class presentation

written and presented by E. Jackson while in 8th grade

I recently found my daughter’s school presentation on dyscalculia that she did a year ago in middle school. I thought you’d enjoy hearing about her perspective as a dyscalculic teen.

Roughly 1 in every 20 people are affected with dyscalculia, including me.

When I was in third grade, I started to notice that I was having more trouble with math than my classmates. Every Friday we would do a timed multiplication math sheet like this: (Show multiplication sheet slide.) We would try and answer as many questions as we could in a small amount of time. Most of my peers would be able to complete most if not all of the multiplication sheet whereas I struggled to answer what would be considered some of the easiest problems. Not knowing why I was having so much trouble, I began to wonder what was going on.

That’s when we learned that I had dyscalculia.

Dyscalculia is a math learning disability. In the simplest terms, people with dyscalculia understand math in a different way, their brains work differently. They commonly have trouble telling time, memorizing numbers, and doing any sort of math in their head without a physical representation of what they’re doing.

Like right now, I couldn’t tell you even approximately how long I’ve been talking or how much longer I need to talk to reach the end of the speech. To help I use tools like this clock called a Time-Timer. (Show Time Timer slide.) It shows me the time as it’s passing in a more visual way as opposed to a bunch of numbers swirling around in my head trying to tell me how much longer to talk.

With so many people affected by dyscalculia, it’s a real problem that this disability is not well known! It’s also not understood how much dyscalculia affects regular day-to-day life, not just math class. Numbers are everywhere and without the proper tools, life can be really stressful for dyscalculics.

Which brings me to my first point. If dyscalculia affects so many people, how come nobody knows about it? This is a problem that really needs to be addressed! When you’re struggling with something that nobody else is, it really begins to wear on you. I’ve heard multiple stories about people who just thought they were dumb. They began to doubt themselves which is a really sad thing.

That is why I’m giving this speech, to raise awareness. I want dyscalculic learners to feel understood and not put down because they don’t fit into the box with everyone else.

Another thing I’m aiming to change is the immediate, judgmental response most people have when you tell them you do math at home because of your learning disability. Too many times I’ve felt the negative vibe from other people. The “oh… you’re not like me.” It’s the belief and feeling that being in a higher math class makes you smarter than others, and if you’re a bit slower at math or need to retake a class, you’re dumb. Or if you go to special ed, then something is wrong with you, you’re different, it’s weird and uncomfortable.

We don’t quite know how to interact with people who are different from us. This goes for any disability. We’re not wrong for being different. We’re not some broken thing that needs to be fixed like how many people view dyscalculics.

I hope that as the awareness of dyscalculia grows, parents won’t have to scour the internet searching for answers, that dyscalculic learners won’t be alienated from their peers, that people will be more understanding not just to people struggling with dyscalculia, but to any person struggling with any disability. I hope that dyscalculic kids will be able to walk into math class and know that accommodations will be made to ensure that their experience is a positive one. If we can make knowledge about dyscalculia more accessible, it will help so many people and possibly change the way society sees us!

- E. Jackson