Does this sound like a learning disability (maybe dyscalculia)?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Note: I posted this also in the LD forum but that forum seemed pretty dead so I'm posting here too.</p>

<p>Quick background: I'm a political science major (hesitant accounting minor; hesitant partially for reasons stated below) at a pretty good school. I'm also studying intermediate Korean language. I've always tried hard and done pretty good at academic work. However, I struggle with two major problems that tend to rear their ugly head in classes involving creative problem solving and/or math.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I oftentimes switch numbers or symbols without thinking (i.e. I will think a 4 but write a 7 or I will shift a curve such as the demand curve left not right); I know the concepts inside and out but I sometimes I can't translate that knowledge in the correct way to the paper. I also do a similar thing in foreign language (though less so compared to math) where I do things such as misplacing a word or writing the wrong verb form without noticing it. Going over my work only sometimes helps as I oftentimes still miss my mistakes.</p></li>
<li><p>I am quite good at understanding concepts, even abstract ones, in mathematical terms (i.e. understanding political science papers written using game theory). However, I oftentimes struggle greatly in formulating word problems into the correct mathematical equations. On a similar note, I also struggle greatly with applying knowledge of a foreign language to knew situation. For example, I will oftentimes learn new words in a way that prevents practical usage (i.e. if I know the word for "much (i.e. years) later" I will be unable to translate a sentence such as "I will become a senior citizen in a long time" because I don't correlate "much later" to "in a long time") Also, my use of grammar in a foreign language is oftentimes limited to those situations that involve only simple sentences and when reading a paragraph, I will have trouble applying the grammar rules to more complex sentences even though I have seen the grammar patterns many times before.</p></li>
<li><p>I struggle to understand foreign language (both Korean and my earlier language Spanish) when I hear it; I will understand it if I read it, yet even if its spoken abnormally slowly, I oftentimes struggle to comprehend the words. This is partially related to my above problem of not being able to adapt my foreign language skills to new sentences well.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In terms of practice Ive done the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>get a math tutor (doesn't help much because its not a conceptual understanding problem)</li>
<li>I tried a foreign language tutor but feel its best to just stay with one teacher as learning a foreign language is oftentimes different depending on the perspective of the teacher.</li>
<li>practicing many math problems over and over in timed settings (has somewhat helped)</li>
</ol>

<p>As for my other problem (the one related to taking word problems and making equations) I am confused as how to proceed as it just seems like my mind isn't able to transfer a real-life situation to math even though Im quite good at doing the opposite.</p>

<p>If anyone could give me some advice, Id really appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>Today, not tomorrow, walk into the counseling center on your campus and ask for a referral to a specialist who can screen you for LDs. You have good clear notes here describing the phenomena that cause difficulties for you, so print them out and take them with you. Even before you get formal screening, the folks in the counseling and tutoring center should be able to help you improve your work-arounds for the challenges that you are facing.</p>

<p>As for the foreign language issue, some of that could be due to the methodology the instructors are using. And as you’ve already seen, there isn’t much you can do about that. Unless there is departmental policy determining the methodology that the instructors must use, and formal supervision to see that they actually follow those methods, it really is up to the individual instructor.</p>

3

<p>What you describe might be a learning disability, though it doesn’t sound like dyscalculia. But the kinds of mistakes you describe are also the kinds of mistakes everyone makes when they are learning something. Everyone has trouble generalizing the grammar when they learn a new language; almost everyone finds it easier to read the language they are learning than to hear it, even if the speaker is speaking slowly; everyone gets mixed up about supply curves and demand curves when they are learning econ; everyone makes mistakes when working with new mathematical concepts and translating a problem into equations.</p>

<p>For most people, these problems diminish with more practice. Sometimes it takes a whole lot more practice-- learning a new language after puberty is HARD, and becoming able to understand the new language when it is spoken normally takes a year or two at least. </p>

<p>Becoming facile with mathematical concepts is quicker, but nevertheless takes time and effort. Your brain only has a certain capacity for abstract thought, and if you are using up some of that capacity working with the abstraction because you haven’t yet fully internalized it, you have less capacity for the nuts and bolts of equations so you make mistakes. That’s why you can make change in your own currency without much thought, but you have to work hard to make change in a foreign currency, for example.</p>

<p>It may be that you just need to realize that achievement takes practice, even for smart people, and you need to resign yourself to more practice than you hoped you’d need.</p>

4

<p>The best way to know more about your trouble is to seek some expert advice. He would be the best person to counsel you and also offer you some remedy to cope with it.</p>

5

<p>Go get tested. That is the only way to know. DD’s LD was not discovered until she was in college. That is when the demands became too much for her to use her old compensating techniques. Some small accommodations Rice allowed to be made in her testing and class work made all the difference.</p>