Dyscalculia is a math disability, similar to dyslexia. A lot of people joke about having “math dyslexia” without realizing that it’s quite real. In addition to effecting a person’s number sense and ability to [...]]]> March 3rd is World Dyscalculia Day.  Celebrate by learning about this disorder, and helping to get the word out!

Dyscalculia is a math disability, similar to dyslexia. A lot of people joke about having “math dyslexia” without realizing that it’s quite real. In addition to effecting a person’s number sense and ability to work with math concepts, dyscalculia can cause difficulty telling time, reading a map, learning the rules to games, remembering dance steps, or dealing with formal music education. Also called “math disability” or “math disorder”, dyscalculia is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (315) as well as by the World Health Organization.

There are plenty of places to learn about dyscalculia on the web. To meet other folks with dyscalculia, check out the Dyscalculia Forum. For a basic introduction to the disorder, the wikipedia article is pretty thorough. LD Online has a description of the presentation of dyscalculia in different developmental stages, from early childhood through adulthood. Last but not least, there’s my own article at Squidoo, What The Heck Is Dyscalculia?, which is a humorous look at life as an adult with math disorder.

Happy World Dyscalculia Day!

You start by putting [...]]]> Yesterday I hung a light in my art studio.  Just an ordinary shop light, soft wired, hung from basic ceiling hooks, with daylight corrected bulbs instead of standard florescent tubes.  It’s the kind of thing that should take half an hour.

But when you have dyscalculia and ADD, it goes something like this:

You start by putting on your new stay-cool air-flow respirator mask, which you bought because most masks are so hot you don’t wear them.  You mentioned this to your sister once.  She used to do did OSHA compliance for a mining company and put the fear of Fear into you about what particulate matter does to your lungs, especially to asthmatic lungs.  So when you found the stay-cool respirator at the hardware store you bought it, congratulating yourself on your mad self-care skillz.

You notice that your respirator smells obnoxiously of plastic.  You ponder the irony of your respirator protecting you from particulate matter while exposing your to volatile organic off-gassing.

Then you stare at the ceiling for awhile, trying to figure out where you should put your light.  You have two lights, and your space is 11 feet by 11 feet … and if you want your lights to be evenly spaced from the edges of the space, you have to divide 11 by 3 …  so you get out your tape measure and stare at all the little black lines that divide up all the feet and inches.

They all look the same.

Finally you just say “screw it” and take a guess at where to stick your damn light.  Whenever you try to take measurements and do division, you mess it up anyway, so guessing is probably safer, right? Right.

You decide you want the light to hang about one foot away from, and perpendicular to, the wall behind your studio table.  You measure about a foot away from the wall (you hope), and drill your first hole.

You get a ton of plaster dust in your eyes.

Cursing mildly, you go out to the shed to get your safety glasses.

Since your drill bit didn’t hit a stud, so you use a ceiling drywall anchor and start screwing in the bolt.  Nothing seems to be happening.  You look up “how to mount a ceiling hook” on the internet and find a video that tells you how to do it.  The only thing you were getting wrong is that you weren’t pulling gently on the bolt as you were screwing it in, so the anchor was just turning along with the bolt.  You try again, pulling gently this time, and turn your hook until it’s flush with the ceiling.  You have achieved a ceiling hook! So far so good.

You congratulate yourself on your mad manly handy skillz.

You look at the box the light fixture came in.  It says the light is 6 feet long with a 5 foot cord.  A five foot cord … oh, right, you’ll need the extension cord from the fridge, which is too short so it hangs awkwardly anyway, and you got a longer cord to replace it back in July, but you haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Cursing mildly, you stop drilling holes in the ceiling in order to take the short chord down and replace it with the longer one that does fit, so you can use the shorter one for your light.  This requires you to pry cable clips out of the wall to get the old cord off, and to hammer new ones into the wall to put the new cord on.  This takes about an hour.

When you have the correct extension cord, you’re ready to install your second ceiling hook.  You look at your ceiling hook and realize that you have a wood screw, not a drywall bolt and anchor.  Cursing mildly, you go to the shed to get a drywall bolt and a ceiling anchor.

You drill another hole.  You still get plaster dust in your eyes, because the safety glasses don’t fit when you’re also wearing a respirator.  You decide that you can live without your eyes, but not without your lungs.  You ponder the irony of going blind while installing a light in your art studio.

You put your drywall anchor on your bolt, and insert it into the ceiling.  As you’re jiggling it into position, it somehow pops out of your hand and up into the ceiling cavity.

Cursing mildly, you go out to the shed to get yet another ceiling anchor and bolt. To be safe, you get two more of each, so you can hang the second light when you’re done with the first one.

You screw the anchor and the hook to the bolt.  You insert it in the freshly-drilled hole, this time taking care that it won’t get lost in the ceiling.  You congratulate yourself on your manly handiness.

You descend from your stepladder and pick up the light.  You carefully climb the stepladder with your precious burden.  You hang it carefully on one of your ceiling hooks and let it dangle while you climb down and reposition the ladder.

You grab the other end of the light fixture and climb the stepladder again.

The light doesn’t reach.

You stare at the light, then at your ceiling hooks, then at the box the light came in.  You take the light down off the first hook, and then it hits you:

1) With one end resting on the floor, the light comes up to your ribcage.

2) You are 5 feet, four inches tall.

3) If the light were, in fact, six feet tall, it would be taller than you — kinda like your 6′2″ husband.

4) The light is not as tall as you.

5) If you had stopped to consider any of this, even for thirty seconds, you would know that this is no damn six foot light!

You take a deep breath.

You look at the box again.  It does, indeed, have a 6 on it … in order to explain that the light fixture as a 6 INCH reflector.

You take another deep breath.  Cursing mildly isn’t going to cut it this time.  Invoking the spirit of your grandfather, you start cursing like a sailor, a longshoreman, AND a truck driver.   The cats run for the hills.  Wine glasses shatter.  Paint peels off the walls.  But you feel a little better.

You go into the living room to illustrate to your husband that the light is not 6 feet long.  “What, you didn’t measure it?” he asks.

“... no …“

“What?” he asks.

“NOTHING!” you say.  Cursing mildly, you go back to your studio with your FOUR FOOT LONG light fixture.

You measure FOUR FEET away from your first ceiling hook.  You don’t hit a stud, so you put a drywall anchor onto the bolt and start turning the hook.  You hit something solid.  You probe the area with a pencil, and find that a few inches above the drywall, there is indeed a mysterious solid object.  Further probing reveals that it ends after a quarter of an inch or so.  Well, the hole needs to be enlarged anyway, so you enlarge it in that direction, and insert the anchor.  Once again you hit something solid, and as you try to move the bolt around, it vanishes into the ceiling.

Cursing mildly, you descend the ladder and get another ceiling hook, bolt, and anchor.  This time you don’t lose the hook, but after fifteen minutes of trying, you can’t get it to go in straight.  Cursing rather more strongly, you screw it in so it’s not quite flush.

You hang the light, successfully this time, and move onto the second light.  You drill your first hole … and realize that with the anchors you’ve lost in the ceiling, you need to go out to the shed to get more.  Cursing vitriolically, you obtain your hardware and install it.  You hang your second light within half an hour.  Your first light took three hours.

You go into the living room and say to your husband, “I need you to tell me that I’m not a total idiot.  And that measuring things is stupid.  And that it’s a useless, pissant skill that nobody cares about.”

Your husband is silent for a moment.  Possibly he is contemplating your friend whose job it is to keep the International Space Station from falling out of the sky.

“Um … I love you?” he says.

FINIS

* The answer is “Lime green pocket watch”.  Gibbering in a corner is also acceptable.

Conclusion: Experimental groups skills in math and Music training group in scores of IQ had show increased. Some methods, such as bilateral brain training and Music training could be used to reduced symptoms of dyscalculia disorder.

As [...]]]> I came across this fascinating post by an Iranian researcher.  It turns out music education might significantly improve dyscalculia symptoms:

Conclusion: Experimental groups skills in math and Music training group in scores of IQ had show increased. Some methods, such as bilateral brain training and Music training could be used to reduced symptoms of dyscalculia disorder.

As you may know, I get really tetchy when people try to tell me that “music is math”. That being said, formal music training uses a lot of numerical concepts, and the (possible) cerebellar disruptions implicated in dyscalculia can create challenges in certain areas of music such as rhythm and timing.

I can’t wait for more research in this area. Meanwhile, I’m left to wonder whether I’d have been even worse at math if I hadn’t been studying music since I was seven.

Google Voice provides voicemail, sent right to your e-mail inbox

Google provides me with yet another piece of adaptive technology for my learning disabilities

Google, in their never-ending quest for world domination to create technology to make our lives easier, has come out with Google Voice Mail.  Google Voice is a free VOIP service that provides [...]]]>

Google Voice provides voicemail, sent right to your e-mail inbox

Google provides me with yet another piece of adaptive technology for my learning disabilities

Google, in their never-ending quest for world domination to create technology to make our lives easier, has come out with Google Voice Mail.  Google Voice is a free VOIP service that provides you with a voice mail number.  You set your phone so that all calls are forwarded to this number, at which point the voice mail is transcribed, and then send along with the voice recording to your e-mail inbox.  You can also set it up to receive the transcript as a text message.

At the moment, participation is “by invitation only”.  This isn’t as snotty as it sounds; what it really means is that they’re still in beta, and there’s a waiting list to try out the product.  My partner is an engineer and he loves this sort of thing just on principle, but after his years of living with me, he’s also aware that it has great potential as adaptive technology.  So he set me up with it, and so far I love it.  Below is an example of a voice mail transcript I received earlier today.

To put the message in context, I went bra shopping a few weeks ago.  One of the bras I liked was out of stock in the color and size that I needed, so Nordstrom was kind enough to ship it to me free of charge.  The bra arrived last week, but true to their reptuation for customer service, Nordstrom wanted to make sure.

Hi *****, this is ***** calling from the ocean the lingerie department at Salem Tom just calling to make sure that you received your items about everything is okay with that have any questions you like to give me a call. Our number here is (415) 753-1344 in the lingerie department at Stonestown thank you and have a nice day bye bye.

As you can see, the voice recognition isn’t perfect.  I first read the beginning of the message as “calling from the ocean lingerie department”, which is pretty cool in that it conjures up images of goddesses and naiads and mermaids, but sadly unlikely.  And “Salem Tom”?  Is that a great hobo name or what?

By the end of the message it was clear that it was Nordstrom checking up on their shipment.  It took a few seconds longer to parse this than if the VR had been perfect, but it wasn’t too bad.  I redacted the names, but they were rendered accurately.  As for the surrealst bits, I’m guessing that “ocean” is “Nordstrom” and “Salem Tom” is “Stonestown”, the mall where this particular Nordstrom is situated.

The single most important thing for me is that Google Voice records phone numbers correctly.   This is less of an issue with cell phones, since they record the number of the incoming call, but there are instances where a message is left telling me to call back at a different number.

Most people don’t need to think about it much, but returning a phone call is a complicated process with several steps.   As someone with dyscalcluia, each of these steps is an opportunity to get it wrong.  First, I would have to hear the phone number correctly.  Then, I would have to write it down correctly.  Then I would have to look at the number, and see it correctly.  Then I would have to dial the number correctly.  I would double and triple check each of the first three steps, and I still got it wrong; I would then have to go back and recheck the number yet again.  Sometimes I would make the mistake of erasing a message too soon, and the correct phone number would be gone forever.

Google Voice removes step 2, writing it down; it also enables me to see, hear, and dial the number simultaneously, which eliminates the need to hold the number in my working memory for any length of time.  Working memory is a weakness for many dyscalculics, as well as for anyone with ADD, so eliminating the need to use it is a positive thing.

If you want to learn more about Google Voice, go to this site, and click the link that says “watch the overview”.

I [...]]]>

Rickie Sugars is glad the study proves a link between learning disabilities and poor mental health.

I have no idea when this story ran in the Vancouver Sun, but it’s worth a look.  The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has released a study on the long-term effects of undiagnosed learning disabilities.  The results?  Lasting psychological harm.

I can certainly attest to this.  My LD went undiagnosed until half way through my junior year of college.  By that point, I was at a top-20 liberal arts college, surrounded by people who were able to do the assignments AND the reading for all of their classes, and my self esteem was not only in the toilet but flushed into the sewers.  Since my disabilities are in areas that are the focus of most entry-level professional jobs (paperwork, scheduling, filing, and occasionally light bookkeeping as well) I essentially have no career to speak of.

As a result of this, I’ve been diagnosed with major depression and dysthymia, anxiety and panic disorder, stress-related asthma, and even a heart condition.  It’s taken my whole adult life to come to terms with this. I have had to rebuild myself from my foundations.  In short, friends, it has sucked, and it has sucked mightily.

Mad props to LDAC for taking this issue seriously, and for getting the word out.

I get confused when there two of something.  That is, when I am trying to remember the difference between two related but distinct concepts.  For instance, there’s the difference between “affect” and “effect” that I wrote about yesterday.  Another example is the difference between “inductive” and “deductive” reasoning, which I must have learned about half [...]]]>

I get confused when there two of something.  That is, when I am trying to remember the difference between two related but distinct concepts.  For instance, there’s the difference between “affect” and “effect” that I wrote about yesterday.  Another example is the difference between “inductive” and “deductive” reasoning, which I must have learned about half a dozen times by now in difference college and grad school courses, but which I still can’t remember.  Inductive reasoning is general to specific no, I just looked it up and I was wrong.  See what I mean?

Inductive reasoning is specific to general, whereby you use a set of facts to arrive at a general conclusion.  For example, “all ice is cold” is inductively derived based on the fact that all the ice I’ve ever touched is cold.  It’s a useful thing for theory-building.

Deducutve reasoning is the other way around.  This is what Sherlock Holmes was famous for — reasoning that the specific person standing before him is a stonemason, for instance, because that person is covered in the type of dust that generally covers stonemasons.

But I digress (I do that a lot).  These are just the two examples I can think of right now, but I know there are more.  When I can’t quite get something straight in my head I often find thinking, “it’s because there are two possibilities, I just know it — if there were three or five I’d have no trouble remembering this”.  It’s as if my brain, hearing that “A” means “fu” and “B” means “bar”, takes a snapshot of the information and then files it upside down and sideways.  “Right,” says my brain, “Bar, fu, A, B.  got it.  No problem, boss!”.

Other people I know don’t seem to have this problem. I don’t know if it’s to do with my learning disabilities or if it’s an unrelated quirk of my brain.

I had no idea this condition existed, but when I read the definition on this forum it sounded just like me! I’ve been terrible at math my whole life. [...]]]> I hang out on the Dyscalculia Forum, and there are frequent new member posts from adults wondering if they have LD.  They go something like this:

I had no idea this condition existed, but when I read the definition on this forum it sounded just like me! I’ve been terrible at math my whole life. People even joked that I was “number dyslexic”. I’m sure I have dysclaculia. I have all the symptoms. But how do I know for sure?

One place to start is at the Learning Disabilities Association of America’s assessment page. While they can’t assess you online — you need a professional for that — they provide a list of characteristics that are common in people with learning difficulty, and suggestions for how to find someone who can test you.

Do any of the following sound like you?

* May perform similar tasks differently from day to day
* May read well but not write well, or write well but not read well
* May be able to learn information presented in one way, but not in another
* May have a short attention span, be impulsive, and/or be easily distracted
* May have difficulty telling or understanding jokes
* May misinterpret language, have poor comprehension of what is said
* May have difficulty with social skills, may misinterpret social cues
* May find it difficult to memorize information
* May have difficulty following a schedule, being on time, or meeting deadlines
* May get lost easily, either driving and/or in large buildings
* May have trouble reading maps
* May often misread or miscopy
* May confuse similar letters or numbers, reverse them, or confuse their order
* May have difficulty reading the newspaper, following small print, and/or following columns
* May be able to explain things orally, but not in writing
* May have difficulty writing ideas on paper
* May reverse or omit letters, words, or phrases when writing
* May have difficulty completing job applications correctly
* May have persistent problems with sentence structure, writing mechanics, and organizing written work
* May experience continuous problems with spelling the same word differently in one document
* May have trouble dialing phone numbers and reading addresses
* May have difficulty with math, math language, and math concepts
* May reverse numbers in checkbook and have difficulty balancing a checkbook
* May confuse right and left, up and down
* May have difficulty following directions, especially multiple directions
* May be poorly coordinated
* May be unable to tell you what has just been said
* May hear sounds, words, or sentences imperfectly or incorrectly

You don’t have to have all of these characteristics to have learning disabilities, but if you have some of them, and they seriously inhibit your work, your schooling, or your everyday life (and you live in the States), check out LD America. They have chapters in cities and counties throughout the country, and your local chapter can help you to find someone who can test you. Their website also has suggestions for where else you can look.

This is not the case.

It is also not the case that LD is contained within the four walls of the classroom. [...]]]> There’s a persistent myth out there that learning disabilities are a problem of childhood; as if somehow, our dyslexia or Asperger’s or visual processing disorder just vaporizes upon reaching the age of legal majority.

This is not the case.

It is also not the case that LD is contained within the four walls of the classroom. It is not a heavy coat that can be taken off, with feelings of blessed relief, upon arriving home from school.

For more, check out my article here.

At the moment I’m taking a break from filling out a quantitative survey on development in twice-exceptional adults. Twice-exceptional, or 2e, refers to people who are diagnosed with both giftedness and LD.

It’s kind of a weird label for kind of a weird condition. As you might have guessed, [...]]]>

OR, “My Mommy Says I’m Special!”

At the moment I’m taking a break from filling out a quantitative survey on development in twice-exceptional adults. Twice-exceptional, or 2e, refers to people who are diagnosed with both giftedness and LD.

It’s kind of a weird label for kind of a weird condition. As you might have guessed, I’m not entirely happy with it; it carries the air of a consolation prize, a term that has more to do with reassuring parents of 2e kids than the kids themselves. What kid is going to describe herself as “twice-exceptional”? I tried like hell to hide my intelligence from my peers when I was a kid. I didn’t describe myself as “intelligent” or “smart”, let alone “gifted”, because it seemed like a great way to get beat up. There’s no way I would have used a phrase like “twice-exceptional”.

I didn’t really have a choice in that particular matter, though, because 2e was on nobody’s radar when I was in school. I’d been identified as gifted in the third grade, and this was taken as proof that my academic struggles were the result of laziness, carelessness, and “not trying”. Smart kids were supposed to be good at everything. Smart kids were supposed to like school. Smart kids were supposed to be good students who kept their desks neat, showed their work, and turned assignments in on time. This, of course, was in spite of the fact that of the half-dozen kids in my grade who were in the gifted program, only one of them fit these “good student” criteria. The rest of us daydreamed in class, forgot our homework, and could barely close our desks due to the mess inside.

I’m glad that there’s now a word for people like me. It’s much easier to educate people about concurring giftedness and learning disability when you can assign a name to it. You can’t get the word out if there isn’t a word.

I just wish the word were a bit more matter of fact, less of a value judgment. A bit less Special. But I guess “twice-exceptional” is at least more positive than how I often think of myself in my darker moments. At least it’s better than “fux0red”.