In this video I interview a friend and mentor of mine who is a wonderful and successful woman, and who is dyscalculic. In this short video clip, I ask her how she found out she was dyscalculic.

Video Transcript

Laura: How did you even find out about having a math learning disability? Were you a kid? Was it when you were older? How did how did you find out about it?

Courtney: You mean, how did I find out I wasn't just stupid? Which is what I thought I was.

Laura: Yeah, I bet.

Courtney: I was in my 30’s and was talking to a woman who was a school teacher and also a piano teacher. We were discussing my frustration with trying to read music.

Laura: Oh yeah.

Courtney: And I offhandedly commented that I just play like a cheat sheet because I can't see the treble and bass clef at the same time. And I can't remember the pattern of the chords or the pattern of the music. And she looked at me and she said, “Did you have trouble with math when you were a kid?” And I’m like, did I had trouble in math? Yes, it almost kept me from graduating from college. “Yeah, I had trouble with math.” And she said, “I think you might have a math learning disability. I've had students over the years with this.” But she didn't name it.

Laura: Yeah it probably just known as a “math learning disability,” and even now that's what people call it.

Courtney: Right. And you know I remembered that in… I think I was going into second grade that the first grade teacher told my parents that I “would never be good at math.” And so even when I was little little, you know six, seven, I knew. I was told, and of course we believe our parents at that age, I was told I would never be good at math. So it just was something I couldn't do, and couldn't learn, no matter how hard I tried.

The full video interview, and others like this are available in my online member space for parents: Dyscalculia Base Camp.