Adult Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, Navigating Through Life… by Cynthia Fabian

Cynthia Fabian
Sep 3
5 min read

A Day in the life of a dyscalculia adult…

Your wife dropped you off at the commuter train, on time with a few minutes to spare for the 8:35 train to work. The announcer mumbles something, and the transit poster begins to flash and change time. Your eyes hurt from squinting, and you wonder how long the delay is. People start scrambling to find another train, and you try to get help, but the lines are too long. You stand there, brace yourself, and try to read the map, to no avail. You eventually get to the front of the line, too late to make it to work on time. If you are an adult with dyscalculia, this could be a typical day in your life.

Although living with adult dyscalculia is manageable, it infiltrates its way into all facets of an adult’s life. And even though many young people outgrow dyscalculia, the majority of adults learn to manage it; if they have the proper education and skills, they do so.

If you are reading this blog, you likely know what dyscalculia is, which affects the ability to acquire mathematical skills in children and adults.

It doesn't simply affect the way you do the math; it involves the math and the logic that surrounds you. And that means everything that requires logic, thinking, addition, counting, and anything related to life.

Let’s start with Dyscalculia, a math disorder (MD)

Although we all have mobile phones and computers, work still requires many mathematical skills. Additionally, you’ll need to personally verify that your paycheck and deductions are accurate, and balancing your checkbook is another concern. Then there is the time, distance, and cost it takes to get to work, the use of fuel,

And then there is the everyday problem of counting supplies in your pantry before heading to the market, and calculating how much you will need until your next shopping trip. What about grocery store prices? The packaging often calculates the cost of a product by the ounce or pound, but it may not be clear, leading to overpayment when shopping.

What about pleasures?

Then there’s enjoyment, calculating football scores, being a player on a team, or even bowling with a friend. How about not being able to calculate a dinner meal or tip?

There are problems with organization and maintaining coping skills; it all just gets to be too much. Particularly when a person with these disorders gets tired, they seem to lose skills that help them throughout the day.

There are many more complexities of having MD and RD that cause a struggle, but how could a person have both and make it through life as an adult?

Add dyslexia, a reading disorder (RD)

The word disorder that makes reading and writing difficult, and you are left with an individual who continually struggles with tasks we take for granted. They have difficulty recognizing phonemes, the building blocks of language, and often misspell the same word differently from one day to the next.

Case in point...

One 80-year-old man, living in Venice, FL, whom I’ll call Ted. Ted has these disorders.

His story began as an orphaned child, running from orphanage to orphanage. The abuse was too much for him to bear, and for the last time that he ran away, he decided he was going to make it on his own. And with no formal education, he became a mechanic. He was not just any mechanic; he was a naturally gifted mechanic, being able to fix anything that came into his path.

Complex life, but overcame so many obstacles…

Although he was compelled to survive, things were never easy for him. But he vowed to give his kids the necessities of life and provide them with the family he never had. He forged his life and learned to cope with the tremendous obstacles he faced. He married and raised two children, one of whom had a physical disability.

Even with a family and a job that he was able to handle, he still struggled to manage the daily life that we all take for granted. His marriage broke up many years ago, but his daughter, who now lives in Hawaii, maintains a relationship with both parents and continues to help him with his daily tasks.

Does not keep on ticking…

Ted was lucky; he could tell time, but when he tried to wear a watch, it would stop working after 3 or 4 months. It remains a mystery to this day, and his current doctor is trying to solve this problem, which is a problem apart from his disorders.

A wake-up call...

The fear of being scammed is a very real concern for everyone. Select the wrong ad or click on the incorrect choice, and you could be financially tied up for a long time. Recently, when Ted was scammed, it was, unfortunately, no great surprise. He lost a few thousand dollars but had to replace all of the Identification cards that he lost and even had to request Social Security’s help in getting a new number. He does not have a credit card, but every month he goes to the bank to have them balance his checkbook.

Ted now lives without a computer…

When everybody is ordering from Amazon and other online venues, Ted’s life does not include a computer. Having a tablet or computer is understandably intimidating for him.

It is pretty standard for children to have both of these learning disorders. As a matter of fact, 40% of children have both an RD and an MD, but there are no statistics for how many have both in adulthood, and most do not outgrow these disorders. They only learn to cope with them in their lives.

Using modalities…

Although Ted did not have any of these modalities as a child, in these days, there are many ways in which to tame one's RD and MD.

In this case, a colleague I worked with in high school scripted his lessons each night for hours. Then he planned them on the computer as well. He had strategies to manage his dyslexia and was a knowledgeable person with the confidence to excel in his teaching role.

But confidence can be a problem…

If a person suffers from confidence problems because of these disorders, it makes things more challenging. The disorders that need some support to cope can get more difficult as you age. The conditions do not worsen, but frustration often becomes a factor in adulthood as most things in life require confidence to excel. Sometimes, seeking counseling is a highly effective way to help resolve issues.

Keep focusing on the positive…

And all of the good things in your life, there are many things to do to find a way to self-acceptance. Please do your best to be kind and patient with yourself; it goes a long way, particularly when others may not understand you.

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