dysTalk Flip - Proving Dyscalculia Exists - Dyscalculia - Forum - dysTalk

Evelyn, please try the practice National Skills Numeracy level 2 tests. My Maths and English O Levels were too old too count when I did my teaching cert in 2002. We all had to do the level 2 Nat Skills tests in both subject. They are GCSE equivalents. I passed the maths and found it much easier than doing the GCSE exam. Hope this helps.

22/02/2012 02:22:50
Karen Pretty

Really interesting posts-am now 50 and have never been able to learn my tables or understand the most basic formulas. Consequently, science was also a struggle and despite being at grammar school, I was generally considered 'thick'. All my life I have avoided any job involving figures. Now I am a mature student taking an English/History degree and doing well. I would have loved to take a teaching qualification to teach literacy but realise that with no maths qualification or ability, this profession is barred to me.I feel I could make a real difference to young people's lives but because of this unrecognised problem it will never happen.

15/01/2012 23:30:55
Evelyn Price

Thank you all for making me feel ''normal'' I had problems in infant school but they brushed it under the carpet it wasn't until they were setting the children into sets and we had to do a maths test (no calculator..or other help etc)and I got 1 and half percent!! My teacher told the WHOLE class, I was so embaressed! I just couldn't keep up by the time I had processed and done the first question he was on 5 or 6th question..it was impossible. I had the best teacher in the S.E.N class for that first year, she built my confidence up so much that I got 89 percent in my gcse's but then she became very ill and had to leave, we had a ''normal'' maths teacher come in who accused us of all being lazy, etc, our marks in the actual GCSE's suffered terribly, then she had the cheek to say none of us had revised, despite the fact we had, it was over a few sums that we knew the answers to because of the revision but couldn't write them down because we didn't know how to show the workings out! She wouldn't hear of it, needles to say, none of us learnt much else from HER!! It's difficult to tell people that I'm dyslexic but i also have Dyscalculia, they look at me like I've mad it up and gone mad!! It's so frustrating, and the fact I can read and write pretty good doesn't help!! So I feel all your frustration! I actually work in a school (infants) and the headteacher there is pretty clued up about all this stuff because she used to do the S.E.N. but it's difficult having to say it to others, I always feel like they then think they are superiour!! I hope all of you here having problems get them sorted and that there is more awareness given to this!!

30/08/2011 16:12:19
Abi

Hi Deniz, finger counting is good. Dyscalculics mostly need a physical action, something real to touch that represents the abstract number they are counting. I know adults who are good at maths and they still finger count.

28/05/2011 07:50:07
Sue Kerrigan - Let Me Learn

When my daughter was going to nursey, her teacher said she might have a learning difficulty. Now she is in year 5. All those years she has had trouble with maths.Reading, she is above her grade, writing, IT all very good but maths she just cannot do it although she is having private lessons 3 hours a week but no help. If you ask her 5+3 she still has to count using her fingers. Her school does not except she has dyscalculia, i want her to go to good secondary school, this means selective school. Even private schools, they are all selective so what is my choice of sending my only child to go to a good school. All i want for my child is having a good education.

21/05/2011 20:54:48
Deniz Osman

my son has just been diagnosed,he is 9 years old,it took me quite a while to get him tested through the school, i had to fill out very personel forms that delved right in to our family history and background, not that we minded would have done anything for a result,my son was not taken seriously untill maths started making him ill literally, he now has anxiety attacks to. my trouble now is the powers that be wont statement him, so he'll now have the stigma of dyscalculia with him for the rest of his life, it worrys me that he will be dicriminated against when it comes to achieving his goals throughout his life, just because people dont see this as a problem.

04/04/2011 21:59:05
julie ellis

my daughter is 12yrs old and is finding it hard to remember maths work and can not add or subtract big or small numbers i think she has dyscalculia but i can not find places were she can be tested does anybody have suggestions . ?

14/02/2011 22:45:36
mione

When I was still a student, I really had a hard time understanding all the mathematical problems being given to me. I never knew that it's a learning disorder. Thanks to forums like this I get to know more about dyscalculia and finally, I can get a peace of mind why I have such problems in dealing with math.

23/12/2010 13:47:31
judy hanning

I was once given a lecture on how math dyslexia didn't exit (I know it is called dyscalculia but people understand more if you say math dyslexia) and yet again I had to go through the same drill I have to go through with every person unaware of what dyscalculia is!

15/12/2010 23:59:01
Pixie (Member)

my 11 year old son has dyscalculia and dyspraxia and developmental delay syndrome. it has took me 7 years to get this far, they wont statement him because he is not violent, he gets very little help and is bullied constantly. for being a `fat weirdo` he really struggles with everything, i am always at school my husband has just written a letter to the headmaster so we can have a meeting to discuss his problems, i am worried what the future holds for my son nobody seems to want to get involved or help i dont no what to do anymore i worry theres more wrong with him. he didnt speak until he was 4 that was with help from speech therapy he threw up from being a newborn to 18 mths old, he has obsessions, he gets lost, cant find anything, puts his shoes on the wrong feet, cant ride a bike, cant turn taps or keys, he rocks, he has eating problems, he has a large head, epicanthel folds, a high arched palate, im sorry im rambling i just wish someone would help my child.any advice would be much appreciated thankyou.

24/09/2010 11:16:27
liz

I'm 25 and I suffer from Dyscalculia. I'm great at English language, writing etc, but I can't do Math in my head, no matter how I hard I try. Even basic working out of change and working on a till is just to scary for me, and I can't tell hand time either. I also suffer from sensitive hearing, which I hear can be common in people with Dyscalculia.

I wish Dyscalculia was more well known, if I said to someone I have Dyslexia they'd nod and be sympathetic, but I bet if I mentioned Dyscalculia to someone, most of them would think I made the term up! If you want proof, while I'm writing this, Dyscalculia is constantly underscored as a misspelled word, while Dyslexia is excepted! Ah well... I guess I'll continue the job search in the hope I can find a job with no maths skills needed...

11/09/2010 12:13:31
David Hogan

Im a university student in London and was screened by an educational psychologist for dyscalculia in June of this year. I've gone through years of hiding my lack of maths skills as people have generally been quite dismissive about the condition even up to now and i've had to fight (metaphorically) to get help at uni. I study psychology so theres a lot of scientific content and numeracy involved. Apparently dyscalculia affects the working memory which has an affect on the longterm memory store when trrying to retrieve tasks involving numeracy i find that things often need to be repeated and it takes me a lot longer to interpret this kind of information. Can you post some of your symptoms please.

20/08/2010 12:53:54
Davinia

I have dyscalculia but I still don't get extra help because people don't know anything about it or simply don't believe in it.

We need to spread the word of dyscalculia because people and children all over the world aren't recieving the exta help they need due to them not being diagnosed or not believed!''

11/08/2010 12:04:07
Pixie (Member)

My 10 year old son has adhd.I thought that was why he was struggling with math but I feel so guilty now that I 've learned about this disorder.I thought he was not trying hard enough.And why couldn't he tell time or count without his fingers or paper.If I would have heard of this years ago he would not have struggled so hard.I would have known what type of help he really needed.

08/08/2010 20:22:36
Malvina Johnson

I too just recently found out that Im a dyscalculic through the internet at age 54. I spent mm intire life feeling less. In school I was ridiculed and degraded by teachers and even the principle who actually grabbed me by the shirt

in the fourth grade and said I was stupid and disgusting. What is wrong with you they asked.

I was shy and never understood. I was tested by school psychologist several times and the only thing I heard them say to each other was I used both hands. Iam abidextruos compounding my problem

because I really have a problem with left and right. All things feel the same. The scenary will guide me better than a map. I play the bagpipes and I love to write. I am creative and am always

dreaming up new poems or stories. At work I have had a problem with some of my coworkers who, I feel disrespect me when they make fun of the way it appears Im not listening or comprehend or tune out when theres too much noise as in several people speaking at once. I work in nursing as a caregiver and was forced into taking on the role as schedular. We each must choose some extra role. I told my house guide that I would have a problem doing it. She brushed me off and insisted it was quite easy to learn. Keeping track of employees work scedules and benifit time, etc. I was sick over it. I went home and told my son what was required of me and he said with your problem with linear reasoning I don't see how. That was the first time it was described to me that way. So I looked up linear reasoning on the internet and it brought me to dyscalculia. I cried

that night sitting at the computer because now ther was a why.

10/07/2010 15:33:20
Debra MacLeish

Our 8 year old daughter has many of the symptoms spoken about with dyscalculia. We live in the US and it seems that much of the research and information is being done in Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. She is brilliant when it somes to creative outlets - dance, music, acting- therefore it is not a memory thing for her. She is reading above grade level and has come in on the higher level of the IQ testing being done in the schools here.

Yet she is like the boy Emerson describes when given a number she does not trust it. She does not trust that both hands have five fingers, she can memorize songs with numbers but has no idea what the song means. She does not remember her own phone number or street address. She has no concept that coins represent different numbers - much less has the ability to count change.

The only other person who has heard of this - because I sent her the website and she has worked with Maura first hand is her teacher. We need to know how to help her before her anxiety goes up around math and basic skills. We have tried many hands on materials with little to know success. HELP PLEASE!

12/06/2010 22:53:45
Bridget Kramer

Good grief! I have only just found out about discalculia by accident whilst looking on the internet. I have just walked out of a job on the second day because of my fear of using a till (cash register) and my fear of cash handling in front of customers. I wondered what was wrong with me as i am intelligent and wanted to get to the bottom of this. I feel so much better as i thought there was something really wrong with me and i must have a low iq or something.

i have been researching to get to the bottom of this fear and think i may have found the answer! Throughout my adult life and at school i have had the following problems: reading maps, left and right orientation, learning dance routines, following others at the aerobics class,driving a manual car (still cannot do it), drawing up a rota for staff at work, working out who owes how much when paying for a meal (embarrassing!)and general problems with maths and coordination.

I have absolutely no problems with spelling, writing etc and have a good memory for the written word. Sheila

12/03/2010 13:44:55
Sheila

HOW CAN I BE TESTED FOR THIS IN COLLEGE??? I DON'T THINK THERE IS A PLACE FOR ME TO ACTUALLY GET TESTED FOR FREE... PLEASE SOMEONE ADVISE ME IF OYU KNOW OF ANY PLACES IN DALLAS TEXAS

10/03/2010 15:04:39
WHITNEY BOYER

how can i get qualified to help schools understand not only the academical effects of dyscalculia but the emotional side of things .

03/03/2010 18:05:04
sandi mcdowell

I am a professor who worked in the MoD for years. I am also completing a book on dyscalculia (I am a sufferer). Happy to advise.

10/02/2010 19:05:13
Professor Paul Moorcraft

Rob, I feel for you. The MOD are notorious for this kind of thing- remember all the stuff around Gulf War Syndrome?

I thought there was some fairly compelling new research linking discalculia to an exact part of the brain, but I might be wrong. Try to look on the bright side, if you can get some big guns (excuse the pun) behind you in taking on the MOD it will ceratinly raise the profile of this condition. I've been told I have this- couldn't tell the time as a child, hopeless at arithmetic, can still get in a complete embarassing muddle with change in shops, get numbers mixed up and have to use fingers to do simple adding. Although I'm high functioning in other areas my problem with numbers and sequences can still completely undermine me in all kinds of areas- including the workplace and people look very confused and shocked because they think I'm bright (which I am!!)

Goog luck- I hope you give the MOD something to think about.

03/02/2010 14:09:23
LSC

Hache,

My son has been diagnosed with discalculia and he also had a speech problem when he was younger. We also attended a speech therapist. If you think this could be the problem get the school to test her. Don,t take no for an answer as before you know it the problem gets worse

31/01/2010 15:14:43
Debbie Lewis

I'm starting to wonder whether my 8 year old daughter has discalculia but am unsure what to do next. She's already seeing a paediatrician for headaches/migraines and am wondering if there is a connection due to her school having maths lessons first thing every morning. She used to have a dysfunctional speech problem but attended speech therapy for 18 months when she was 3yrs and seems to be much better. Can anyone advise?

25/01/2010 22:19:18
Hache

my son has been tested for discalculia and he has it. He is 14 years old and due to take his gcse next year. We have had a nightmare with his school as they seem to shy away from this, and even told us that there was no such thing. They are now providing him with some one to one with a teaching assistant but she is not trained in how to teach a discalculic child. Does anyone know if they are obliged to get him help from a trained source.

22/01/2010 14:39:58
DEBS (Member)

my son has been tested for discalculia and he has it. He is 14 years old and due to take his gcse next year. We have had a nightmare with his school as they seem to shy away from this, and even told us that there was no such thing. They are now providing him with some one to one with a teaching assistant but she is not trained in how to teach a discalculic child. Does anyone know if they are obliged to get him help from a trained source.

22/01/2010 14:38:22
DEBBIE LEWIS

Do ask dystalk to put you in touch with me as I can screen you using The Dyscalculia Screener by brian Butterworth.if this proves positive then we can help you move forward to present a case that it does exist etc. with the help of eminent researchers in the dyscalculia field.I would be able to see you promptly in early January.

Jane Emerson : dystalk Educational advisor.

Dyscalculia Specialist Assessor and Teacher. Emerson House. London

27/11/2009 13:12:04
Jane Emerson

I work in the MoD and I currently have a complaint registered with them about my career being fouled because my last reporting officer mentioned the fact that I have difficulty with numbers. I have submitted what I believe is a water tight case supporting my claim. After my employer sought advice from their legal adviser they are basically asking me to prove the existance of Dyscalculia. Clearly their is no recognised test for Dyscalculia and it will cost millions of pounds to prove its existance. Anyone got any ideas how I proceed.

26/11/2009 15:41:33
Rob (Member)