Autistic Lexicon
Dyscalculia, Hypercalculia, Hypernumeracy
The stereotypical *myth* is that all Autistic ppl are good at math.
The Truth is that, common to the nature of the Autistic spectrum, Autism co-occurs with *divergent* mathematical an numeric ability.
Dyscalculia, Hypercalculia, Hypernumeracy
The stereotypical *myth* is that all Autistic ppl are good at math.
The Truth is that, common to the nature of the Autistic spectrum, Autism co-occurs with *divergent* mathematical an numeric ability.
Comments
Engineer here.
I am significantly confused by vague questions as part of my personal location of the Autistic spectrum but I feel safe in assuming you are not asking broadly
“what is the definition of math?”
But instead likely have a more nuanced specific question?
To my understding Hypercalculia and Dyscalculia cover this paradigm of mathematics as well.
(If that is your question)
As the names imply
Dyscalculia is the *umbrella* term for being impaired at any aspect of mathematics in part or in hole and translates to
"badly calculating"
When talking to ppl who experience on or both (it’s possible) it’s fascinating to see how mathematical ability is a complex spectrum.
Some ppl naturally think in Calculus, some naturally think in Geometry ..,
i.e. some numbers are good and some are bad and i count everything in my head
Then again, I have adhd and autism so that could be a product of either of those or both
My self esteem was saved by discovering, that I am good at logic (top degree at advanced university courses). Reason? Logic equations can be translated into verbal form. My poor brain tries to read equations as if they were letters...
Many Autistic people have what would be considered a typical level of ability with numbers.
https://bsky.app/profile/autismsupsoc.bsky.social/post/3lec47mnpc22e
Odd, but feels better.
https://bsky.app/profile/autismsupsoc.bsky.social/post/3lec47mnpc22e
Autistic ppl who have dyscalculia often struggle to be accepted as Autistic due to how prevalent the *myth* is that all Autistic people are “great with math and numbers”
You're either a smart nerd people can use, or manual labor until you're too old for that and then you're just meat waiting to die.
Hypernumeracy is thinking along the lines of numbers well beyond what is typical instead of “just” math.
Many Autistic people demonstrate mathematical proficiency above the typical level but *slower* than many will accommodate for.
Which demonstrates nuances within the spectrum of intrinsic mathematical ability.
https://bsky.app/profile/petitwallaby.bsky.social/post/3lec53g2bl22s
Which lead to a lot of skipped questions during my exams. Some saw it as lazy, I just didn't see the point wasting time and energy on something I didn't know how to solve.
A cold burger is still perfectly edible. cold fries not so much!
I dont know my times tables.
I make "simple, careless errors" (AuDHD) & rotate symbols.
I switch letters & numerals
I can't do street math
I can't estimate
Most of my jobs have been number-heavy & spreadsheet-y.
So it doesn’t always mean “all math”, it can be a specific aspect of math for which you are *impaired* (relative to the “typical”)
this exactly.