Thanks for sharing another wonderfully informative article! Sounds like as with a lot of neurodivergences, dyscalculia can affect many mental processes, like time estimation, that seemingly occur without conscious effort for neurotypicals.
I wonder to what extent, this factor makes it difficult for institutions to understand and thus develop effective accomodations for. It's easier, I think for neurotypicals to understand why it would be difficult for someone with a particular learning disability to learn mathmatics because everyone can reflect back to a time where we found a math class or other academic subject matter difficult to comprehend. But it's probably more difficult for someone to understand difficulty with consistent time budgeting, unless they themselves have had similar struggles. This is where I think neurodivergent people can play a critical role in educating the general public about.
Thank you Allan, I really appreciate your reflection! You're absolutely right: many of the challenges dyscalculia brings affect processes that happen so automatically for others that they’re almost invisible.
That’s one reason why strengthening dyscalculia awareness is so complex: for many, numeracy is a kind of blind spot. Unlike reading or writing, where you know when you're doing it, numerical processing often flies under the radar. This makes it harder to grasp how deeply it can impact someone's functioning, even outside of "formal mathematics".
And in the context of dyscalculia: while lived experience is crucial, neurotypicals also play an important role in raising awareness. Dyscalculia is a disability that’s often seen as a liability in both academic and professional contexts (Lewis & Lynn 2018, 5), which means that disclosing it isn’t always psychologically safe. That’s why it matters that allies speak up, too.
That's very true about disclosure of disability in academic and professional settings. I'll have to check out that Lewis & Lynn 2018 reference. I've never had any trouble with disclosure in academic settings as an undergraduate. But in grad school, I had a lot of difficulties because I had the misfortune of landing in an academic department that was infested with obviously narcissistic personality types. There, I was gaslit and socially excluded and ostracized constantly. I got my MA in Experimental Archaeology at the University of Exeter in Exeter, UK and have written about my grad school experience with ableism in some of my other posts.
In occupational settings is where I've really encountered difficulties. Most employers I worked for just simply ignored my requests for accommodations and couldn't seem to understand what I wasn't doing so well. This is why I have not worked at a conventional occupation in several years now.
Thank you for sharing about the the exclusion and gaslighting, both in academic and professional settings. And writing about it. I hear you, and stand with you. Your reflections are deeply important, and these are exactly the kinds of conversations that need to be brought more fully into the open.
Each form of neurodivergence seems to carry its own particular stigma. In the case of dyscalculia, that stigma can deeply affect the risks and consequences of disclosure, especially in the workplace.
With dyscalculia, it's often not just about the availability of accommodations. Dyscalculia is frequently perceived as a liability — to the extent that individuals may be subtly pushed out, explicitly encouraged to leave, or even let go altogether. The presence of a dyscalculic employee can be viewed as too great a risk, regardless of their actual capabilities.
The Lewis & Lynn study isn’t available as open access, but I reached out to the researcher and they generously shared a copy with me. This was the first study on individual dyscalculia lived experience that I’ve come across, and it was both grounding and quietly radical to finally see these experiences reflected in research.
Definitely, we as a community can't stay silent and must actively work towards educating the general public.
Starting in September, I plan on writing more, based on my research about things like the role governments should play in supporting occupational and personal “niche construction” for neurodivergent people.
I'll track down that Lewis and Lynn reference and perhaps reach out to them about how to obtain a copy.
Thanks for sharing another wonderfully informative article! Sounds like as with a lot of neurodivergences, dyscalculia can affect many mental processes, like time estimation, that seemingly occur without conscious effort for neurotypicals.
I wonder to what extent, this factor makes it difficult for institutions to understand and thus develop effective accomodations for. It's easier, I think for neurotypicals to understand why it would be difficult for someone with a particular learning disability to learn mathmatics because everyone can reflect back to a time where we found a math class or other academic subject matter difficult to comprehend. But it's probably more difficult for someone to understand difficulty with consistent time budgeting, unless they themselves have had similar struggles. This is where I think neurodivergent people can play a critical role in educating the general public about.
Thank you Allan, I really appreciate your reflection! You're absolutely right: many of the challenges dyscalculia brings affect processes that happen so automatically for others that they’re almost invisible.
That’s one reason why strengthening dyscalculia awareness is so complex: for many, numeracy is a kind of blind spot. Unlike reading or writing, where you know when you're doing it, numerical processing often flies under the radar. This makes it harder to grasp how deeply it can impact someone's functioning, even outside of "formal mathematics".
And in the context of dyscalculia: while lived experience is crucial, neurotypicals also play an important role in raising awareness. Dyscalculia is a disability that’s often seen as a liability in both academic and professional contexts (Lewis & Lynn 2018, 5), which means that disclosing it isn’t always psychologically safe. That’s why it matters that allies speak up, too.
That's very true about disclosure of disability in academic and professional settings. I'll have to check out that Lewis & Lynn 2018 reference. I've never had any trouble with disclosure in academic settings as an undergraduate. But in grad school, I had a lot of difficulties because I had the misfortune of landing in an academic department that was infested with obviously narcissistic personality types. There, I was gaslit and socially excluded and ostracized constantly. I got my MA in Experimental Archaeology at the University of Exeter in Exeter, UK and have written about my grad school experience with ableism in some of my other posts.
In occupational settings is where I've really encountered difficulties. Most employers I worked for just simply ignored my requests for accommodations and couldn't seem to understand what I wasn't doing so well. This is why I have not worked at a conventional occupation in several years now.
Thank you for sharing about the the exclusion and gaslighting, both in academic and professional settings. And writing about it. I hear you, and stand with you. Your reflections are deeply important, and these are exactly the kinds of conversations that need to be brought more fully into the open.
Each form of neurodivergence seems to carry its own particular stigma. In the case of dyscalculia, that stigma can deeply affect the risks and consequences of disclosure, especially in the workplace.
With dyscalculia, it's often not just about the availability of accommodations. Dyscalculia is frequently perceived as a liability — to the extent that individuals may be subtly pushed out, explicitly encouraged to leave, or even let go altogether. The presence of a dyscalculic employee can be viewed as too great a risk, regardless of their actual capabilities.
The Lewis & Lynn study isn’t available as open access, but I reached out to the researcher and they generously shared a copy with me. This was the first study on individual dyscalculia lived experience that I’ve come across, and it was both grounding and quietly radical to finally see these experiences reflected in research.
Definitely, we as a community can't stay silent and must actively work towards educating the general public.
Starting in September, I plan on writing more, based on my research about things like the role governments should play in supporting occupational and personal “niche construction” for neurodivergent people.
I'll track down that Lewis and Lynn reference and perhaps reach out to them about how to obtain a copy.