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anyone have Dyscalculia?

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Hi I just learned of this website this week- I have been told i hae Dyscalculia and don’t know much about it- or anyone especially an adult who has it? IF there is anyone i can talk to that has it can you write me? You could send me an email directly to my email address.
I am 35 and am struggling at work more than I did at college. It is starting to be a problem and my employer does not know I have a Ld? any advice would be greatly appreciated.?

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Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/28/2003 - 10:44 PM

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hi
i am a young adult and i have dyscalculia the math learning disablity
take care
bye
princess

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 06/04/2003 - 10:24 PM

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Yes, I got this one too. I’m dyslexic to, but dysclaculia was worst. I can very simple math like balence my checkbook, it almost alway off.
Tim

Submitted by jennbree on Fri, 07/18/2003 - 4:28 AM

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I’m just being laid off my job working in the library. The reason I took this job was because I would not have to handle money, counting, math skills, etc. I have not been actually diagnosed with discalculia(forgive my spelling), but my mother told me as I was growing up she had to sit with me for 6-7 hours Just for mathematics. It was always embarassing to me as I grew up( now 21).

Submitted by Dan on Sun, 08/17/2003 - 6:37 AM

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Hello,

Well, I don’t think I have it BUT, at one time I sure would have thought so. I got straight D’s in my HS math and while I was able to figure out some of the information, it wasn’t until I was 30 years old that I finally saw how, when and why math worked! :o

I sat in a Math-U-See demonstration (my wife was the rep doing the demo (it was her first ever), I was just there to help). She started explaining things and as she explained place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and fractions it was like a HUGE light bulb went on :shock: . Now I can’t say that it will work for everyone, but…

You can go to the website www.mathusee.com and find your local rep and request a free demo video. The video is awesome and chances are you will learn something new.

Submitted by jkm on Fri, 08/22/2003 - 1:50 PM

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i have dyscalcula and it is difficult for me to do simple math problems. I can do money and adding and telling time,but i have difficulty rembering formulas and multiplying. :(

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 09/20/2003 - 10:14 PM

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I have dyscalculia like “the dickens” as we say here in the American South. If you would like to learn anything from it, then you can e mail me at [email protected], I guess.

Dyscalculia is an LD that does not have a lot of research behind it, really. That is frustrating becuase you can be at University and have people think you just have an anxiety issue or two with the mathematics, especially if you are a gal. I personally go to University right now, and I explained everything to my remedial mathematics teacher the best I could and am doing all I can. I do four hours of math (remedial algebra) a day six days a week. Not by choice, just becuase I am that slow with it. I even tried to go to the remedial mathematics tutoring lab and I am soo severly dyscalculic, or however you phrase it, that the poor tutor almost died when she was helping me. I mean really almost dropped dead in front of me, I tell you. It did not phase me, becuase I bought a calculator (I cannot do integers at all because I cannot subtract or add, really) and I have a big notebook full of paper and pencils, and my remedial math book and flashcards and another remedial math book that is for junior high schoolers and I sit my rear down and try to leran all that I can. In the school setting, if you try your damnedest and actually speak with your teacher, or if you are a minor, have your folks speak with your teacher, then you will do alright, you know? I have the mentality where I just make my mathematics teacher earn her money. I go to her office and ask her of things and make my slowness with the math very well known to her. Some people might think you are putting one over your teacher. But I ask you, who in the heck would try to act soo stupid on purpose? Think about it, I had to tell my teacher that the other day actually, I told her this issue of mine with math is not my idea of a good time, you know? Stay strong, originator of this string on the message board whose name I forgot already. Stay strong stay focused and if you are a minor find yourself a nice bank, now, that will help you learn of proper money management because we with dyscalculia have a hard time with that.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 10/15/2003 - 12:42 AM

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i dont think it was named this when i had it at first though in school.
At least i dont remember it. I graduated on a 9th grade math level in
Highschool back in 1990. Now that is probably at 5th or 6th grade math.
I homeschool my kids who are also Dyscalcula and LD in reading.
For math i have my husband who is far from LD in math and he
tries to help me out with the kids and math. I might have to hire tutor
for them or some online program as it gets more and more into it.
Heck since i was in school i have forgot most of my multiplicaton facts.
so now im even lower in grade level in math. Algebra is not something
i had to do either in school LD class so my daughter who is starting it
this year will be able to get no help from me on that :?
I also have problem when someone says a phone number i cant
remember mine until i have given it out hundreds of times or dial it alot.
They also have to say the numbers slow so i can write them down if
they say it too fast im totaly lost and have to have them repeat it again.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/03/2004 - 3:36 AM

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i have it too i have horrible spelling and it ebarrising to me also.

when my dauter was in grade school she would com up to me and ask the speeling of a word it got so she goso over to her dad for the speling an math wich is a mestry even the simple stuff!!
i rember takeing a whole night tring to balnce a check book how frustrating for an ld who can not add to good lol
:lol:

Submitted by AliciaH on Mon, 01/12/2004 - 5:09 AM

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I’ve got it. It’s really, really frustrating, because I understand the concepts and processes behind math just fine, but I can’t work through an equation without mangling the numbers. I just can’t hold the numbers in my head long enough to DO anything with them. Calculators help a lot, but I still have to work an equation several times to make sure I keep coming up with the right answer. The weird thing is, I can figure probablity without any trouble, and I’m very good with formal symbolic logic—I’m my college’s logic tutor in fact—and generally I’ve found that most of the students I tutor in logic have dyscalcia or simular math related disablities themselves: I’m told that math reasoning is closely related to logical reasoning, so if you have trouble with one you usually have trouble with the other. I know LDs come in all shapes, sizes, and eccentricties, but why I can do formal logic systems but I still can’t add two digit numbers without resorting to using my fingers and scrap paper baffles me. And forget about asking me to multiply or divide even single digit numbers. I can’t even memorise the silly tables, and I tried for years in school to do just that before my high school finally gave up when I was a sophomore.

Submitted by Sue on Mon, 01/12/2004 - 8:28 PM

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Is it that you get lost in the symbols — that the ideas aren’t complicated enough for your brain to go into the logic processing areas to work through them?

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/16/2004 - 4:55 PM

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I’m 27 and just last year I was diagnosed with math learning disability,processing speed disorder, and something called auditory processing disorder. It was frustrating as a kid being the worse in math. Teachers just said I “Wasn’t paying attention” or “Girls can’t do math.” It was horrible, kids would tease me and call me “retard”. So I understand what is going on with you. But never give up. :) I get help from the disabled center at coolege and i’ve passed algebra 1 with a B minus. It takes a lot of hard, frustrating work but I am determined to get my A/A degree in Spring 2004.

Submitted by latracy on Mon, 01/19/2004 - 2:19 AM

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I have the same problem and couldn’t pass a math class in college so I quit. I decided that I would try again, and I passed my first test due to a fire drill because the professor gave 15 points to be fair. This was the first test that I passed. After that, I passed all my tests. Later I participated in a Math Anxiety study where I learned that Anxiety can caused us to freeze on a test. I use the calculator for every thing, even simple addition and subtraction. I can not trust my own calculations. Once I learned this, I was able to survive. I got my teaching certificate, and am a very sucessful Language Arts teacher. My students know that I will transpose the page numbers, and the students with learning disorders relate to my problems. My advise, see someone about anxiety, use any tool to help you do math, and don’t let people make you feel dumb because you have a math problem. I hope this letter gives you hope. :D

Submitted by Joe Tag on Mon, 01/19/2004 - 3:09 PM

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…January 19, 2004; 10:12AM Eastern Time…

Hi, all –

Tracy, I find it curious you transpose page numbers, since
the page numbers of your text are on each page.
You are just copying the numbers down, as they appear,
exactly in order. Maybe, at home, you could verbalize
number ( recite: 14= fourteen; 41=forty-one. ) .

Also, in Language Arts, make sure there are page numbers on
all handouts. If I photocopy a syllabus, I want to make sure
page 2 lies in second, and not page 5 – I want to keep the pages
in order, and I ask the professor to number the pages ( or I do so ).

I failed College Algebra three times, though I have kept my textbooks.

There are several math programs out there, inexpensive.

Learning to use Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 (any version available)
will be helpful to many with Math LD issues.
I use online banking from my banks website, and the toll-free automated
voice number to check my balance. The machine voice recites my balance at my request.

Best regards,

Joe Tag ( [email protected] ; put “LD Friend” in Subject line )

– end –

Submitted by Sue on Mon, 01/19/2004 - 4:12 PM

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Transposition is so easy. You see 41 it just turns into 14.
When there are 46 (or was that 64) other things going on, sometimes that extra “forty and one” subvocalizatoin when you see a number you have to copy or put into an assignment gets dropped, but it’s a good idea and usually works ;)

Submitted by Joe Tag on Tue, 01/20/2004 - 3:33 AM

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It also involves ” transcription” ( writing the numbers out ). In teaching, and in classroom; you are copying from the text and from the board,
regarding assignments.
There should’nt be a problem, because of the re-inforced, and repetition
of writing the numbers out. For me, Algebraic formulas got to be a problem. People should learn about sequences: 14 comes after 12 and
13; 41 comes after 38, 39, and 40.

How do I use a Graphics Tablet with Stylus to do College Algebra?
My texts are: Beginning Algebra-8th (Eighth) Edition; by Lial and
Hornsby; published by Addison Wesley Longman; and
College Algebra and Trigonometry-2nd (Second) Edition by
Dugopolski, published b Addison Wesley Longman.
It takes me a while to write down and do math homework.

/signed/ Joe Tag,Jr.

–— end –—

[quote=”Sue”]Transposition is so easy. You see 41 it just turns into 14.
When there are 46 (or was that 64) other things going on, sometimes that extra “forty and one” subvocalizatoin when you see a number you have to copy or put into an assignment gets dropped, but it’s a good idea and usually works ;)[/quote]

Submitted by Sue on Wed, 01/21/2004 - 1:46 AM

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That’s pretty much the definition of LD in a nutshell — there shouldn’t be a problem …. but there is.

Submitted by Joe Tag on Wed, 01/21/2004 - 2:12 PM

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Sue –

Hi. I understand what you are saying. The frequency of people not
copying correctly, and transposing, will occur with the number of times
the numbers are not repeated. I.E.: If the Instructor does not copy
the page numbers on the board, and does not verbalize the page number of the text, then it is more likely the student may transpose (there is
no verbal number to follow up on, to cognitively help the student).
Further example: If a homework assignment is given verbally, yet
not reinforced by writing (either on the board or by handout), students
may forget to do the assignment, or do the wrong problems; as has
happened to me on occassion. The transposion errors lie with the
degree of repetition. A student could check immediately with a
friendly classmate beside them, too; “What page is that?” .

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/21/2004 - 4:19 PM

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That’s a good strategy — or even if it’s a *good* friend, “have I got this right?”

Submitted by Joe Tag on Thu, 01/22/2004 - 3:13 AM

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[quote=”Anonymous”]That’s a good strategy — or even if it’s a *good* friend, “have I got this right?”[/quote]

For any course, it’s good practice to make sure you have the correct
assignments (including page numbers, and problem numbers).

It’s also a good idea to get __either__ phone number and email
of 2 friendly classmates, to confirm what the assignments are, and
when they are due. I took fairly good class notes, copying from the
board. It was doing the homework on my own, that I had trouble
with Math homework. In class, you can see what your friend wrote
down, as far as due dates; even maybe, some of the examples that
were worked out, and find your errors. I found some of my errors;
others I did not understand where ( or how ) I could have goofed up.
I only blamed myself on that. I wanted a better way to do the homework
than with pencil and paper. But I have written enough.

I hope you are all having a good Semester.

See my other posts in “Adults with LD” here.

– end –

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/24/2004 - 5:28 PM

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With regards to higher ed and learning your math, I feel that your best source is your actual professor. It is all good and well to buddy up with a classmate and what have you, but ultimately you must develop a relationship with your professor so that they are made aware of the fact that you have dyscalculia. If you stay focused and motivated and work ahead, you will have the power to develop a working relationship with your professor. Ultimately, it is your professor who instructs you (obvious statement), it is your professor who grades you, and it is your professor who must be made aware of the fact that your dyscalculia is not an afectation or something that has roots in anxiety, it is a real, documented learning disability that you must learn to deal with. Now, of course, I am a lady so all I get with regards to this dyscalculia that I have had since 1984 is a lot of sexist nonsense, but that is besides the point. The only thing I know is that at the undergraduate level, you must develop a real relationship with your professor because they instruct soo many students that you must make sure that they know your situation and the valid truth behind it. Joe Tag, I think your posts are outta sight, but those little Barrons books work well too…Math Made Easy and Algebra Made Easy are swell reads also. Also, I wonder what can be done if you cannot take notes in your math class? And, if you are at that level where you need every step written out? Anyone know of anything for that? The silly ld offices where I go to UNi tell me I need a scribe, but that does nothing for notetaking, you know? They say I can use a scribe for test taking in math, but that is silly I think, does nothing for note taking improvement. Well, bless you all…

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/31/2004 - 2:23 AM

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Hi -
My name is Kris
I am to awful in anything w/ numbers. I cannot have a checkbook cause I am always bouncing checks.
I know what your going through and I feel for you.
Kris N.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/31/2004 - 2:23 PM

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Kris, my dear, I have two words for you…online banking! I think (at least till a cure for cancer is found:) that online banking is one of the most grand inventions! Love.It. Also, paying your bills with money order and just gradually working up to having a bank account is neat. Open a bank account with maybe $100.00 and make believe that is your bank account for the grocery store or some store you go to regularily. Keep track of your credits and debits with the online banking and work your way up to having a bank account for everything, you know? I go on the computer and print out my transactions and then I look at my balance and bring a calulator with me to go shopping and do my banking to the penny, you know? Draw the odd stare or two, but I do not care. I bet you could work your way up to having a bank account. And most employers do direct deposit, so that helps us folks out too, you know it?

Submitted by debrabrooks on Wed, 03/17/2004 - 10:29 PM

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The best thing that you can do for yourself is ask for an accomodation. Make sure you have it on paper. Figure out what may be helpful for you interms of not doing things that you can’t do. For example, you shouldn’t be working with the company finances. Most accomodations are not expensive and can make everyones life better. It’s the law. They have to accomodate you. If you get fired you have to have proof that you asked for an accomodation and were not given it.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 12/19/2004 - 3:54 AM

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Hey I have dyscalculia and am in my mid thirties. Both my brother and sister are whizzess at math and sometimes don’t understand why I don’t get “simple” ideas. It is frustrating because I am treated like a dummy sometimes.

Submitted by bgb on Sun, 12/19/2004 - 7:01 PM

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Hi Novagood. Welcome to the board.

It is frustrating having an invisable disability. People assume the wrong things.

I’m dysgrapic not dyscalic and no one knows that either is! I usually say something along the lines of dyslecix if it comes up.

I look forward to talking with you more.

Barb

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 02/01/2005 - 10:55 PM

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What were your experiences pre diagnosis with Dyscalculia, how did you cope with the diagnostic process, and after you were diagnosis? What were your feeling?

Submitted by Tracey_Anne72077 on Thu, 02/03/2005 - 3:37 AM

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[color=red]I won’t say much, since I just posted a LOOOOOOOONG one in a different thread where u can get most of my story. All I will say is this…Dyscalculia is like a mathematical Dyslexia. That is why we have the ability to transpose and reverse numbers and things because it all gets garbled in the messages being sent to the brain from the eyes. If you have Dyslexia also, take notice of the similarities next time u are reading a book, or trying to work out a math problem. Does that make any sense?[/color]

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/03/2005 - 1:57 PM

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When I grew up we just calld it “bad at math,” and because people thought I was “smart,” it was always assumed that I was lazy. I graduated from college only because the school allowed me to substitute extra science courses for math. This whole experience led me away from my original plans to teach in public schools, but presented other opportunities. I was able to finish graduate school in a program that did not require the GRE, and I have had a pretty successful career (so far). There is hope!

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/07/2005 - 7:10 PM

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[b][b][i][i]Hi out there, i’m writing paper for my edu. ass. course, and we currently learning about diff. stratages to help assist children and adults with LD. I’m intrested in five diff. response fr anyone with dyscalculia. Can you say what were some warning signs before your diagnosis? Were you formally diagnose?[/i][/i][/b][/b]

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/07/2005 - 7:27 PM

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You’ll want to post this as a new message if you want ‘new” replies. Otherwise people will think it’s just a reply to an old message and might not get to it.

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