Do I have it???

[curiousabnld]

Hi,

I've never really thought of myself as having a learning disability. I've always been seen as quite bright, because I can talk very well, but I've always had trouble in math. I usually just had to take the book and try and teach myself, but even then I sometimes struggled and got frustrated; I started crying a few times. I had to go back to pre-algebra when I was in high school, even though I had it in middle school. I almost failed geometry, twice. Not to be spited, though, I then took Algebra II/Trig and passed with a D. Well, it was better than nothing, and it did keep me from taking remedial math in college. I got a job delivering pizzas and could not figure out where someone's house was. I took an hour trying to find someone's house using a map! I don't think I ever got the hang of finding those houses. It was almost like I wasn't from the area. When I got into college, I decided to major in math, but I found I was having some of the same problems. I committed a lot of the formulas to memory, but I had no idea how to use them! I passed pre-cal, because I had a teacher who gave us partial credit. Needless to say, I failed the next course and statistics. Then I majored in English. I've done well ever since I stopped the math.

Also, I was never a very social person. I remember mostly staying away from people my age, even in preschool. Things never really got that much better. When I tried to socialize, I was usually part of the out crowd. Yeah, I might just be a weird person, but maybe I've got another issue. I was reading through a list of the symptoms for NVLD and thought some of the symptoms described me pretty well.

If I do have it, I would like to get treatment so I can use my smarts to actually learn and use advanced math, not just memorize it, like everyone else. Making friends easily would be nice, too.

In other areas, I do pretty well. I love anything language related. For me, advanced math is definately NOT like Greek. I imagine I could actually learn Greek, at least to speak it, but advanced math might be more frustrating.

[charliegirl]

It sounds like you do have some of the symptoms. If you believe you may have it, the best way to find out for sure is to see a psychologist who is qualified to diagnose it. Having an accurate diagnosis of anything is the first step to getting the help you need to limit its impact as much as possible.

It certainly sounds like you are succeeding in life in spite of it if you do have it. You must have worked very hard to get through college. Congratulations!

Welcome to our family!

[katiekat]

It's definitely a possibility. I wonder the same thing about myself. I have always struggled in math. Because I did so well in all other subjects I was always told I was being lazy when it came to math. I never got any help whatsoever as a child. It was recommended when I was in high school that I get a tutor in math and my mom refused, blaming laziness. In high school I was in Honors classes for every subject except math-I barely passed pre Algebra with Ds and then took business math classes which I did poorly in as well. Back when I was in school there was not as much knowledge about learning disabilities as there is now and I definitely suffered for it.
If you suspect this is a possibility you should look into further, it can only help. Good luck!

[misty]

I don't know about NVLD, but you may have a math LD. My daughter does & she shows many of the symptoms you describe. Math is a huge challenge for her, but since shes been diagnosed & gotten the right help, she's doing much better in her math classes. I agree with the other, getting a correct diagnosis would be the first step!

Welcome to the group!

[jj]

I don't have anything to add that the others haven't already said but did want to say hi and welcome.