I feel like I'm posting too many entries this week. Don't worry, will most likely take the weekend off - I have a date with the tv set (it's too full of tv shows and will start deleting if I don't do something to remedy things soon), also considering going to see
Tree of Life - the new Terence Malik film, except work broke my brain and it so doesn't want deep and meaningful, it wants fun light and playful - such as Bridesmaids or maybe Thor. Not some arty piece I would have watched in undergrad then discussed late into the night at Denny's. We did Denny's a lot during my Junior Year - because it was amongst the few places open at 1 am in the morning.
( family stuff ).
Apparently there is an actual word for dyslexia applied to numbers/mathematics and spacial disorientation as opposed to letters and words. It exists! I feel so validated. Thank you Auntie D for figuring this out.
Dyscalculia or math disability is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending simple mathematics. It is akin to dyslexia and includes difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, learning math facts, and a number of other related symptoms (although there is no exact form of the disability). Math disabilities can also occur as the result of some types of brain injury, in which case the proper term is acalculia, to distinguish it from dyscalculia which is of innate, genetic or developmental origin.
Dyscalculia occurs in people across the whole IQ range. The British Dyslexia Association suggest it affects between 3 to 6% of the population.[1] Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology: Postnote: (July 2004): Number 226 http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn226.pdf puts the prevalence at between 1% and 7%.There's a more detailed account at this site here:
http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/dyscalcula.html Which states that not everyone has the same degree and there are differing degrees to the disorder. I'd agree. I can for example add and subtract on paper. And I can see patterns. I'm analytical and can analyze numbers. I can do my job and the basic arithmetic required to do it. I just think and deal with numbers differently than most people do. I have little tricks.
It is rather interesting all of this. How to explain how I see numbers? Basically I flip numbers and formulas around. When I was younger I wrote backwards without realizing it. My mother looked at my old handwriting samples and noticed it. I got past it quickly with words, but never quite did with numbers - I still flip them around. Best way of explaining it - is imagine that when you look at a number or formula you see the mirror reflection of it, not the actual, and you have to flip it back in your brain. I can't add in my head. Don't remember multiplication tables. But I have compensated for it. I can do complex mathematics at work. All things are possible. And all obstacles surmountable, you just have to work at surmounting them is all. Where there is a will, there is a way.
What causes it? Mine is genetic. I was born with it. My aunt on my father's side has it, as does my Mom. Whether we like it or not - our genetics do form to a degree who we become. But we also have a choice in how we handle what we are given. Always have a choice.
( here's more info. on symptoms or what it is like to have dyscalculia )What fascinates me about my family is how we fall either on the left or right side of the brain. There's the scientists who do math easily and have a strong facility for language. Then there's the creatives who are great at art, writing, and are creative. Some of us have a little of both. I'm right-brain, but the analytical ability is probably left-brain. As is the logic. And a massive dose of common sense.
( Read more... )[I'm opening this one up to the public although am nervous about it, since very personal.]
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