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Dyscalculia
Raise your hand if you have heard of "dyscalculia." Not too many of you? Well, I hadn't heard of it either until 1993-94. It was at that time when my husband, after many years of struggling with math classes in both high school and college, went to an independent evaluator and was subsequently diagnosed with dyscalculia.
Not only did this help him understand why he was having so much trouble with this area of his education; it also explained some of the difficulties he had with other tasks, such as reading music and playing certain sports. We found a very enlightening and comprehensive list of symptoms at Dyscalculia.org, which I would encourage you to read through. I always say that if I had that list before we got married, the first year probably would have gone a lot more smoothly!
According to the National Council for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), the term dyscalculia actually refers to "a wide range of life-long learning disabilities involving math" and therefore can vary in how they affect different people. Here is a list of warning signs that may indicate additional help is needed in this area:
- Good at speaking, reading, and writing, but slow to develop counting and math problem-solving skills
- Good memory for printed words, but difficulty reading numbers, or recalling numbers in sequence
- Good with general math concepts, but frustrated when specific computation and organization skills need to be used
- Trouble with the concept of time-chronically late, difficulty remembering schedules, trouble with approximating how long something will take
- Poor sense of direction, easily disoriented and easily confused by changes in routine
- Poor long term memory of concepts-can do math functions one day, but is unable to repeat them the next day
- Poor mental math ability-trouble estimating grocery costs or counting days until vacation
- Difficulty playing strategy games like chess, bridge or role-playing video games
- Difficulty keeping score when playing board and card games
You can visit the NCLD website for more information about identifying and treating dyscalculia and other learning disabilities, such as dyspraxia (motor skills), dyslexia (reading) and dysgraphia (writing). Another great resource I have found is the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
So what happened with my husband's situation? Well, the evaluator wrote a letter informing the college of their findings as well as the fact that learning disabilities are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Armed with this information, my husband became the first person in the history of his school to be excused from the algebra requirement. He took geology instead.
Photo courtesy of Robert Scarth
Trish can be found writing here at 5MFSN every Friday in addition to hosting Try This Tuesday. You can also find Trish at her blog, Another Piece of the Puzzle.
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Comments on Dyscalculia »
Another Piece of the Puzzle ยป Dyscalcu-what?? @ 9:07 am
[...] is a math-related issue that actually affects someone very close to me. Click on over to 5 Minutes for Special Needs to learn [...]
Livin' Life @ 9:36 am
Wow, do you think someone could be diagnosed with dyslexia and really be struggling with dyscalculia? I ask because when my twin brother and I were 2nd grade we were diagnosed with dyslexia. Not much info back then and they did little to help us. Reading over your info I struggle with everything on that list. I do have trouble reading sometimes and spelling but math is horrible and painful for me. I passed math in school but always just barely and with a lot of parent teacher conferences. I am really curious now. Thanks for the post. I might need to speak to your hubby to find ways to help.
Thomas (The Autism Experience) @ 11:33 am
Hey 5MFSN Team – you've won an award! Please check here:
http://gfcfexperience.blogspot.com/2008/10/tgif-update-on-noahs-pretzels-and-award.html
You have an awesome blog. Please keep up the good work.
Thomas
Jen @ 11:41 am
I'm sitting here with my mouth hanging open. I'm stunned. All of these things are things that I have dealt with (and struggled with) my entire life. I never had any idea that there might possibly be a name for all of this. You have no idea the great service you have done me (and I'm sure other people too!) by posting this. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Tammy and Parker @ 11:51 am
Trish,
You rock.
I'm so printing this off.
vicki @ 6:21 pm
This is great! It wasn't until I became a Special Ed teacher that I found out about this and realized I struggled with it my entire life! We are too ready to say "Oh they are not a math person" and just resign ourselves to doing poorly in the subject. I have cried many times thinking I was very very stupid and having teachers act like that to me. i wish more people knew about this.
Debby @ 7:35 pm
Thank you so much! My son exhibits six of those characteristics! I'm printing all of the info that I can and am going to take it to our school's resource specialist. Now that I have a possible diagnosis, I'm able to move forward with getting help.
elly @ 2:10 am
Cool. If he ever wants to talk to other dyscalculics, tell him he can check out http://www.dyscalculiaforum.com
Julie @ 8:05 am
I first heard of this a few months ago. I'm pretty sure I have it. I've never seen anyone about it, but it's something I've struggled with forever… it sucks!
Danette @ 8:53 pm
Wow, I had never heard of this, very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Trish!
Cynthia @ 4:28 pm
Thanks for posting this. I learned a lot about this from your post. My son's SLP has mentioned dyspraxia, and I haven't found much about it. I appreciated the link to more information.
And, how cool that your husband was able to work with his college taking this into account.
dyscalculia & me @ 1:32 am
Thanks for sharing.
Trish @ 1:19 pm
@dyscalculia & me – I will pass your comment on to my husband, along with your blog. I noticed you don't have the option to leave comments on your blog, but I wanted to say that I'll be reading it.
Klipal. @ 8:42 am
Klipal….
Klipal….
RYCK @ 1:47 am
KLIPAL