

my daughter has dsycalculia...we just found out although we've suspected that she had some learning problem for a while. i have dyslexia myself so i know how it is to grow up with a learning disability. i wish more people understood and knew about this particular learning disability. it's a very hard to cope with. it would help so that kids learn not to be cruel to others who suffer from learning disabilities and maybe not able to grasp certain things in school as quickly as others do.

@gizlby Thanks for sharing.

@gizlby Thanks for sharing.

Hello! I also have dyscalculia, and it has been a real struggle for me throughout my entire academic life. Because it is a lesser known disability, it is often overlooked and undiagnosed. I spent my entire elementary + junior high grades being told I was lazy and that if I only dedicatedmyself, I would get the good grades in my maths that I had everywhere else. Not only was it belittling, because I was trying at least twice as hard in my maths as I would anywhere else, it was shameful. Why can't I understand these basic concepts that my peers have no difficulty with? Why can't I read sheet music without the notes moving on me? Why can't I think about maths without getting a headache? Worst was the disappointed looks I would receive from the adults in my life whenever I couldn't do it.

When I was around 13, I was lucky enough to stumble into a friend who had been diagnosed with dyscalculia, and after having her go through the symptoms, realized that that might be what I too was experiencing. So I badgered my mum to book me some educational testing, and lo and behold, I have dyscalculia.

Not only has it been a huge weight off my shoulders to understand why I have trouble understandings maths and related concepts, but I have been introduced to a community of people like me who understand what I have gone through and continue to go through.

Just goes to show that knowledge truly is power.

@Berty Thanks for sharing.

That's AWSOME! Never stop saying the truth and accepting things. I myself am dyslexic I found out when I was in grade 8 through an English project and the head of the LS department talked to me and she told me that she believes we all have a gift and that mine is, helping. I agree that when or if we're given a "chance we can blossom and share our unique gifts and perspectives with the world." The world is a beautiful place and I'm merely glad that I'm dyslexic because I know I'm unique and been gifted with a gift I share with thousands whom've had success and some whim have learned from failure and learned that failure is another staircase to success....I'm not saying we're prefect or oh so unique I'm saying that there are thousands of people just like us who share th same disability and that for us the world isn't always round nor black and white and that people who u think are stupid aren't as stupid as u think they are and that our minds are different form other people which gives us the ability to see things differently.

Dyslexia and discalculia are similar they both are disabilities and they both are academic related.

@GonnaBeAMedStudent101 Thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure if I've been officially diagnosed with dyscalculia. I do know that I've got a dossier of learning disabilities since I was 4 years old. I also struggled throughout lower and higher education systems. I always thought it was my fault. Even in being a Listener and having been educated about diseases and disabiltieis that are out of our control, I still believe that my strugglesare my own doing. The latter "dangerous" self-blame has propelled me to graduate with a bachelor of SCIENCE degree from a good school. My final GPA? 3.33. What am I doing now? I'm going head first into computer programming. Yeah, you read that right: I'm diving into the stuff we all loathe, hate, and fear. My secret? I treat math like a language. When someone has trouble communicating with me, I turn into the most patient person I can be. I treat math problems like people lost in translation. Over time, I see patterns and I can recognize how to "translate" a "communication" faster (read "solve" and "math problem" respectively). I highly recommend you all read The Secrets to Mental Math by Arthur T. Benjamin (Professor @ Harvey Mudd College). We learned to calculate math wrong in school and Prof. Benjamin will teach you the "correct" way of solving math problems.

@NotRated Thanks for sharing.

I dont have this, but both my partner and her daughter do. I struggle with trying to be paitent while helping her with math homework. Now that multipication has starter she is really struggling to keep up. I have to constantly remind my self to be calm and take it easy. I also struggled in math, but in a very different way...so I am at a loss of how to help her...any more ideas?

@SoulMoon28 Sorry your stuggling. Try using a calulator. That has helped me.

I do have a math disability. So I understand.

Also if she is still in public school,try getting her into Spec ed.

Not sure if your in the US or not,but there are laws that proctect the rights of people with disabilities who attend public schools.

How do I know this?

Because I was in spec ed all my public school life.

I hope this helps.

Never be ashamed about yourself. Do share things with your close one (friends and family members), they will surely come out of with different suggestions that can help you. My child is also suffering from LD, when I shared it with my cousin they suggested me to enroll him in Aaron School in New York. And after few weeks we had started seeing some improvement.

Hi I also have this learning disability. I always knew I had a math disability but didn't get tested for it until I was in college. ( I'm 22 now) It's a real struggle to go through the college math but it's the only way I can graduate. I am hopeful if I study everyday and quit my student worker job and take less classes I can pass. I'm really thank full for this forum since I don't know anyone with my disability.

I know I have dyscalculia!!!! Reading your posts makes me feel like I'm not alone. I'm an adult but I cannot do math!! School was a nightmare for me because I'm also dislexia. I'm only now starting to wonder why I have these things. What it means. How it effects me. Does it mean we are stupid? Or slow? I've been embearssed by these struggles my whole life!!! Also, I wasn't ever officially dianosed and then in college I found out. But then it all felt to late! And I was embarrassed! It took me 14 years and 3 universities to get a degree but I did in 2006!! I had to take a math course to pass and I literally couldn't do it. They saw how hard I tried and literally made a special exception for me. They would sit next to me and show me how to do one problem at a time. I would try and explain it and do it back. But 1 minute later I couldn't do it again. But they passed me anyway because I tried so hard. It was just all so hard and I hate school!! I sometimes think what it could be like to go on and get a master's degree but I've been told I couldn't handle it. Is this like any of you???

I'm just wondering SO many things!!!! How are you all effected? Are you shy? I am so shy and can't handle to much social things. I get lost all the time!! Everywhere! Right and left mix me up! I can't do music things and rhythm is hard and I can't do past division. It honestly has effected so much of my life!!! And my siblings are all very smart!! I was always labeled the dumb one.

@Ketsuki Thanks for sharing.