by Gabriele Maier, AIWC Düsseldorf
FAWCO’s Education Team has dedicated the months of September and October to numeracy and literacy – to our ability to understand, interpret and work with numbers and letters.
Globally, the literacy rate is around 86% but varies significantly from country to country, with sub-Saharan Africa being only 65%. For numeracy, the numbers are much more dire: just 12% of adults around the world are considered numerically literate.
Apart from having no sufficient training in reading, writing and math, which has multiple reasons, many neurodivergent people suffer from dyslexia, dyscalculia, or both – like my son who was just diagnosed a week ago. Because of his official diagnosis, I decided to devote this article to learning “disabilities” and what it means to live as a neurodivergent person in a world of neurotypical people.
So, what are we talking about when we talk about dyslexia and dyscalculia?
According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, dyslexia is “an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader.” One out of ten people worldwide has dyslexia, which translates into 780 million people on our planet.
In contrast, estimates suggest only about 3–6% of the world population is dyscalculic. The Cleveland Clinic defines dyscalculia as “a learning disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand number-based information and math.”
Compared to dyslexia, dyscalculia is not as well researched. In fact, according to the British Dyslexia Association, research on dyscalculia is about 30 years behind research on dyslexia. As a result, the number of undiagnosed people with dyscalculia might be much higher than official estimates.
Dyslexia and dyscalculia fall under the umbrella term of "neurodiversity," together with dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD and giftedness. What makes it difficult to diagnose those “disorders” accurately is the fact that there can be a lot of overlap between them: people with ASD can have multiple learning difficulties, many people with ADHD are highly gifted, and the term AuDHD refers to a combination of ADHD and ASD.
What causes which condition isn’t always clear: does a person really have dyslexia, or are they dealing with an underlying case of undiagnosed ADHD which makes it difficult – or even impossible – for them to focus on reading? It might take some trial and error to figure out what is really at stake – even with an official diagnosis from a psychiatrist.
No matter the official diagnosis, neurodiversity in and of itself isn’t the problem. The problem usually starts when neurodivergent people are judged harshly by their neurotypical peers.
As an ADHD coach and mother of a neurodivergent child, I see it every day at home and in my practice: the alleged “failure” of neurodivergent people to read properly or do math a certain way classifies them in the minds of many neurotypical people as “unable” or “deficient,” even though research has clearly shown that it’s often the brightest children who have trouble reading.
Dyslexia, for example, isn’t at all tied to our IQ. In fact, many highly gifted people are dyslexic. The same holds true for all other forms of neurodiversity, such as dyscalculia or ADHD.
The inability of neurodivergent people to perform well in a system created by and for neurotypical people isn’t a sign of failure, but simply points to the fact that their brains are wired differently. That’s why I don’t like to use the terms learning “disorder” or “disability” but prefer the word “difference” when it comes to neurodivergent behavior.
To say it again: the main challenge for neurodivergent people often doesn’t lie in the fact that they have trouble with certain tasks. The interactions with their classmates, teachers, neighbors, and others and their indirect – or not so indirect – judgements are what makes them feel miserable.
Over time, the scolding, yelling, judging or ridiculing leads to self-doubt, low self-esteem, low self-confidence or even to an anxiety disorder or a full-blown depression. When we’re constantly criticized for not being able to perform at the level of our neurotypical peers despite our enormous effort, we feel defeated, devastated and ready to give up.
Even though we know that our brains work differently, we may attribute our challenges to severe character flaws (lazy or unwilling), low intelligence (stupid and dumb) or to bad parental upbringing. Thus, as is the case with all types of neurodiversity, we need to work on self-esteem alongside proper treatment, whether that treatment is therapy, medication or coaching.
If my description resonates with you, and you find yourself in a negative spiral, you may want to consider these two exercises to boost your self-worth.
- When you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts about your abilities, write them down on paper. You may have lots of them during the day – so you might want to limit yourself to 3–4. Put them in a notebook or on your computer and then counteract them with a positive statement. If you tell yourself that you cannot get anything right in school, look for moments when you did well, for instance when you contributed an interesting idea to your class discussion or when you received a good grade in a subject you really like. Thus, “I am good at nothing” turns into “I received a B in art class for a clay project that was fun.” Do the same with the other three statements, and over time you will have built up a list of positive statements about yourself that will help you see the phenomenal characteristics of the person you are.
- Along those lines, focus on your strengths and don’t obsess over your weaknesses. If you don’t like to read, check out audio books instead and listen to them on your walk in the park. If you’re obsessed with playing soccer, don’t dismiss your hobby as unimportant but pride yourself on being such a great player. Don’t think that your abilities outside of school or work are irrelevant. Cherish what you are good at and pursue your talents and interests. You will feel much better about yourself and all the great skills you harbor.
Numeracy and literacy – these are two terms that conjure up so much more than our ability to work with numbers and letters. In my case, I primarily think of neurodiversity, learning differences, societal judgment and low self-esteem – and how we can help people get past those challenges.
And I know it won’t happen overnight. But the more people become aware of neurodiversity – after all, October 2024 happens to be ADHD Awareness Month – the easier it becomes to support people and their differences, be it illiteracy, dyscalculia or giftedness.
