Do You Hate Math?

Video Transcript:

Do you hate math? Do numbers, and calculations, and math class, stress you out so much?

Have you considered the possibility that you might be dyscalculic?

Dyscalculia is a math learning disability that impacts a LOT of the population. You probably won't enjoy me using percentages, so telling you 5% may not mean much. But if you knew that one in every group of twenty people is dyscalculic, that might free you up to consider this possibility.

Dyscalculics struggle with all sorts of things related to numbers and quantities. And usually it starts off looking like them hating math class.

If you are dyscalculic, it can change everything to learn that you are, because you have a better sense of yourself, a better understanding of what is going on. You don't have to think, "I'm just stupid. Or I'm always going to be bad at math." Because that's not true.

If you are dyscalculic, you do need specific resources and supports that help dyscalculic learners gain that sense of number and quantity that is not innate to them. But these are not things you will get in your everyday school lessons at school. So, it is important to find out if you are dyscalculic so that you can move forward and get some of those supports.

It will also help your anxiety, and you'll recognize all these different beliefs that you'd had about yourself that might be untrue. Because you are wired differently.

If you are curious if you might be dyscalculic, there are a number of ways you can find out. If you go to my website, www.discoveringdyscalculia.com, there is a section for assessments. There are some online assessments you can take and there are also assessments you can have at school or with a private psychologist.

If you are dyscalculic, and a lot of us are and have no idea, there are ways to move forward. And there's ways to gain that sense of quantity and number, and not feel so crazy.

You can also start to share with people, just like we do with dyslexia. "Hey, I'm dyslexic." People have a sense, "Oh, ok so reading will be difficult for this person, or spelling." I hope that we'll one day be able to say, "Hey, I'm dyscalculic, that means I'm not great with quantities. Hey, could you help me with this because it's tricky for me to remember a number-sequence."

I hope you will learn a little bit more about this, and see if you might be dyscalculic. Which could explain why you maybe hate math.