This weeks topic we are studying in chapter 13.1 is Learning, Memory and Amnesia...personally, I didn't particularly find any of that interesting so, I'm going to dedicate today's blog about a learning disorder called Dyscalculia. Now, before you say this blog is irrelevant to this weeks designated chapter, let me tell you, one of the symptoms that a person with Dyscalculia is having trouble remembering facts and sequences, so HA! (neener, neener!)
Anyways, on with my scholarly face. Let's define what Dyscalculia is: wide range of lifelong learning disabilities involving math. First and foremost, there is NO SINGLE type of math disability, and it varies from individual to individual. Individuals who suffer from Dyscalculia have Visual-spatial difficulties, which result in trouble processing what the eye sees and language processing difficulties, which result in trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears.
The following includes simple things such as counting money, telling time, organizing ideas, estimation, etc. that a person with Dyscalculia have a difficult time doing. One of the treatment of aiding difficulty with this disorder is memorizing a lot of thing, however, I find this to be silly being that one of the problems with this disorder is having trouble remembering and understanding patterns in numbers and such...it reminds me of the 10 Warning signs of Alzheimer's, in which the individual has trouble developing plans, ideas, keeping track of bills and such.
These are the 10 Warning signs of Alzheimer's
1) Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2)Challenges in planning or solving problems
3)Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
4)Confusion with time or place
5)Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
6)New problems with words in speaking or writing
7)Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
8)Decreased or poor judgment
9)Withdrawal from work or social activities
10)Changes in mood and personality
I didn't really want to write about this, however, my boyfriend suffers from this and has a lot of trouble everyday with it. I'd say every day he suffers from 5-7 of these signs above due to the Dyscalculia. It wasn't until I started seeing the similarities...Do you think this disorder could be an indicator of early onset Alzheimer's? Do you think these symptoms are similar in the sense of memory?
Here is a link to aide you with more information on Dyscalculia:
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dyscalculia/what-is-dyscalculia
Here is a link with the 10 Warning signs of Alzheimer's:
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp
Here are a couple of short videos with a slight explanation of what it's like to have Dyscalculia:
Wow I never knew that much about dyscalculia. I had heard about it but didn't know that it was a difficulty in conceptualizing numbers. This sounds like a very difficult disorder to live with and it's sad that its not very understood. I don't think its too similar to Alzheimers because this is a very specific type of disconnect, having to do with numbers. Alzheimers has more to do with a general loss of memory. There are a lot of mental disorders and disabilities that have similar symptoms but that doesn't mean they're the same. It just means they manifest in the patients similarly, but they can seem totally different. For example, someone with dyscalculia might look at a page of math problems the same way someone with dyslexia looks at a page in a book. They'r similar but still very different.
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