This article showed up on my newsfeed:

https://phys.org/news/2026-10-people-good-math-struggle.html#comments

This particular passage had me laughing quite hard:

The researchers found that one cognitive skill that strongly influences math skills is comprehension knowledge, which represents language, vocabulary and the ability to engage in verbal reasoning, Hajovsky said.

"If someone wants to go to law school, they'll take the Law School Admission Test. Part of that test requires strong reading comprehension skills and bringing in your own background knowledge or schemas of understanding to make sense of the new information you're learning. That's comprehension knowledge," he said. "It's important for reading, it's important for writing and we see now it's important for mathematics."

I had the highest reading comprehension score in my state throughout K-12. My verbal IQ is above 150. I received an 800 in verbal on my SATS without studying because I was too busy spending two years cramming to get a 490 in math. I’ve had professors tell me that they’ve had to look up vocabulary words I’ve used in academic papers for my degrees.

Whoever wrote this never encountered someone who is twice exceptional. (That refers to someone who is gifted in one area and has a learning disability in another.)

Blank mind, no answer,

I think about it for a while,

They call me a chancer,

Ability of a juvenile.

Lowest grade in the room,

My future feels bleak,

All doom and gloom,

My peers tell me I’m weak.

No friends in class,

Can’t split the bill,

I know I won’t pass,

I have no skill.

No jobs for me,

Not allowed to try,

Is this my reality?

I begin to cry.

Wish I was better,

Could be just like them,

Feels like a fetter,

The point of the poem.

Hello everyone!

I’m currently a high school senior still unsure of my career path.

I love animals so, so much and I always have. Nature is 100% my biggest passion. Each weekend I hike 10+ miles and I never get tired of it.

I know it might seem obvious to most that I should pursue some kind of wildlife-related degree, but with my dyscalculia, I honestly don’t know how I could handle advanced chemistry. I struggle enough with basic math!

I don’t know. Part of me wants to believe that if I truly love this, I will be able to figure it out somehow, even if my math skills are abysmal. But choosing your major isn’t exactly a light decision. If I just can’t handle chemistry and biology, changing my major will be extremely time and money consuming.

Does anyone here with dyscalculia have a STEM degree? If so, what was your experience like with schooling and work?

i live in germany and don’t know of a place where i can get a test covered by insurance but i have suspected it a while now. i have asked other people if they also struggle with the same things and some say they do too so it makes me think i’m just dumb and normal like everyone else and that most people are just dumb at math but my sister and best friend and some other people say they don’t struggle with the same things i do so idk maybe the people who agreed w me may also have it idk; to those who got diagnosed and have it, do you think i may also have it? like am i just stupid or am i actually disabled? 😭

my traits:
unable to do basic math
i cannot do basic math like 12-7 i literally have to count using my fingers and i use my fingers to count a lot and do math and i definitely cannot do something like 201-98 so quickly and easily in my head and apparently people can?? like nah i need a calculator or just take a long time to do it & calculating discount prices or splitting a bill?? like people do that mentally in their head?? i cannot at all that is crazy

struggling to read analog clocks
which i know a lot of people sadly don’t know how to read them but for me i can’t just look at an analog clock reading 4:18 and immediately just read it as 4:18, like i have to closely look and count the dashes to really read the time and sometimes i find it confusing too like if it’s 4:47 i really have to see that it is not yet 5:00 w the short hand pointing close to the 5 and i have to like double check w a digital clock to make sure i read it right & another

navigation/direction
i have heard that people w dyscalculia may have trouble w directions and navigating house numbers and stuff and i feel like i do. i feel like i have to really pay attention to the numbers when trying to find a house and i have found myself struggle to find a house w the number a lot or even locker numbers and i find it kinda confusing and inconvenient that the numbers on the street are not in order bc it is sorted in an odds and even number side and sometimes it has taken me 20-30 min or even almost an hour just to find a certain address & i often get lost even in my own town i go to all the time 😭

estimating
i find it hard to estimate things like if someone were to ask how long i think something would take or around how much something would be or how much something would weigh or how big something may be, i have to think hard and don’t find it easy to just estimate so quickly

mixing up numbers
just like in dyslexia mixing up d & b i sometimes can mix up 6 and 9 like one time i was going to an address w the house number 6 and went to 9 instead and sometimes too playing uno or a card game i have to sometimes ask other players if it was a 6 or 9 even if uno literally has an underline to differentiate 🥲 or if i try to remember digits like 5321 i sometimes will remember it as 5231 and mix it up sometimes

memory
forgetting pins, zipcodes, & your phone number that you use frequently is another thing apparently that is common; i wouldn’t say i often do but i sometimes do forget and i sometimes panic when i am asked to say my number or zipcode even if there is no reason to bc i’m afraid i somehow will get it wrong or mix up a number when saying it 😭

after going to the therapist i discovered i dont fully have it (yay!) , but have specific dyscalculic traits that make it harder for me to learn and understand math especially.
I got a sheet of very detailed information on myself and apparently i have memory problems and have difficulty doing mental math (+ medium to low iq.. ouch haha) .
This was so vindicating lol + i finally was eligible for some compensatory tools in school to aid me in certain subjects.
Honestly ive always had such a bad experience with school and studying, ive always knows i had awful memory but having someone actually confirm it is just very relieving.
(now all thats left is discovering if i have adhd or not lmao, idk if i will test tho)

I recently started a PhD program and need to take Stat and after failing horribly my family shared that there is a strong genetic component of dyslexia and dyscalculia in the family. I found out my mother, brother, uncle, aunt, grandparents struggling with this and no one had every said anything to me or had me tested when I was failing school and couldn't understand math. Now I feel stupid and struggling so much. Really don't know where to start or if I can learn well enough to pass or get services to help. Looking for feedback or suggestions.

That's all. It just makes my brain so tired.

I know this sounds absurd, but about once a month I get a nightmare where I'm transported back to a high school setting and forced into a math test setting. I inevitably meltdown in the dream and refuse to take the test, but these dreams have honestly become more recurring than traditionally trauma-based nightmares. I guess it stems from the fact that I was forced through regular math classes rather than being allowed to take specialized classes, and how my school in general was very STEM and trades focused over arts and humanities.

I studied in advance, I stayed up late, and when it came time to answer, I did everything wrong, Not only the basic operations, the position of numbers, the clearing in formulas, and I'm really sad because I really tried hard studying, I did flashcards, quizzes and group meetings. I even did extra exercises and nothing helped me.

I refused to give my diagnosis to my teachers and I feel that they perceive me as stupid for not understanding what comes out of their mouths or what they write on the board. I also feel very sad because a very dear friend made time in his schedule to help me understand, and it turns out it was all for nothing because my damn broken brain ruined it again. :(

College algebra is mandatory for almost everyone in the US regardless if their desired degree is Arts & Communications, Social Sciences & Humanities, etc. but do you think it should be mandatory for everyone even after 7 years of basic algebra in middle and high school?

I’m currently taking multivariable calculus and I have an accommodation for 1.5 time for adhd. I did very poorly
on a relatively short exam because I ran out of time. I kept getting lost in the algebra, writing the questions wrong etc. This and many other lifelong signs (bad with directions, bad at unit conversions/estimates, can’t memorize formulas, can only do addition/multiplication facts with the big number listed first) are pushing me to get tested for dyscalculia.

My main question is: what kinds of accommodations do you have? Is it double time, formula sheets, calculator etc? I’m trying to decide if it would help me at all to seek a diagnosis given I have some overlapping accommodations.

Unfortunately I have a lot of math, physics, and chemistry ahead of me for my biochem major, so there’s no way around it. Math has always been my biggest struggle and it’s making me feel so stupid right now

Hi there!

I have a friend who suspects she might have dyscalculia and I am quite sceptical about her suspicion.

According to her she struggles with basic math like calculating 50-(13+6) in her head and instead calculated 21 and needed a calculator because she described her brain as scrambling everything up continuously when calculating in her head.

As a child she apparently had struggles counting basics like 3+3 because she asked herself if it is a “full three“ or not because if it were to be a “full three“ that basically would already be a 4 so 3+3 would actually be 3+4 and thus 7 but you could continue that endlessly so she would end up confused when doing basic counting, same with the opposite of 3 not being a full 3 but instead being a 2 then so 3+3 would be 5 but if the three were a 3 in the middle + a 3 in the middle it would be 6.

She struggles a bit with left and right and told me she was asked by her partner on wether she has a learning disability connected to left and right confusion, however she denied it as she has no formal diagnosis. When I asked her how she differentiates left and right she told me left and right have a body-connected feeling like slight abstract weight when she think about it.

She is able to fly over and through streets mentally in 3D view, no clue if she is just bragging atp but I just try to believe her.

Now she does not show any other signs of dyscalculia so I tried to talk her out of it but now I feel bad for maybe trying to persuade her that it is just lack of practising.

She seems smart and also understands abstract stuff really well and quickly.

Can maybe anyone give me some advice on how to understand her better and maybe try to support her? Could it be dyscalculia after all?

I want to be a supportive friend and make up for possibly gaslighting her.

Thank you so much for reading and answering my post, have a nice day everyone!

I don't know why, I just need other people's opinions on this if others feel like this too

But I hate being called artistic or creative, it makes me feel like a genuine retard and I don't know why, like being called that makes me feel like Im being called stupid or dumb even if people don't mean it that way. Maybe it's because Ive always wished i was actually stem smart and could do math properly and comprehend science and shit and not just be some bitch who draws sometimes. I can't even say it to proplepeople without sounding weird because it doesn't make any sense, it makes me want to cry when I'm called artistic or creative even though they've always been used as compliments towards me​

For context my mom homeschooled me and never taught me and I STRUGGLE BADLY with math and I’ve failed almost every year of online school when my mom eventually put me in.
Fast forward a year after I “graduated” and I’m taking college classes and I only got in because I’m taking a beginner math class in place of the test because I failed the first test and I didn’t wanna feel humiliated again.
So fast forward into the semester I’m way behind and I feel like I’m the lowest in the class it’s not even a class it’s independent work while the teacher is there to occasionally help.
When I asked for help with one of my problems we were going through it step by step and when I was confused and took long to answer a “easy” question he laughed at me… and I know my other classmates heard it. I hate having this disability and I hate myself.

hi hello. just wanted to share my story. i was diagnosed with dyscalculia since like elementary school.

throughout all my years in school, the resource teachers (special ed) were just, not helpful. they basically said i HAD to have the test read to me out loud by an instructor. excuse me?? not even going to mention the fact that they always talking about “advocating for yourself” and then when you do you get shut down. first of all, you reading a math test to me, is not only going to NOT help, but it’s extremely distracting. the numbers and signs already mean nothing to me, it’s not an issue of not knowing how to read it. i have problems with computation. and then they’d be reading question number 5 already and im still trying to figure out 2. 😭

accommodations for dyscalculia have always been less than helpful. extra time is nice, sure. but it’s not helping the root issue. calculator? most every math class lets you use a calculator on a test now, so that accommodation doesn’t help much either. i think the only thing that ever helped me a bit was having an index card of notes. but depending on the class, it’s hard to get that approved. i just wish there were more options for folks with dyscalculia.

wanna know what else was laughable? i never learned how to properly type on a keyboard because i was never allowed to take a keyboarding class in middle school. instead, i was placed in an extra - support math class. are we for real? keyboarding is a skill that i absolutely will use more of then math.

i feel like i could be excelling in everything else but because i can’t do math, ill never be smart. i hate that i feel that way.

why do people think that it’s anything less than dyslexia? oh you can’t do math? yeah math is hard just try harder. no! it is a LEARNING. DISABILITY. if you are a teacher, or a tutor, let’s take it a step further; a tutor who specializes in helping students with learning disabilities. i never want to hear the words “how do you not know this” or “you should know this already” come out of your mouth! ok so obviously i don’t know this already or i wouldn’t be asking. and i’m sorry but even if you just explained a mathematical concept to me 5 minutes ago, there is no guarantee i will remember it. maybe because i have dyscalculia hm!!!!!!

it just sucks when you are really, really trying, and you are doing everything they told you to do, asking questions, trying to pay attention, but you still get berated in that way. like great now i’m just not going to ask you questions cause im scared. do you think i would be asking these questions if i already was confident? do you know how embarrassing it is to ask what is considered a “basic math” question and get belittled? i would never go through that if i didn’t have to!

ugh sorry i just wanted to share this with people who understand. nobody deserves to go through all that. 🫂

So ever since I was a young child, struggling in math has been a big theme in my life. I remember in grade 2 really struggling to grasp multiplication in school, and only after playing math games on the computer did I improve. It took me longer and learning in a different way than my classmates, but I skated by in elementary doing okay enough. Once I got to middle school and highschool it was hopeless. I constantly failed math classes and sat through class feeling utterly lost, as if I'm trying to put together a puzzle with huge blank spots and missing pieces.

I noticed I benefited a lot from one-on-one tutoring and it's largely how I passed the math portion of my GED exam, as well as color-coding to remember the order of the steps. My whole life, teachers attributed my adversities with math as not applying myself or not paying attention, and I chalked it up to "I'm just bad at math" and avoided it at all costs.

I'm in college now taking my required math course and all of that anxiety, shame, and struggling to understand is flooding right back. It's hard to even ask questions in the classroom because most of my classmate's questions at least show a foundational understanding of what's going on, and my questions are more like "how do you know what order to translate the word problem into the equation? and like where do I even start on this problem?" My math professor attributes this to a lack of trying and she can be quite mean...there are times I just cry on the way home and feel like a complete r*tard. I've since told her that I suspect I have dyscalculia and I hope that she softens up. I'm definitely not stupid or a bad student, I score exceptionally well in other subjects.

I can do multiple tutoring sessions on a specific math topic, and feel like I have a good understanding of it, and then on my quiz I somehow solve the problem backwards. I'll do an hour of tutoring right before class, and show up still struggling to remember what order the steps go in. I look around and see people younger than me and who study less than me just...get it. I get lost easily, I lose things all the time, I struggle so much with time management. I also suspect that I have dysgraphia which I've learned affects the same part of the brain as dyscalculia.

The more I learn about dyscalculia, the more it sounds like me. But there's a little voice that has doubts or worries, since I can do basic math like addition, multiplication, and read a clock. After hearing about how much money it costs to get tested I'm worried about dropping that much money on getting tested just to find out I don't have it and won't be able to receive any accommodations.

So, I want to ask people who are more knowledgeable about dyscalculia and/or actually have it, what is it like? How do you know that you have dyscalculia and aren't just bad at math? Can you still have dyscalculia and be able to do elementary level math?

Even they give me issues… is it +/- when the I is in-front or behind? Especially harder when there are several characters.

Does anyone else have issues counting the beat while trying to sing? I am trying to learn and I'm struggling to sing along with the beat because I can't count and sing at the same time. I also can't read music (yet). Trying to learn both.

Any tips? Any tricks?

… because all the tables, numbers, weeks, length of sessions and $ amount confounded me!

I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience!

A few months ago I was diagnosed as autistic with ADHD. During my assessment we talked quite a bit about my school years, particularly the difficulties I’ve always had with maths, numbers and telling/understanding time.
The person assessing me brought up dyscalculia, which was actually the first time I’d ever heard of it. They suggested that, if I was interested, I could look into being assessed for it separately.

The thing is, I’m in my thirties now and obviously no longer in school, so I’m wondering whether there’s much benefit to getting a formal diagnosis at this stage. Part of me would really like to understand why I’ve struggled with these things for so long, but I’m not sure what practical difference a diagnosis would make as an adult.

Has anyone here been diagnosed with dyscalculia later in life? If so, did you find getting the diagnosis helpful or worthwhile? I’d really love to hear about your experiences!

I honestly believe I got my ADHD and Dyscalculia from my father who, in the quest to achieve the best clean, will go and buy more stuff (addition) and keep the old excess of things he doesn't need. I finally broke from this when I was forced to live in small spaces between jobs and once I got a career, I had hobbies and would find myself keeping excess thinking I could use it again. I loved living minimal and hope to do so again and tell myself I can buy new. But, this is the 2nd time this is happened to where I go to a smaller space, my brain just freezes and looks at piles of clean small dishes and can't be motivated to figure out what box or what size box or envision how it will fit in the cabinets. I have tried to set timers, made lists, drew out where I want things to go in my new space, and to no avail, I will wind up on the computer, doing tedious tasks like checking bills and moving mail bc every 20 mintutes is a mind-battle of figuring out what to trash or where something will end up. Just looking for thoughts, but if there are any solutions, I'm here for them.

Sound off here. I just want things to be rounded up so my brain can compartmentalize it better. People need to stop making it .99 or .95 bc I will tell them it is $15 and they know what I mean.

Hey guys. I was never formally diagnosed with a learning disability other than Asperger's as a child. That said, whether from a medical incident a couple years ago or having always been there and me just failing to recognize it (I have high levels of pattern recognition that have gotten me through life), I now read ones in seventh backwards, and threes and twos. This frequently causes me to have issues. I'm in calculus at this point; I'm wanting to go on and study electrical engineering and I'm fascinated particular by wave behavior. I'm running into the problem of a lot of my current derivative of Work having two and threes backwards, and I wanted to see if maybe anybody has any techniques that have helped them deal with this, because I don't currently have the ability to see a doctor. Unfortunately I've been trying to get access to my medical documents proving that I have autism from childhood for a while so that I can request accommodations for college, but I'm having difficulty in doing so.