My Dyscalculia Story - Anaid 

 

My name is Anaid and I was diagnosed with Dyscalculia at 25 years old. I actually discovered Dyscalculia for the first time while watching the film ‘Night School’ in 2018 and I started researching and finding out information.

Throughout my life, I have hated maths and school (in Spain) made me feel that way about it. I could not catch up in the classroom because things were fast paced for me. Seeing most of my peers getting on with tasks made me feel so anxious; I would say to myself: “Why am I not getting this?”

At home it was even worse. My dad would try to explain things through, and I got so frustrated to the point of crying because I just didn’t understand how to get the answer. Generally, I was a very good student, but maths always got in the way. Admittedly, I worked so hard to the point where my teachers did not notice a particular struggle from me, even if I was struggling A LOT.

I managed to get my maths GCSE’s with no specific support, but I have had to encounter maths at other stages of my professional career. As an adult, thinking about maths tests made me feel stressed, worried and honestly stupid. I decided to find a way to get assessed as I was worried my maths would interfere with obtaining my teacher qualification.

 

To my surprise, teaching maths through placement has been very enjoyable, and the children have told me that they love my maths lessons and that I am good at maths (which obviously made me cry). Their approval meant the world to me, and gives me the confidence and strength to keep battling this difficulty that’s so undervalued and unsupported.

I support children by making demonstrations as interactive as possible, allowing them to move objects around the board through tactile experiences. When appropriate, I provide concrete resources that will expand children’s understanding, such as Dienes blocks/ Base 10. Repetition and the use of singing can be very helpful too, as well as collaborative work. I also try to use maths in other areas of the curriculum when it’s relevant to what the children are learning.

 

Dyscalculia will not stop me from teaching good maths lessons, in fact, I believe it gives me a different perspective, one that understands children’s struggles.'

 

 

 

 

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