For as long as I can remember I have had trouble with math. In school I hated math, especially once things got beyond the simplest adding and subtracting. I remember having to stay after school for not doing my work. The problem with adding more than two numbers of 3 or more digits each was just overwhelming to me. The concepts of carrying over to the next column eluded and confused me. The teacher just thought I was lazy and stubborn, which certainly didn’t help the situation.
Even my family thought I was just being lazy. This difficulty with numbers has plagued me my entire life. It has lead to not being able to take care of my finances properly; my check book often doesn’t balance, resulting in being overdrawn at the bank and unable to pay important bills. I cannot do even simple math in my head; if it’s beyond 9+9, then you’d best give me a piece of paper and a pencil. To this day I haven’t memorized the entire times table. When writing down numbers I often transpose them, especially when writing down numbers that are being spoken aloud. For example if you tell me ‘seventeen’ there’s a good chance I’ll write it down as ’71’ because in the spoken word ‘seven’ comes first.
I never understood why I had such an aversion to and trouble with numbers and mathematics. I wasn’t stupid, I was reading before the end of kindergarten and have been devouring the written word ever since. English and history were easy subjects as were any others based on language and not numbers. Over the years I just decided I was ‘stupid in math’, that math was ‘just not logical’. Then one day I mentioned in an online forum that I felt I had some sort of dyslexia but with numbers and not letters. Bingo! The answer came; perhaps I had Dyscalculia.
Wikipedia defines dyscalculia as “a type of specific learning disability (SLD) involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics.
Not a lot is known about the causes of dyscalculia. There appears to be some evidence for environmental factors, such as differences in teaching methods and differences in learning abilities based on gender. In this case, the fact that even at the toddler stage, boys and girls are given different types of toys and encouraged to play differently from each other. Boys are accepted as being more physical, rough and tumble, and to play with more mechanical toys than girls. Girls are encouraged to play with dolls, to play house, to be quiet, to act ‘lady like. These differences could be a factor in developing dyscalculia according to the article Causes of Dyscalculia & Math Learning Difficulties at Dyscalculia.org.
Genetics also appear to play a role in dyscalculia, at least there is evidence that more than one member of a family will have difficulty with math and numbers. This may be due to inherited conditions in the parts of the brain that deal with mathematics. In my own family my mother is good with math but I am not. My children’s father can do math problems in his head faster than I can put the numbers in the calculator. Of my 3 children, 2 girls and a boy, one girl seems to be like me and has trouble with math, while her siblings appear to be normal or above normal in their acquisition and use of mathematics.
For those who are prone to dyscalculia, the only remedy appears to be a different teaching approach. One geared to their strengths to help them be successful while bolstering their weak points.
It also seems that a new approach to teaching math will help prevent dyscalculia, at least in some cases. A scholarly paper by Renee M. Newman, Dyscalculia: Instructional Design & Classroom Techniques, points out that mathematics is essentially a second language, one which many people, even those without a disability, never truly master. In her paper she outlines a program to introduce and reinforce math fundamentals in children as young as 6, though she adds that the ideas presented are appropriate for children from kindergarten through 4th grade. She also includes information for teaching adults.
If you have children you will want to keep an eye out for difficulties that might indicate they are having trouble in this or any other area. While parents sometimes react that their child is lazy and just doesn’t want to do the work, that is often not the case and the families reaction (as in my case) may lead to anger, resentment and low self esteem in the child.
The following are the signs of dyscalculia, summarized from dyscalculia.org.
Normal or above average language acquisition, that is the student reads, writes and speaks well. They may be good at poetry and other creative arts. They may be good at science in the lower grades until they reach a stage where they need advanced mathematical skills.
The student has a hard time with abstract ideas in the areas of time and direction. They get lost easily, they have a hard time remembering their schedules or to recall the sequence of events. They lose track of time and may be chronically late. They may have trouble estimating how long something will take. This is certainly true of myself, I often think things will take much longer than they really will or that I can finish a project in a much shorter time period than it really takes.
They may not be good at remembering names and faces.
They have a hard time with even basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and are not able to do any of these in their heads. They cannot develop or maintain a budget or keep their checkbook balanced.
They often add, subtract, reverse, omit or transpose numbers when reading, writing or working with them.
They have a hard time memorizing and recalling basic math concepts such as rules, formulas, order of operations, as well as basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.
They may have poor long term memory, being able to do the problem right now, but not tomorrow. They may be able to do the book work, yet fail on tests and quizzes.
The student may be unable to visualize the placement of the numbers on a clock face. They may not be able to ‘see’ in their mind how mechanical things work. They may not be good at remembering geographical facts, such as the placement of countries, continents or oceans.
They may have problems in music, grasping the concepts of formal music education and sight reading in addition to learning to play an instrument.
Physically students may not be able to keep up with quick changes of physical direction as in dance or aerobics. They may not be able to keep the rules of the game straight or be able to recall sequences of dance steps.
They may have a hard time keeping score when playing games or remembering how to keep score as in bowling. They often lose track of whose turn it is and do not do well at strategic games like chess.
If you believe that you or someone in your family might have dyscalculia, you will want to explore the resources listed below for assistance in diagnosis, helpful therapies and teaching strategies. Dyscalculia is not as well known as dyslexia and some other learning disabilities, therefore local educators may not be aware of its existence. Help them to help your child by referring them to these sites.
Resources:
Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia definition of dyscalculia
Dyscalculia.org-Math Learning Disability Resource, http://www.dyscalculia.org/
Renee Newman, Dyscalculia: Instructional Design & Classroom Techniques http://www.dyscalculia.org/edu503.html
National Center for Learning Disabilities, www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-language/ld-aamp-math/dyscalculia
