why won't my brain co-operate on numbers?

Question

i need a calculator to do the simplest of calculations i have tried usuing visual aids i have tried remedial college classes I can multiply numbers and estimate but i have dificulty adding i have to use my fingers
FYI I live in the UK
i went to a mainstream school but i was in foundation level maths and i still didn't do well (foundation level at standard grade is the bottom set)
i was a listed kid (that means i was listed as having a record of needs)

I reckon i am dyspraxic and possibly borderline dyscalculaic. because i have a very poor sense of direction.

i know i have learning difficulties
no one should DARE insinuate that my mother drank alcohol during her pregnancy! i haven't had an accident or fallen downstairs at a crucial age (under the age of 11 months) it's not post concussion syndrome so what in the heck is it?

Answer 1

It is probably just the way your brain is wired. We all have some things we are good at and some that we aren't good at. It is very valuable you have figured out a way to use the calculator and your fingers to help you.

Wishing you could do better won't get you very far - because it is probably not going to change the way your brain is wired. Concentrate on becoming the best user of a calculator that you can be - then don't leave home without it - and when you've done that, move on to things that you enjoy or want to learn more about. Don't beat yourself up over this. there is much more to life to enjoy.

If you do have a brain wiring problem, get it identified and let people know you have an accomodation - the calculator - use it proudly and try to dwell on the things you enjoy.

Answer 2

You may just have a learning disability, I would need to know more about you to give more details. Have you ever been tested for ld? How old are you? Usually the testing (in U.S.) is done by a school psychologist, and special education and regular education teachers help as well. You say you may be dyslexic? Do you know what that is? You can easily research it online, just type it in. also www.ldonline.org has a lot of useful information on learning disabilities for both children and adults. Plenty of people with learning disabilities go on t do just fine later in life. It does not mean you are dumb, just that you learn differently from the others. You may need a special help teaching you different strategies to work with you disability and help you be more successful.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

First of all, please try to remind yourself not to feel bad.
Those bad feelings can add emotional blocks and pressure that block your mind from finding creative ways to compensate. So the first step is to remember to encourage and challenge yourself in a positive way. There is always a way that will work, and it is just a matter of time and experimenting to find that for you.

For example, the school director I worked with told me of two cases that might encourage you: (1) one is the case of a girl who was so dysgraphic or dyslexic that she could not read or write numbers at all. She could only add or multiply by coloring a sheet of graph paper with squares on it, then counting them up. So she used that to take tests and just needed more time, a lot more time. But so what - she got the right answer and that is what mattered. (2) another student was told she was so dyslexic she would "never get through school and graduate"; yet this student graduated with honors and got a scholarship to college because she worked with people who recognized that dyslexic students tend to be above average in intelligence, not the other way around.

It makes sense to me that people with highly specialized skills or different ways of analyzing or perceiving information (the type who are likely to introduce innovations or new ways of doing things never imagined before) of course will not quite fit in with how everyone else sees or does things. Their brains do not work the same way, but for every minus there is a plus -- there is some advantage so you have to take the good with the bad and not worry that it's different from others.

Two other cases that are historically quoted:
(1) Winston Churchill had such a bad childhood stutter that he worked extra hard to compensate; and became one of the world's most famous and respected orators
(2) Wilma Rudolph had rickets and could barely walk as a child; so she had no choice but to exercise rigorously. She became an Olympic champion because she focused so much she actually developed better skills than people who did not start off with a handicap.

Another case I think will give you hope, I saw on TV a girl who had half her brain removed to stop seizures took a long long time but eventually trained what remained of her brain to respond and rewire to control her responses so she could talk and walk and function again. So if a brain can be removed -- GONE -- and the rest can still compensate, no matter what damage or differences you have in your brain, you can still retrain your brain to compensate until you get the results you want. You just have to be patient and keep trying.
The girl in the documentary was so hopeless at times, her parents and doctor worried the risk they took was the wrong decision. It took so long to show any improvement or results, but eventually it happened. So please be just as kind and trusting with yourself that you WILL find a way and don't worry.

So I hope this encourages you to be patient, kind and loving with yourself, and find what works or forgive if nothing works.

I think when you worry less, you are more likely to find a solution than if you stress yourself out. Please don't do that.

If you have to use fingers, or blocks, or graph paper, or tick marks on the page, find what works. Then find a counselor or teacher who will help you set it up where you can use those aids in the classroom or on tests if that's what you need.

There is nothing wrong with that.

If it works, that is what is important, so keep trying different things until you figure it out. It may be a challenge but there is always an answer, even if it is not what we thought or expected. Take care and God bless! Yours truly, Emily

Answer 5

Hey, don't feel bad because you need more tools than others to do simple math equations. Some of us don't have learning disabilities and are stronger in other areas. We just need to work harder in those where we are weak. My mom was told by my third grade teacher that I wasn't going to make it to junior high and to not even sweat it with me. I finish JH, HS and went on to college. It was harder for me than for other students but I was determined.

Answer 6

You may have a learning disability inherited through your genes.
Sometimes people with fetal alcohol effects (one or both parents drank excessively) have problems with math calculation.
You may have sustained a brain injury in a car accident, by falling downstairs, or through lack of oxygen at birth.

Answer 7

You might be dyslexic. See if you can find a learning/tutoring center near you and see if they'll let you take a test to see if your dyslexic. You may even see if your college offers a test. If you are, there are special exercises you can do to re-train your brain to work correctly.