Dyscalculia?

[misanman]

I doubt that there are any with dyscalculia on this forum but was wondering if you know folks who have (a lot of) trouble with numbers -

Red Tape - Math disorder makes consumers easy prey

 

[W2R]

No, I don't really know anybody like that at all.

I don't doubt that people with dyscalculia exist, though. I just tend to hang around mathematicians, physicists, and engineers I guess. Oh, and CPA's like my brothers. Can't think of anyone I know right now who hasn't at least been through college calculus.

 

[sheehs1]

Interesting. I'm familiar with dyscalculia...as my daughter tested with a very slight dyscalculia in the 8th grade or so if memory serves me correctly. Hers is slight but was enough to give her a hard time with algebra. Oddly enough she excelled in Geometry.
Doctor told her never to expect more than a C in a math class...and that pretty much ran true to form for most of high school. However in college, she aced her math courses...probably by sheer determination and is now a teacher.
She is actually very good with her own monthly budget and spending money.

It remains to be seen how she will do with investments as she is only 23....and I have most of her investments. She is not showing much interest in wanting to take those over but with a new job and 2 moves this year she hasn't had time (or so she says). Investments can be intimidating for a 23 year old. But she doesn't seem to have any interest in learning either...at least not at the moment.

I will say she was too quick to buy a condo this year...paying a higher mortgage rate than I thought she should and cashing in a CD taking an early penalty AND paying to break her lease on the apartment she was renting that cost her money. So it does bother me that she seems willing to pay whatever to get what she wants rather than waiting or negotiating...but ...I don't know if that is being 23 and independent and wanting what she wanted so badly she was willing to do whatever it took to get it...or
a total disregard that others were making money off of her.

 

[REWahoo]

I may have to change my sig line to "Having dyscalculia don't count"...

 

[TromboneAl]

There once was a man called Count Dracula
Who suffered from dyscalculia
When asked "Is it so?"
He replied "Well, you know,
I can't count my balls -- that's peculia."

 

[braumeister]

It's ridiculously common, unfortunately.
Consider this common scenario:
You go into a store and buy something that costs, after sales tax, $0.87. You dig into your pocket and hand the cashier four quarters, and two pennies. You're happy because you just got rid of six coins, including those pesky pennies, and in return you'll get just two coins (a dime and a nickel) in change.

But the cashier does a triple-take:
1. You handed over way too much money. You must be an idiot.
2. Not only did you offer too much (the four quarters), but you compounded your silly mistake by adding the pennies. You must be a complete idiot.
3. Wait a minute, there might be a neat solution to this, but it's way too complicated. Why couldn't this idiot customer just give me a dollar bill and let the computer tell me how much change to give? Now I have to enter all this detail and hope I don't screw it up.

Since I'm one of those dinosaurs who not only carry change in my pockets but actually uses it like this, I see this situation at least weekly.

 

[nwsteve]

Out daughter also was diagnosed with dycalculia but not until freshman year in college when all her testing was on multiple choice tests with scan sheets. She would make disconnects when seeing the answer and having to pick the correct bubble on the scan sheet. All though high school her testing was primarily short answer and essay and it never showed up. The school guidance group taught her some coping skills and she learn to deal with it but is cautious now when working math based issues.
Nwsteve

 

[SteveR]

Never heard of this before but it makes sense. I am dyslexic and struggled in school with both letters and numbers. I still have to concentrate to tell the difference in some letter and numbers.

I believe that many instances with counting or doing "money math" is just from lack of experience and training. People rely too much on electronics to do the work for them. We see this with folks that work for us in the shop. If the computer does not tell them the exact change to give they get all flustered and go into "dopey mode"; unable to function without a calculator.

I don't doubt the condition exists but I wonder if it is being blamed for simple lack of practice using number counting skills due to reliance on electronics to do our counting for us. Just my [-]$0.03[/-] $.02

 

[JOHNNIE36]

It's ridiculously common, unfortunately.
Consider this common scenario:
You go into a store and buy something that costs, after sales tax, $0.87. You dig into your pocket and hand the cashier four quarters, and two pennies. You're happy because you just got rid of six coins, including those pesky pennies, and in return you'll get just two coins (a dime and a nickel) in change.

But the cashier does a triple-take:
1. You handed over way too much money. You must be an idiot.
2. Not only did you offer too much (the four quarters), but you compounded your silly mistake by adding the pennies. You must be a complete idiot.
3. Wait a minute, there might be a neat solution to this, but it's way too complicated. Why couldn't this idiot customer just give me a dollar bill and let the computer tell me how much change to give? Now I have to enter all this detail and hope I don't screw it up.

Since I'm one of those dinosaurs who not only carry change in my pockets but actually uses it like this, I see this situation at least weekly.

Ref #2 above, I love doing this to see how cashiers react. If your purchase is $4.21 and you hand over a $5 bill and the 21 cents, the cashier simply rings up $5.21 paid amount and the register tells them to give me back $1. Wait till they ring up paid amount of $5 and then tell them you have the 21 cents. That might be too easy to figure out. Better yet, just hand them a penny. Really confuses them.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I try very hard not to confuse cashiers. On the very rare occasions that I've had to do any sort of cash money collections, I am humbled by my apparent inability to make change unless I count "up". DH thinks it is hilarious to watch.

 

[FinanceDude]

Darn, I thought this was a variation of the old "Polish Disco" joke:

"Dis go here, dis go over der, den dis go over here"............