Anyone have this or know someone who does?
Talk to me!
I probably won’t be able to get into a lengthy post until later tonight but what did you want to know?
Whatever you can tell me I guess. How did you find out you had it? How bad is it? How bad is bad? What helps you with it? Does it affect your riding? Work? Home management?
i stumbled across someone else’s description of having it a few weeks ago and had one of those jaw-drop moments. I did have some testing done decades ago, and there was a result, but nothing much was said or done about it (not that surprising). Now I’m wondering if this is a much bigger force in my life than I realized. I got to just avoiding a lot of things (oh like my taxes, which would take someone else about 5min) and using the phrase “I’m not mathy.”
[QUOTE=HillnDale;6916125]
Whatever you can tell me I guess. How did you find out you had it? How bad is it? How bad is bad? What helps you with it? Does it affect your riding? Work? Home management?
i stumbled across someone else’s description of having it a few weeks ago and had one of those jaw-drop moments. I did have some testing done decades ago, and there was a result, but nothing much was said or done about it (not that surprising). Now I’m wondering if this is a much bigger force in my life than I realized. I got to just avoiding a lot of things (oh like my taxes, which would take someone else about 5min) and using the phrase “I’m not mathy.”[/QUOTE]
I found out in high school. I don’t consider mine to be particularly bad, but it does get annoying. It does affect my riding, home, work, school - pretty much everything. I had to learn how it affected me as well as what would work for me.
I’m a bit odd, since I’m not particularly good at math if I think about it. When I actually have to do math, I don’t think of quantities, I just manipulate the numbers. I try to learn steps to doing more complex math then follow the steps without really considering the numbers. I don’t know how clear that is, but when I have to think of things like 100 bags or 50 apples, I don’t try to envision 100 bags or apples or whatever like many people do. A lot of times, I can tell you the answer to a math problem but I couldn’t explain how I got there. How’s this for strange - I’m an Accounting major with a 3.8 GPA.
I find that I have trouble explaining things, but I can simply do them. I confuse left and right a LOT, which obviously can cause problems when riding - so I try to think of “inside” or “outside” instead of left and right. I often have to really think for a second to orient myself on what’s left and right. I do have trouble with distances if I consider the distance in terms of measurements. If you ask me to tell you what 3 car lengths are, I will stumble. If you ask me to explain striding, distance between poles or the distance for a jump - again, I blank. I can SHOW you, but I can’t explain it.
Here’s a wiki checklist and where I fit in:
Frequent difficulties with arithmetic - Yes, but I just learned different ways of making the math make sense to me.
Difficulty with everyday tasks like reading analog clocks - Buy a digital one!
Inability to comprehend financial planning or budgeting, sometimes even at a basic level; for example, estimating the cost of the items in a shopping basket or balancing a checkbook - Somewhat. I can't estimate things very well or do computations on the fly, but I can fill out a carefully labeled worksheet (this is where I am good at Accounting). Things like taxes I can do, because I don't think of the numbers - I just cross reference and copy what I see. Now if I was doing it all by hand on paper, I would probably struggle.
Difficulty with multiplication-tables, and subtraction-tables, addition tables, division tables, mental arithmetic, etc. - Use a calculator.
Difficulty with conceptualizing time and judging the passing of time. May be chronically late or early - I am AWFUL at estimating time passed, how long something will take me, any of it. I would be chronically late if I didn't pad my time estimates! Usually what I do is figure out when I need to be someplace and work backwards. For example, if I have to be somewhere in the saddle at 11, I figure I want to be there by 10 to saddle up and fill out papers, which means I really want to be there at 9:45 to sort out parking, which means I need to leave at 9 if it's a 30 minute drive because I drive slow when I haul, which means I need to be at the barn by 7 to hitch up and load up. See how I already padded some extra time in there?
Problems with differentiating between left and right - Same with the math. I can just DO left or right, but if I have to explain it I'll stumble. I try to reference "inside" or "outside" when riding if I have to be verbal.
Inability to visualize mentally - Depends on what it is
Difficulty reading musical notation - Sort of. Again, I could just look at the notes and my fingers would move, but I couldn't explain to you a B versus a G, but I could play it.
Might do exceptionally well in a writing-related field — authors and journalists are more likely than average to have the disorder - No idea. I rarely get the urge to write and have put out some really well received fantasy
Difficulty navigating or mentally "turning" the map to face the current direction rather than the common North=Top usage - Totally. I rely heavily on landmarks. Oddly, I can maneuver around in the wilderness very well and have issues in a city.
Having particular difficulty mentally estimating the measurement of an object or distance (e.g., whether something is 10 or 20 feet (3 or 6 meters) away). -- Yup! I can tell you if something is enough (like trot pole spacing) but I have no idea what it's supposed to be in measurements.
Often unable to grasp and remember mathematical concepts, rules, formulae, and sequences - Not me. I do better with structure and rules.
Inability to concentrate on mentally intensive tasks - Sort of. If it's not interesting to me then I have trouble.
Low latent inhibition, i.e., over-sensitivity to noise, smell, light and the inability to tune out, filtering unwanted information or impressions. Might have a well-developed sense of imagination due to this (possibly as cognitive compensation to mathematical-numeric deficits) - I have an excellent imagination, I do have trouble filtering out things sometimes, but the rest doesn't fit.
Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. May substitute names beginning with same letter. - HAH totally me! I remember very few names of people I post with every day, and very few actors. A lot of people of a certain race look dead on alike to me. Unless it's someone that I'm a big fan of, I could see them a dozen times in a movie and won't remember their name or their role in a movie or any of it. I could totally watch a movie, then a month or two later watch it again and have little to no recollection of the movie unless it "wowed" me. Even if I enjoyed the movie it may not stick - though I might remember that I liked it.
Sorry for the novel. Hope this helps.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. I can’t believe you’re an accounting major!! It’s interesting what you say about not thinking about it being better. I might have sort of a bell curve there. My intuition is good (like in finding distances) but if I think about it I’m a gonner. But if I really, really take my time with a problem, I get more accurate again. Unfortunately, though, I’m never really accurate the way some people are.
Here’s my checklist:
-Frequent difficulties with arithmetic: yep.
- Difficulty with everyday tasks like reading analog clocks: no problem with clocks, really. I do have problems with numbers getting transposed - dancing around so I can’t read or read them wrong. I don’t get that with non-numerical information.
-Inability to comprehend financial planning or budgeting, sometimes even at a basic level: totally.
-Difficulty with multiplication-tables, and subtraction-tables, addition tables, division tables, mental arithmetic: yep.
-Difficulty with conceptualizing time and judging the passing of time. May be chronically late or early: yep. I can plan time accurately just like you do, but this is always a challenge.
-Problems with differentiating between left and right: Yep, and it was right there on my kindergarten report card :yes:
-Inability to visualize mentally: yes, but not way below average on this most days. But then, some days I’m terrible!
-Difficulty reading musical notation: yes
-Might do exceptionally well in a writing-related field — authors and journalists are more likely than average to have the disorder: I’ve been told this.
-Difficulty navigating or mentally “turning” the map to face the current direction rather than the common North=Top usage: I’m trained in map reading so I’m good at it, but others are much better. This is another area where I’m very inconsistent.
-Having particular difficulty mentally estimating the measurement of an object or distance: I was also trained in this, yet it’s now like I never was.
-Often unable to grasp and remember mathematical concepts, rules, formulae, and sequences: oh yeah.
-Inability to concentrate on mentally intensive tasks: hmm?
-Low latent inhibition, i.e., over-sensitivity to noise, smell, light and the inability to tune out, filtering unwanted information or impressions: YES! I actually seem to others to have poor hearing but it’s only when there sound coming from more than one location. Then I can’t make sense of any of it and it’s very frustrating. I experience environmental overwhelm all the time.
-Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. May substitute names beginning with same letter: yeppers.
I’m one of those sometimes really smart and articulate people who can also often seem completely and hopelessly stupid. It’s very frustrating. I really wish I had identified this as a “set” of deficits earlier in my life, instead of just being told I was weak in arithmetic. I feel like I could have learned strategies and also better focused on my strengths if I’d known to. :sigh: For example, I was a good rider as a kid and often complemented and encouraged in my equitation. But I was very inconsistent on course. If I felt nervous, unsure, or just low blood sugared, I could be off-course on the first fence. Frustrating for everyone and I wonder if it made my trainer feel I didn’t care as much as I really did.
DancingArabian, do you tell people who have this? Do you think it’s helpful or not helpful to let people around you know? How do you explain it?
I just want to point out SOME of this might not be related to the Discalculia.
I have a Masters in Math and have no problem with numbers, BUT:
[QUOTE=HillnDale;6921579]
Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. I can’t believe you’re an accounting major!! It’s interesting what you say about not thinking about it being better. I might have sort of a bell curve there. My intuition is good (like in finding distances) but if I think about it I’m a gonner. But if I really, really take my time with a problem, I get more accurate again. Unfortunately, though, I’m never really accurate the way some people are.
-Problems with differentiating between left and right: [I]Yep, and it was right there on my kindergarten report card :yes: -Also applies, I realy have to think about Left and Right and don;t even try when I have to react quickly
-Low latent inhibition, i.e., over-sensitivity to noise, smell, light and the inability to tune out, filtering unwanted information or impressions: Same for meYES! I actually seem to others to have poor hearing but it’s only when there sound coming from more than one location. Then I can’t make sense of any of it and it’s very frustrating. I experience environmental overwhelm all the time.
-Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. May substitute names beginning with same letter: I warn my students that I am HORRIBLE at remebering names so don’t be insultedyeppers.
DancingArabian, do you tell people who have this? Do you think it’s helpful or not helpful to let people around you know? How do you explain it?[/QUOTE]
I think it comes down to everybody can’t excel at everything. I HATE writing and am not good at it, especially creative writing. I love to read, a good novel will keep me up all night, but there is no way I could write a novel. In school it didn’t matter how much time I spent on a paper my grade was always a C or a low B at best. Math and Science were always my best courses because I could use logic and the rules made sense. In English I could never figure out what the teachers wanted.
Just pointing out that we all have strengths and weaknesses to work around and as pointed out above some problems might be seperate issues.
Christa
[QUOTE=HillnDale;6921579]
DancingArabian, do you tell people who have this? Do you think it’s helpful or not helpful to let people around you know? How do you explain it?[/QUOTE]
No, I don’t tell people. I don’t feel ashamed or anything, I just don’t think it’s something that needs to be broadcasted and I don’t want to be treated with a bias because of it. When I’m faced with a task that ‘triggers’ it, I just go extra slow - people at work just think I’m meticulous with an attention to detail! Most of the areas that I’m affected in don’t really come up often and when they do, I can work ‘cheats’ into the conversation. For example, since I confuse left and right, giving directions is hard. I just use my hands when speaking and point left and right and that ‘cues’ my speech. I did tell my school though, so I can get extra allowances on time for tests. I can set up my trot poles, but if you ask me how to set them up, I can’t explain it, LOL! I can draw a line at where the horse should jump but heck if I know how to tell you about it. I try to just DO rather than plan.
It’s become more like a quirk than a disability - I really don’t consider it a disability. It’s more of a quirk since I can work around it most the time by just changing my approach. I usually tell people that I’m better at doing than explaining.
