Dyscalculia Resources

After my last post I was kind of blown away at the response. I received messages from people, comments on facebook, etc. The common thread seemed to be "I am so glad you wrote that, it helped me..." It helped me know I am not crazy, it helped me understand what is going on with me, it helped me understand a different aspect of what I already knew I had.

A few things really struck me. 1. There must be a serious lack of resources out there if people are getting this kind of relief from a blog. 

2. Dyscalculia has always been something I kept to myself, especially at work, during graduate school, etc. I was embarrassed, no one knew what I was talking about when I mentioned it, and I always felt uncomfortable, like I was doing something wrong by acknowledging it. But after that last post I realized, I need to acknowledge it. I need to do more than acknowledge it, I need to speak out about it, I need to write about it, and I need to offer what little information I can to help people who go through the same things as me.

And...

3. It seems like most of the resources are in the UK. They seem to do a pretty good job acknowledging this disability. The US however, is a different story. So...

I figured the first thing I could do is compile a list of resources. I am going to list them in order from resources for children to resources for adults.

Most of this information came from the National Center for Learning Disabilities. There is a wealth of information on their site, I just linked to some helpful first steps.

So first, let's start with Dr. Sheldon Horowitz @LD_expert, and his definition of Dyscalculia.

What is Dyscalculia?

Print Version

Common Warning Signs Pre-K to 2yrs

Common Warning Signs grades 3-8

Common Warning Signs grades 9-12

Common Warning Signs in College Age Students and Adults

HOW TO REQUEST AN EVALUATION this is for parents of school age children

Sample Evaluation Request Letter

Types of Tests to Assess for Learning Related Disorders

How Parents and Teachers Can Help Elementary Children With Math LD

The SAT and ACT for Students with Learning Disabilities

10 Helpful Dyscalculia Resources

APPs to Help Students with Dyscalculia and Math Difficulties

Learning Disabilities in Adulthood

Being a Spouse or Partner with a Learning Disability

Common Problems and Easy Solutions in the Workplace

Job Accomodations for People with Learning Disabilities

Risks and Rewards for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Managing Money if you have an LD or ADHD

The Advocacy Institute

Dyscalculia.org

Learning Disability Association of Michigan

Helpguide.org


It's a start, and I hope someone somewhere out there finds this helpful.

I think my biggest takeaway from the responses I received to my post was this...

We have got to tell our stories. We have got to tell our stories for a number of reasons. First, we need to tell them so that others can hear them and know they are not alone and that there is help. Secondly, we need to tell them so that people in the position to help are aware of the great need. Third, we need to tell them in order to advocate for ourselves and remove the sense of shame for something that is entirely not our fault, and that we have no control over. We need to tell our stories less as a form of commiseration, and more as a means of empowerment. We need to make some noise.

Basically what I am saying is this... every day needs to be Dyscalculia day, until every kid that struggles with it has the help he or she needs.

Just sayin...