[pachyderm]

SYMPTOMS

Mathematical ability, as measured by individually administered standardized tests, is substantially below that expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

The disturbance significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require mathematical ability.

If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in mathematical ability are in excess of those usually associated with it.

• Criteria summarized from:
  American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx71.htm

What the...???!!!

[imatter2]

What you don't believe in it? or you're shocked because "now you know what was wrong all this time?"

guarantee I have a mathematics based learning disability, so it's absolutely no stretch to me to believe it could extend in severity to an actual disorder.

[purple_fins]

hmmmmm..... wish they would have had this when I was in the 5th grade....
maybe my teacher would have quit pulling my hair when I kept getting the wrong answers doing fractions.... .....
"FINS!" she would yell and then pull my hair, "why can't you pay attention!"

[imatter2]

Exactly Fins. 7th grade math teacher called me an idiot over my first failed test, loudly enough for the rest of the class to get a good hearty laugh out of it

edited to say, i can't fully embrace the disorder as "mine" though because I never tested below expectations, i was just exceptionally anxious about it and chronically bad on tests (major test anxiety but only in Math); my grades remained high and in privately administered or orally administered tests I did just fine.

[purple_fins]

ugh... sorry Phrick-- that you too were humilated by one that should be lifting young minds up.

to this day I have to call husband when I'm doubling a recipe or halfing it...

and figuring out a tip!!.... I swear it's like someone is trying to communicate to me with those adult "charlie brown" voices.... waa waa ah waa ahhh..... say what??!!

it doesn't matter how many times someone shows me.... ugh.... It goes down in the quick sand of my mind and is lost once again.... *sigh*..... I hate it.

fins

[imatter2]

the utmost in humiliation about it, i think, is that I can't help my children with Math homework. They are in grade school for crying out loud, surely I ought to manage simple elementary math but I freeze. Husband has to do all math homework helping.

[pachyderm]

At this site:

http://www.psychtreatment.com/mental...s_disorder.htm

there is more on the "disorder" -- and to the right is a Google ad for

All Natural Choice for Anxiety, Depression and Stress!

called "Anxius". I guess that will solve all your problems.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Hmmm..I have dyscalcula and have always had trouble with math. I was an advanced student in science, which they could not understand because as the sicence master said You can't have one without the other so why is your math so bad? I told him that I had a rotten teacher who made math even worse.

I could see it on the board, I saw the order of it, but my brain simply refused to work and understand it. I was humilliated but I knew that there was something wrong with me because it always broke down at the same point. Until the end of elementary school I learned the x tables by rote not by understanding, and all of the + & - tables too yet when it came to fractions I was a whizz. I got accused of not trying, of being stupid etc. I just don't know the how and why of it all.

My brain just cannot figure out mathematics but I use calculations of time by looking at the day and night sky and I'm never wrong. I want to know why my brain is this way, is it because of the traumatic brain injury as a child? or was it there before then? No one can tell me because it is far too late, and the absence seizures as a child got me into no end of trouble for being a "daydreamer"...

[lonegael]

I was a dyscalcululia poster child, couldn't do head-math, did beautifully on the theory (used to teach the kids around me the concepts) and failed the exams. In college, a professor figured out what was happening and worked with me to find a way to set up the problems visually so that I could see where the numbers fit in and number "flipping" was minimized. Then we were allowed calculators, and I never looked back
Lots of humiliation and insinuations that I was stupid and not trying. Made all the worse because my big brother was a mathematical genius who taught himself intregal calculus in the back of the Algebra I class. A few years ago I took a WAIS (IQ test) to help out a friend who was doing her testing practicum, and it turned out that I showed with a classical Brain damage profile, with discrete pockets of signifcantly lower functioning that the general funtioning level. Hmmmm!
BTW, mathematics disorders are almost ALWAYS associated with brain teauma at some point, either before or after birth. Just a bit of trivia for you-all! HUGGSSS and yes, with help, it can be minimized!

[imatter2]

Originally Posted by lonegael

BTW, mathematics disorders are almost ALWAYS associated with brain teauma at some point, either before or after birth. Just a bit of trivia for you-all! HUGGSSS and yes, with help, it can be minimized!

Interesting, thanks for this... I had plenty of falls and head bumps as a child, nothing I ever thought of as "brain trauma" but I suppose even "little" bumps could cause damage in a young brain.. and for all I know I was dropped when I was an infant or something! The rest of my siblings range from fairly adept to astonishing at Math (there are 4 of them) so it was always extra frustrating for me. One of my brothers was doing 2nd year HS Math in 8th grade, then there was me in 2nd year HS math at the same time as that, humiliated asking for his help with my work!

My Algebra 2 teacher, bless Mr. Serfozo up one side and down the other, really recognized my problem and was the first person to ever give a crap, he is the one who started the idea of testing outside the normal classroom, would stay after school with me for an hour when introducing new concepts, etc. I loved that guy, by far my best teacher ever in terms of truly helping me understand his subject. Which I still didn't really grasp, but he TRIED, and that made a huge impact.

Then college math comes along and I just gave up after a year and at the same time. Please don't take this the wrong way but I'm a very good student in any other subject, my IQ is well above average, I just. don't. get. math!

[possum220]

So 2+2 doesnt equal 5?

[Miss Laura]

Hey guys,

I am a fellow Dyscalculic. Like many of you its a struggle. I am not as sever as most people though. I am on a Dyscalculic forum and its great to hear stories and tips on how to manage and how other people handle certain situations

[MandiePoo]

I too, have this disorder.

For me I seemed to do semi- well(like, D-C ish) up until grade four, when i plummeted to failing.

I was tested in grade seven or eight and had a grade 3 math level, and have never gotten past that really. I failed grade 8 twice and dropped out in the third year because of it.

I can add single numbers, sometimes I can subtract the same, but anything else I am in need of a calculator and even then sometimes I have issues. I also tend to frig up the symbols - adding when im supposed to subtract, or whatnot.

It really makes life difficult because if you think about it everything around us is based on mathmatics - art, shopping, games, what have you.

And forget algebra - I feel like my brain is sludge when i even look at it.

[Miss Laura]

Algebra I will never understand.... Thats far too over my head.

I spent a whole year learnign how to subtract as I just couldn't understand it. I was 16 years old oops!!

I think I am have been very lucky though as I had understanding teachers. Especially people I have talked to they have had complete different experiences in school than I have re maths