A friend of mine has quite a bad form of dyscalculia, she even has trouble with very basic things like calculating 4+5 mentally.
Has anyone happened to come across something that can help people with dyscalculia to that extend to get a bit of skill in mental calculation? She does want to learn basic things as she is emberassed to grab a calculator for even the simplest of things, so I decided to ask here 
It’s going to depend on a how much effort she is willing to put into working on memory of numbers and their relationships. You could encode or simply memorize an awful lot of arithmetic knowledge as opposed to learning to be quick at calculation. It would not be nearly as flexible or extensible as developing strong number sense but for daily arithmetic you might very well be able to “fake” it well enough to have others think you were good at math. As unpleasant as it might be to her daily arithmetic practice is a good idea and again as most people don’t give this any effort her actual skill at arithmetic might very well exceed the norm if she were to maintain this.
Sometimes the turtle can win the race out of simple determination. People who find things easy often do not put the effort required to excel.
Gifted people who put in the effort are another issue but that’s why God invented hand guns.
It’s actually not called dyscalculia anymore. Under the new DSM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition). It’s now listed under “Specific Learning Disorders”, which can include reading, written expression, or in this case, an emphasis on mathematical disability.
Sorry for that tad bit of technical information, I just wanted you to be informed. I had to do a video presentation of it for my psychology class (I drew the topic out of a hat, and it just so happens I suffer from it as well).
If she is suffering that badly from “specific learning disorder” (blah, I can’t stand that they changed it), I would suggest that you print out a 12x12 times table chart, as all addition is, is multiplication. I know that scary feeling she has, and I was able to overcome it, quite well, actually, and teach her how to memorize that. Or, I would also suggest some books that helped me on younger in life. I cvan’t remember their names, but if you are hungry enough to help her, you can come up with yor own, or find the actual books. They taught math through the use of images on a page, much like how every memory system works (images). 6x6 = thirty six. The two sixes were pigs playing in the mud, and the result was dirty pigs (thirty six).
I know I’m talking about multiplication when your initial inquiry has to do with addition, but they really are one in the same. She just needs to rote memorize the times tables, whether she understands it or not, and then understand that it’s based off of 10. If you like art, draw out 4+4, as a story. I’m sure you could adapt that same method to addition, and I’m sure there are books out there that have already done it.
Additionally, there are lots of “tricks”, especially for the 9’s and 11’s (this is pertaining to multiplication). 11 times any number up to 9, she just has to double the smaller number. 11x1=11, 11x2=22, 11x3=33, 11x4=44, and so on. 9’s, you can use your fingers. 9x8, for example. Hold all ten of your digits in front of you, count eight digits over until you hit your right middle finger. drop it down. On the left, you have all five digits up, on the right you have two (thumb, index) and the break between the middle finger, provides another two, so it’s 72. So essentially, you don’t have a break until your eighth digit, so you have seven fingers up. Then the break. After that, there is two. 72 0’s are always 0. 10 times anything is just adding more 0’s, basically.
It’s been a long time since I had these problems with mathematics, but, what I can say, is that there is help available. She isn’t a freak. She should embrace her disability like one would embrace a scar. It makes them a stronger person for facing it and accepting it. The biggest thing with dyscalculia is the “fear factor”. It builds upon itself. There’s nothing to fear, except fear itself. She needs to break that wall of fear down. The walls aren’t there for people who can’t do it, they’re there for people who can. That wall separates those who truly want it, from those who truly don’t.
If I think of anything else that may be of help, I’ll be sure to report back here.
I took the liberty of researching a little and finding similar books. Your friend may not appreciate that they are children’s books. If so, she has not accepted that she has a wall she needs to overcome. That’s why it’s called a disability. As a psychologist, I’m sure you can explain this to her much better than I can. What works, works.
For me, I don’t care if it’s for children or not. If it works, it works. Here is a link, and it’s straight from Amazon. This isn’t a sponsored link. I further suggest that you take a look at the “frequently bought together” section. It really breaks it down. Into images, no less. How we were all supposed to have been taught to begin with. http://www.amazon.com/Quack-Count-Keith-Baker/dp/0152050256/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460013790&sr=1-1&keywords=quack+and+count
Thanks! I’ll take a look at all the things with her Hopefully something works.
I am aware indeed ^^ it was just waaaaay too much to type and I kinda hate the political correctness of the DSM. Having categories and subcategories is good, but the transition from DSM4 to DSM5 to me feels like a step towards the beginning, in which everyone just was crazy, no fancy labels. So I went with “dyscalculia” because it is easier for me to type and easier for you all to understand.
Yeah, I assumed. I should have just kept quiet about it. It’s not really relevant at all, lol. I guess I can be OCD sometimes. I’m pretty sure there’s a meme about me somewhere! Let me know if you have any questions, and again, if I think of anything else, I’ll let you know. The next time I talk to my mom, I’ll ask her about it. As a child, naturally, she was the one that oversaw all that stuff.
I have no experience with people with discalulia, but what happens if she did all her calculation on her vingers?
I assume she would be able to work out 4+5 using her vingers, right?
And then practice a lot.
The positive feedback from doing something on her vingers that previously she could only do with a calculator should also help, I think.
The Korean method for finger counting is called chisenbop is visually oriented and more like abacus which is extremely fast and nothing like trying to calculate numbers in your head mentally.