Trying to do Mental Math with NLD
We’ll discuss what it is like to do mental math with NLD. Following is an excerpt from “Conquering Math With NVLD” by Michaela who is an “I’m a lover of nature, poetry, and iced coffee (in my humble opinion, the only coffee truly worth drinking). I’m naturally extroverted, and I think of myself as a people person! I’m studying to become a social worker because I want to be able to help individuals with learning disabilities just like me! I am a Project Social Ambassador for The NVLD Project.”
According to Michela, “My whole life, math has made me anxious. It was not only my hardest subject, but at times, it felt like my worst enemy. In elementary school and middle school, I managed to obtain decent final grades in math class because of my extremely consistent work habits and nightly homework help from my mom. However, as I got older, at times there was only so much my mom could do to help.”
I can relate to Michaela because I used to struggle with math all the time in middle school, high school, and college. The only way I did well is if I had an individual tutor they were willing to spend many hours with me.
When we were skiing, I remember that my family and I would recite multiplication tables on the chair lifts. This helped because it made it easier for me to remember how to do simple parts of bigger math problems. It also involved memorization which I knew I was good at. But this was before I knew I had NLD so I didn’t know why math was hard for me.
I remember when I had to retake Statistics at Miramar College it wasn’t easy because they only had one tutor. He wasn’t there until later in the day. Usually, I was able to figure out the answer on my own by researching the answers online. Or retake the test several times until I got all of them correct. I was so proud of myself when I saw that I got a B in that class because I knew I had that all on my own.
Today I can do math in my head a lot faster than I used to. This is true because of all the practice my parents and tutors gave me with doing that same thing. I wouldn’t have the strong math skills I have now if I hadn’t had the help from my tutors and parents. I want to thank all of the tutors that I had in school and my parents for helping make this difference easier than it used to be for me. Because I can recall crying when I did the math in school. And that no longer happens.
Whenever we play a card game called “May I” I get to practice my math skills by adding up everyone's scores. Oh for joy! I do it in my head and I only use the calculator to check my work. It’s easier than it used to be because I group it by fives and tens which is a trick that my dad taught me. I also taught myself a trick if I have the number 9, I can pretend that is 10 and then take away one from my answer. For example, if I had 19 and I wanted to add 9 to it it would be 10 plus 19 which equals 29 but it’s 9 + 19, so it’s 28. Hope that makes sense and is easier for you.
The NVLD Project suggests for students that have challenges with math:
“Use language to describe every step explicitly
Students should use their verbal skills to narrate all math procedures
Always show sample problems on top of homework (or a test)
Use consistent spatial arrangement of items in math problems”
I think these are really good tips because it tells the teacher or tutor exactly how to help the student with math and in what specific areas. This makes it easier for the both teacher and the student in that way they’re not trying to guess how to help each other out.
Here is an article that presents 14 ways to help a student with NVLD to succeed in school and I’ll highlight a few here.
“1. Train faculty and staff: All those who come in contact with these kids must be able to recognize the academic and social behaviors related to NLD. These are kids who ask a lot of questions, have difficulty with transitions, get lost in the hallway, or fail to recognize the face of someone they see every day.
2. Monitor progress and problems: Share a teacher-parent journal that goes back and forth between school and home several times a week.
3. Keep a set of schoolbooks at home: Assuming that your child with NLD has the executive function skills necessary to gather everything he’ll or she’ll need at the end of the day adds stress to the transition from school to home.
4. Shorten homework assignments: For every 10 pages of homework normally assigned, a child with NLD might only be able to get through one or two, as the time and effort expended will be the same. While this suggestion should be adapted specifically to each child’s abilities, the point is to have the child do enough homework to reinforce learning without becoming overloaded.
5. Prepare and preview: Work with the classroom teacher to find an effective system to have new material given to your child at least one week in advance. Children with NLD often do best when allowed to gradually immerse themselves in new material until they feel comfortable.
6. Pair your child with a classroom buddy: The buddy can fill in missing class notes and explain the pacing of long-term projects. Since this might be the beginning of a friendship, give careful consideration to choosing the partner.
7. Maintain ongoing social skills training: People with NLD have difficulty understanding cause-and-effect relationships and cannot anticipate the consequences of their actions. This can create problems when these children are forced to adjust to rapidly changing social demands. If the school can’t offer a trained professional, insist that they provide one from outside the system.”
What I like about these is that they’re really specific and they also suggest that you provide a homework helper to the student I know how helpful this is because my tutors were like a classroom buddy for me. Since my mom was a minister she had many connections which made it easy for her to get tutors for me. They were usually teachers that were teaching what I was learning so they were familiar with the material. If you have the same set of textbooks and notes at home as you do at school you don’t have to be concerned about forgetting them at school, this might happen because of the executive functioning challenges NVLDers exhibit.
In conclusion, I would like you to think about the challenges you usually run into when you’re trying to do math with NVLD or trying to help someone who has NVLD with math? Also, think of how you can eliminate those challenges. Maybe the solution will apply to other subjects than math.
