OUR SUPERHEROES

Kids are more resilient than we know. Sometimes all they need is a little guidance and the right tools. Read about our superheroes and how they overcame their personal hurdles.

A letter from one of our Teen Superheroes.

I'm a teenager, aged 15. My dad is a math genius and a programmer, my stepbrother will call out mistakes the math teacher makes, and my little brother multiplies for fun.

I'd give up before I could finish adding 7 + 8 or multiplying 12 x 11, choking back tears of frustration.

It's hard for me to pin down when exactly I discovered dyscalculia, anywhere between 12 and 14, but man, I'm glad I did.

Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I've always been amazed by the mundane skills in my peers. Being able to take the bus without difficulty, do dance lessons, cook entire meals, tie your shoes, check your wristwatch, play an instrument, follow directions, pay for things and remember every class on a schedule. Like, what the hell? That's awesome; why don't they realize how awesome it is?

I lack, to some capacity, all of those skills. The "basic", common building blocks of functioning. So the idea that I might be just as worthy, just as hard-working and just as intelligent as my peers- it's both counter-intuitive and extremely comforting! That's why I think spreading information about dyscalculia is so damn important; it packs a mean punch to your self-image. Hell, it affects most of my grades, from Math, to PE, to Home Economics. Anyway, since it was so frustrating, I think I just ended up diverting all that energy elsewhere; such as into creative writing, vocabulary (fun fact, I am not a native English speaker!) science, social skills and ~ artistic expression ~ (I've been told my artwork looks professional.)

It's so validating to know these issues aren't unique to me. That I'm not doing anything wrong, just rolling my D20's with a disadvantage. (It's crazy. Even the lowest estimate for Dyscalculia prevalence is high, especially considering I've almost never heard it mentioned.)

I gotta be real... I worry sometimes, that I'll be "doomed" to a difficult, inconveniencing life as an adult. That this might stop me from reaching my goals, being independent; that people won't respect me. Unable to keep a budget, get a driver's license, show up in time, calculate how many soaps Jimmy has if Jimmy has five boxes of six soaps, and other such important grown-up skills. But with this knowledge, self-diagnosis, many tools available for us, and the assurance that there are so many people out there leading life with these same issues? I know I'll be fine, and so will you! :D There's always a solution, an understanding, and time to grow.

Anyway, make sure to share with a friend, if you're new! It just might help them too. That's what happened when I first realized. ^^

Good luck out there, fellow dyscalculics! (Always liked that word. Dys-cal-cu-lics...)

OVERCOMING MATHS ANXIETY

Tilly is an 8-year-old girl who thought she couldn’t do Maths and would never be able to do Maths but was too anxious to tell Mum or Dad.

Tilly sat on the bottom table for mathematics and dreaded the weekly multiplication test. No matter how she tried to remember, she always got them wrong and felt dreadful.

Tilly kept all her maths anxieties from her Mum as she didn’t want her to be disappointed or cross.

Maths lessons became terrifying, and Tilly would do anything to get out of them. Tilly would sit quietly at the back of the class, stare out the window, twirl her hair or hide her head in a book in the hope the teacher wouldn’t ask any Times Table or Dividing questions.

Her maths anxiety was through the roof, affecting ALL her other school work as her confidence hit rock bottom. Tilly believed she was stupid at everything.

If you weren’t good at reading, you had dyslexia, but you're stupid if you aren’t good at maths.

She thought she would be a failure forever, and her Mum would never be proud of her.

How did Tilly turn her MATHS ANXIETY around? Her Mum suspected she had Dyscalculia and found www.fables.world, a different non-scary way of remembering numbers.

Once Tilly started learning the Table Fables way, within hours, she no longer felt anxious and depressed. She had found the solution and best of all, she DIDN’T need her Mum to help her and could complete all the maths challenges herself.

In 15 days, she had gone from the bottom of Maths at school to the TOP and was SO PROUD to tell her Mum and Dad all about it. Finally, she wasn’t embarrassed to talk about school and mathematics.

It’s never too late, but the earlier you sort out MATH DYSLEXIA, the easier it is to manage.

Dyscalculia in Children

Read what a 10-year-old has to say about Dyscalculia - and why we need to provide a new way of learning.

My name is Biancastella. I am 10 years old. I love art, creativity, design and fashion. I’m in 5th grade. I have two dogs and four chickens.

Well, dyscalculia is like a different way of learning. When you write stuff on paper or numbers, it makes you sometimes write different things. Instead of writing 1+1, your brain transfers it, and you write 2+1. All types of math are hard. Algorithms, and place values.

Some people think you’re dumb, but it can be hard because when you talk, it does the same thing. People might think you are crazy or stupid. But really, you’re not. It’s really embarrassing because you go up to someone and introduce them to the new kid in school, and you start to get nervous… Instead of saying some words, like “Hi!” you say “Bye!” by accident, and you jumble up your words by accident. You feel like you want to go to your friends and talk about what happens.

It helps to have a dog if you have Dyscalculia because they can help with your stress and make you happy. And they’re funny!

In math, it is really hard, and you struggle, and you don’t get anything the teacher is saying, and you have to be taught differently. Everyone says you are getting distracted. That you’re not doing your work but really you don’t understand it. And even my Dad says I get distracted, but I don’t.

Thinking about dyscalculia upsets me a lot.

And I can’t tell left from right very well. Even though I write with my right hand and look at my right hand my brain converts it to my “left” hand.

I don’t know how to tell the time on the clock at school. Then I have to ask someone and they say, “You can tell time… unless you are a dumb person.”

Sometimes you can’t tell the dyscalculia is there. I don’t have trouble with creating things and making stuff up. I don’t have trouble with art and singing.

I have a hard time talking with kids and an easy time with grown-ups. Because grown-ups are more mature, I know a lot more than usual kids do at my school, like politics.

Another thing I am struggling with is telling how much time has passed. Days of the week are hard, too. 

- typed by Mom and spoken by Biancastella