Mental Math and Dyslexia

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Nice title, eh? Let me preface this with the admission that I know just about nothing about dyslexia. Clinically, I mean.

The reason for this post is that Angela (Mother Crone) left a very interesting comment on yesterday’s post concerning how mental math has helped her daughter, who is dyslexic.

How many screwbulbs does it take to light in a dyslexic?

(Yes, that was unbelievably cheap.) Although I have no insights into clinical dyslexia, I have fought my whole life against certain dyslexic-like symptoms. I also suspect that any person who is at least mildly aware of his or her thought-processes struggles with similar symptoms.

For example: when I do a crossword puzzle - when I write in an answer that had been partially complete, I often transpose some letters. Say the answer to 32 across is four letters long, and I’ve already filled in the first two from “down” clues. They are O-D. Now when I come to the clue for 32 across, it’s, “What are the … ?” So I know that the answer is O-D-D-S. When I go to fill in the D-S, I will often write S-D. I won’t even notice it unless my wife is there to point it out to me (which is usually the case). Or, if I’m doing the puzzle alone, I won’t figure it out until I have beaten my head against the wall trying to get the right answer to one of the “down” clues that crosses the D or the S. Because they are transposed, they will “block” any correct answer I come up with until I finally see what I have done.

It’s interesting that I almost never transpose letters when I am writing in a whole word or phrase. If none of the letters of the answer for O-D-D-S was already present, I’d simply write the word “odds,” but if any letters are missing from a complete word, I have a good chance of transposing them.

It happens so often, that over the years I’ve had to train myself to occasionally step back during the puzzle and stop searching for clues, and just “sift” through the answers I have so far and look for discrepancies. (Actually, I’m glad I’ve had to do this. It’s a great habit to get into when trying to solve almost any type of problem.)

The reason I don’t play Bingo

Also, I often transpose the digits of the number of a clue when I go to write it into puzzle. For example, I see clue 47 down is “Plant of rock and metal.” (For the answer, see below) I immediately think, “Got it! Now where is 74 down?” And I’ll search for 74 down, and either notice that there is no 74 down, or it has the wrong number of letters for my answer. After a few seconds of confusion, I’ll have to look back at the clue and notice the correct number.

My wife isn’t as aware of my problem with this as she is of the “transposed letters” problem. There is almost no chance for an observer to notice me doing this, as I don’t fill in anything incorrectly. The whole phenomenon takes place in my head, and I don’t write anything down before I notice what I’ve done.

And this is exactly one of the points I want to address. Many people (not dyslexic themselves) see dyslexia as simply a social problem. “Oh, how embarrassing that he made such a goof in front of people! It must be hell to live with the shame.” (Or something like that.)

Public goof-ups are just the tip of the iceberg. When you have a cognitive problem (Dyslexia, ADD, depression, etc.) it’s not really about your public ego. It’s something you deal with when your on your own, as well. The frustration of not being able to solve a problem that you understand is sometimes unbearable. I can speak from personal experience with ADD (still struggle with it) and depression (have pretty much overcome it).

People just don’t see that you are struggling with the issue using very different thought patterns than they are. Sometimes while I know they are thinking, “Why doesn’t he just…” I’ll be thinking, “Why doesn’t that ignorant bastard solve his own problems before giving misguided advice to me?”

While some people are embarrassed for the dyslexic person, some of us are more embarrassed that the others don’t have the depth and breadth of thoughts that some dyslexics, or others have.

I am fortunate enough to see that there are some people who can appreciate the “different” thought patterns of dyslexics, ADD “sufferers”, depressives, etc. My wife is not only a special education teacher (which explains her patience with me!) but she has a non-judgmental persona. She can notice things and remark on them without jumping to a conclusion.

Lots of people can do that, but a lot of people can’t. Unfortunately, many of them that can’t hold positions of “power” in the education system. They are the people who make the “standards” and “curriculum.”

…and those who can’t teach, administer.

They are the people who have successfully ruined what once gave me hope that the American school system could someday be excellent. They are the people who are trying to take curiosity and learning, and “otherness-thinking” away from the younger generation.

They are the ones that make life hell for talented, dedicated teachers. They’re the ones that want to put your thinking right back in the box, and hermetically seal that box.

So are you just going to rant, or are you going to give us something we can use?

Hmmm, maybe. Angela mentioned that her dyslexic daughter is “stoked” about doing math mentally. I know how she feels. When I write answers I tend to transpose digits, but I almost never do what when I do math mentally. Other people have written to me that other Math Mojo methods have helped their dyslexic children or students. Although I can make no claims for it’s clinical efficacy, if you struggle with cognitive problems, you might want to give mental math a try.

One thing that has gotten a lot of positive comments from people helping dyslexic children is the Abax. I’ve even gotten testimonials from special education teachers about it.

If you would like to know more about this fascinating manipulative, and how to use Math Mojo methods with it, check out Introducing the Abax, at MathMojo.com

Take a number…

I’d like to address the use of mnemonic devices for memorizing numbers. When I use mnemonic devices, once a number has been “translated” into a device, I never transpose any digits. The system helps prevent it.

I would like to know if anyone out that has any experience with full-blown dyslexia and high-powered mnemonic systems. If you do, please leave a comment about them. I don’t mean the “Most Very Educated MathMojoers Judiciously Serve Under No Public-school-system” stuff (hey, I just made that up! Someone stop me before I pun again…) I mean the phonetic system for memorizing gigantic numbers.

Anyone else, please feel free share your experiences and thoughts about dyslexia and math in a comment, below.

By the way, there is a word for “dyslexia with numbers.” It is called discalculia. Please don’t self-diagnose yourself as discalculic just because you have problems with math. Discalculia is rare, and needs an in-depth diagnosis. It is a lot more severe than the symptoms I have mentioned.

Which leads me to my final point:
I am very grateful to Angela for letting us know about her daughter’s progress. People with dyslexia, ADD, etc. can be the luckiest people in the world. When you see a problem as a challenge, not as a handicap, you have an advantage over people who will go along in life never imagining what it is like to make a great improvement over terrible odds.

It is the “motivational dissatisfaction” with your situation that can lead you to take steps that the hoi-polloi only dream of. It is a kind of “sublimation.” Sublimation is a kind of coping mechanism (or defense mechanism). I recently read that it is considered the only defense mechanism that positive.

An example of sublimation would be the famous Charles Atlas, who was the original “ninety-eight pound weakling” who used to get sand kicked in his face at the beach regularly. Instead of not going to the beach anymore, he started lifting weights, became one of the fittest men in the world, and marketed the “Charles Atlas Fitness Program,” which made him rich and famous to boot.

So here’s to all you mental Charles Atlases out there!

Hey, Hey, Mama…

Answer to 47 down (damn, I really almost wrote 74 - true!): Plant of rock and metal = Robert. (Why, what did you think?) For you young ‘uns, Robert Plant is the lead singer for Led Zeppelin (By the way, I just made that clue up. I better make a note of it…)