Dyscalculia Moment | Paddle Camp

Almost every day I am reminded of how my dyscalculic daughter experiences numbers differently.

It was the first day of paddling camp and my daughter was excited about being on the water kayaking and paddle boarding. She was also a little nervous about this new experience with other teens she did not know.

The class was gathering at the water’s edge and two instructors were handing out life-vests. One instructor turned to my daughter, “How much do you weigh?” My daughter’s eyes widened, and she quickly looked over at me, unsure how to answer. I gave the instructor an estimate of her weight, about 90 pounds, and the instructor handed my daughter a life vest.

Later as we debriefed the first day of camp, I asked my daughter about that moment, “I’m curious, if I hadn’t answered with how much you weighed, what sort of answer would you have given? Would you have said maybe 1,000 pounds?”

She replied, “No, that seems like too big of a number…I would have guessed about 5 pounds.”

Five pounds…the amount I associated with a small bag of flour.

How would the instructor have responded if she had answered that she weighed about 5 pounds? I imagine she might have laughed, thinking my daughter was trying to be funny. My daughter would have then been confused by the laughter and maybe felt unsure of herself, wondering what was funny.

The question of weight was difficult for several reasons - because of her dyscalculia. Estimating amounts was difficult, she did not have even a general idea of how much a body her size normally weighed. Even if she had heard her weight at the doctor’s office, she would be unlikely to recall that number due to low memory abilities for numbers. And being dyscalculic meant that she did not consider her body size in relation to numbers at all.

It makes sense that questions involving amounts and numbers can result in unexpected answers, hesitations, or even silence from the dyscalculic. Once you become aware of the impact of dyscalculia, you can see why these questions are so problematic.

I call these everyday experiences, “dyscalculic moments.” I hope that by sharing some of ours they will either normalize your own experience with dyscalculia, or they will provide you a glimpse into everyday life as a dyscalculic.

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