I am sure we have all found ways to get around our disability.

Techniques we use in our daily life to work through those idiotic situations most other people handle easily, but that are difficult to us.

I'd like us to share the Solution in this thread - share you techs and tricks to get by. It's time we get and give credit for being inventive, smart and resourceful in the face of adversity.

Shadow Bear

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the only trick I know is the calculator...sorry

Eager to find out if anyone has any great tips to share!

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I break down any addition beyond 10 into smaller components, so that I am only dealing with numbers that are 'simple'

Example 'onehundred and fiftyeight' plus 'thirtyone'  [158+31]is broken down into these components: onehundred [100] fifty [50] thirty [30] eight [8] and one [1] that way I am not confused by the written numbers, which is a biggy for me. I then do the math and this is how I think:

"Onehundred plus fifty is onehundred and fifty, onehundred and fifty plus thirty is onehundred and eighty, eight plus one is nine, onehundred and eighty plus nine is onehindred and eightinine."

I also use paper and pen a lot and calculators. And my wife, who is a math wiz.

I can handle numbers from 1-10, so I tend to try and break down any math problem into components made up of numbers between 1 and 10.

Also I have learned some basic rules over the years, which helps me do f.i the calculations for tips in a restaurant. Which is a situation where you really don't want to haul out the calculator.

It is always 10 percent [in Sweden] so I create a number that is easy to  divide with ten [I, for some reason have no trouble handling the number 10] - say my meal cost 257 SEK, I make it 260 SEK and simply divide the cost of my meal with 10 and pay the result on top of the original cost, in this case 26 SEK.

I also try and tell myself that I have a right to take my time when calculating.

Over the years I have had people getting impatient with me because it some times takes a few minutes to do a simple calculation, and they would 'help' me by give me the result.

I used to get really angry and then I would off course loose any numbers I had pinned down in my head - stress does that to a dyscaculic - and feel really stupid, instead of grateful for the 'help'.

Now I simply tell people to shut up and let me do it in my time, my way. I even had to do that with Ket, before we knew I was dyscaculic.

NO MORE!! I have a right to do it my way. So do all of us.

Don't let them make you feel bad.

"I don't believe in numbers"

Shadow Bear

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The easy way to get 10 % of something:

move the dot one step to the left.

10 % of 20 is 2
10 % of 340 is 34
10 % of 1249.50 is 124.95

If you need 20 %, just multiply with 2
If you need 5 %, just divide with 2

it usually is manageable for everyone to multiply and divide with 2.

The rest of the procent calculations are just adding...

Ket

(I do hope this helps someone...)

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Tips for teachers

Characterizations of LDs (learning disabilities)

A television with one channel that doesn’t work

“Has it all together but forgot where he put it”

Eccentric

Genius with a flaw

Tips for teaching dyscalculics

For add, subtract, multiply, and divide, have only one kind of operation on a page. And put the directions in English on the page--like “Add.”

Have students circle the numbers of problems.

Have students put a box around answers

You can have students draw vertical lines for place value.

Use the European seven (with a line through it)   7

Use the Canadian 6 (with a line under it)   6

Combine the reading concept of context to help LDs reason whether the answer is a reasonable one

Use a page with a window in it to help students isolate the problem they are working on.

Use symbols other than x to denote multiplication

Use symbols other than dash and dots for division

Preparing materials for LDs

Leave quite a bit of white space on pages
Don’t hide “major stuff” at the bottom of the page
Use headings or subheadings as appropriate
Include pictures or graphs

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every person learns differently - to teach people with dyscalculia, one has to find "THE learning thing" -
most of dyscalculics learn best WITH PICTURES, just as Christine said.
Also, most of dyscalculics have amazing memory.

Ket

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“Has it all together but forgot where he put it”

"You have learned how to divide several times in your life, but when you need it, you don't know where you put it."

I responded, "I wonder how many parts of my brain are occupied with holding the information on how to divide..."

Shadow Bear

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Sorry that I don't have any tricks to offer. I suppose if I did I would have passed my math test in pre-alg. last semester.

I just wanted to say something funny that popped into my mind after reading everyone else's posts here. ..

I think I have an MTV (1980s) Gen. X mind. How so? Well, with me... if i can't see it in picture form &/or hear it in musical form, it's very likely I will have forgotten it within a week, maybe less?

But just ask me to sing Venus by Banannaramma and I am so AWESOMELY accurate... even can do the dance moves too... not that that was difficult choreography...Lol!

Oh, and about the remembering name vs. faces...well I rock at remembering faces! In fact... if I have seen a face once I do not foget it! I am even quite good and recalling the where/how I know the face/person. On the other hand, I am awful about remembering names.

I only recall about 2-3 teachers' names out of my dozens of teachers at college. I think the only reason why their names stuck in my brain was because they put it on the board, and on all our return papers and had us call them by name every class meeting for several months, unlike the others.

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