Confessions of a Dyscalculic

I never know that there was such a disorder called Dyscalculia, a learning disability involving innate difficulty in comprehending and learning mathematics. I read about it in a July 20, 2009 issue of the Manila Bulletin. I enthusiastically read the whole article because I do hate mathematics – or that is what I programmed my subconscious.

Some of the common symptoms, which I think I have, are the following;

• Normal or accelerated language acquisition: verbal, reading, writing poetic ability – [I have no problem reading a 5-inch book over the weekend, but give me a 1-page full of numbers and I will instantly get headache.]

• Good in areas of science (until a level requiring higher math skills is reached), geometry (figures with logic not formulas), and creative arts. – [Hmm, this explains why I got 1.25 in geometry but a 2.75 in calculus.]

• Difficulty with abstract concepts of time & direction and inability to recall dates and sequences of past. – [Well, yeah, I’m always having a hard time remembering birthdays.]

• Cannot do financial planning or budgeting, checkbooks not balanced, short term not long term financial thinking, unable to mentally figure change due back, the amounts to pay for tips, taxes, etc. – [Maybe that’s why I’m always broke..{sigh}]

It was suggested that it is important for teachers to have tons of patience and positive attitude when dealing with a dyscalculic child – things that I was deprived of during my elementary days.

Well, here are my confessions:

• During college, I’m going to lose my government scholarship if I failed my Integral and Differential Calculus subject – so I cheated in the final exams, by inserting a list of formulas in my calculator.

• I am the last one to memorize the multiplication in grade four and during grade five & six all my notebooks have a multiplication table at the back cover.

• In all the exams I took (college entrance exams, scholarships, civil service exam, licensure exam, etc.) I always skip the math questions and answered it last – thanked goodness I passed all major exams I took.

It’s a good thing that my slight dyscalculia doesn’t become a major deterrent in pursuing my goals. It’s also interesting to know that Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Alva Edison, Hans Christian Andersen and Cher is said to be dyscalculic – not a bad company eh.