oliveview Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Please, someone give me some ideas! My ds9 with ADD and dyslexia who has an almost eidetic memory cannot memorize his math facts. He knows a Shaksperean sonnet after hearing it once or twice and has extensive discussions about nuclear fission and black holes, but he has to count on his fingers with 4+3 or 9-5. He is currently in SM 4A. For a long time I slowed him down trying to get the math facts in him. A couple of months ago, I gave up and let him move forward with concepts and I allow him to use a multiplication chart for math. I do make him fill out a new chart once a week. He uses his fingers for addition and subtraction. I feel like I have tried everything flash cards, flash master, wrap ups, RS math games and currently we are using the v/s cards from Diana Waring (with less than good results). I'm not looking for perfection here and I know that he will use a calculator at some point. I just can't wrap my head around where to go next. Does anyone have any thoughts on how I might help him? Since he was 6 he has said that he wants to be a theoretical physicist or an impact physicist. I have this vision of him in a college physics lab and he's adding up his 10 facts on hs fingers!!:eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus flower Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Go to www.letsplaymath.net Scroll down, and on the right click on The game that's worth 1000 worksheets. Also try multiplication.com HTH :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Since he was 6 he has said that he wants to be a theoretical physicist or an impact physicist. I have this vision of him in a college physics lab and he's adding up his 10 facts on hs fingers!!:eek: I think you are doing everything right then by meeting him where he is with concepts and allowing accommodations. When our ds was evaluated by a well-known husband and wife neuropsych team they let us know that there are plenty of dyslexic physicists that they had interviewed that are not automatic with basic math facts (and regularly get them wrong!)-- along with other people they interviewed in professions that you would typically expect strong math skills. They let us know our ds may never be automatic, either. Plus, a lot can change from 6 to adulthood:tongue_smilie:.For our ds, I never thought I would see the day that he was automatic with multiplication facts....now at 7th grade, he is (although he still prefers to have a multiplication chart or calculator bc he can go faster). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disney Dreaming Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My daughter is very similar to your son(she can memorize a poem after hearing it twice but math facts...not). What has helped her is Quarter Mile Math-over, and over, and over....This is a computer program if you have not heard of it. For multiplication I started Math-U-See's skip counting CD about a year ago to prepare her for mult. when we got to it(I have held her back a year in math because she struggled so much with addition and subtraction facts). I plan on adding in flashcards after Christmas to help with the mult. facts that she doesn't know immediatley. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinNY Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I just started using this with my dtr http://multiplication.com/memorize_in_minutes.htm She is 10 and has a low working memory. I will post back with the results next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacefully Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandelionMom Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I can really relate and can offer you some hope. My oldest daughter is very similar to what you are describing, and was multiple grades above level in everything but math for years. When she turned 14 she wanted to test into college, which she did, but was worried that her math score would prevent her from taking the math courses they offered. Luckily that allowed her to take a few remedial math courses to catch up to college level. I was extremely worried about how she would do because, like you told, she would never remember math facts and was still counting on her fingers at age 14. She ended up making a B! There is hope, and kids like ours can actually make it through a math in college one day. I NEVER would have thought that my oldest would be able to understand, let alone make a good grade in math. There is hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beansmom2 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Please, someone give me some ideas! My ds9 with ADD and dyslexia who has an almost eidetic memory cannot memorize his math facts. He knows a Shaksperean sonnet after hearing it once or twice and has extensive discussions about nuclear fission and black holes, but he has to count on his fingers with 4+3 or 9-5. He is currently in SM 4A. For a long time I slowed him down trying to get the math facts in him. A couple of months ago, I gave up and let him move forward with concepts and I allow him to use a multiplication chart for math. I do make him fill out a new chart once a week. He uses his fingers for addition and subtraction. I feel like I have tried everything flash cards, flash master, wrap ups, RS math games and currently we are using the v/s cards from Diana Waring (with less than good results). I'm not looking for perfection here and I know that he will use a calculator at some point. I just can't wrap my head around where to go next. Does anyone have any thoughts on how I might help him? Since he was 6 he has said that he wants to be a theoretical physicist or an impact physicist. I have this vision of him in a college physics lab and he's adding up his 10 facts on hs fingers!!:eek: Yes we have same issue. Ed Pysch told us to use flash cards every night. Star with 2's (in order) and review every single night until it is commited to memory. It can take months on just one number. When 2's are mastered on to 3's. Its an ordeal but it does work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliveview Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Thank you everyone for the suggestions. It's so good to know that I/we are not alone in this. I was poking around on the Let's Play Math site that Cactus Flower linked earlier in this thread. There was a suggestion on there about "math buddies" and I started that and it is working with AMAZING results. The first day we did Math Buddies 7, 8 and 15. I had my ds9 and dd7 draw pictures of the buddies and we talked about it multiple times through the past two days. Both of them now know 7+8=15, 8+7=15, 15-8=7 and 15-7=8. That is huge for us! I really think this is going to work. My goal now is to take it slow and not overwhelm him. I think we will try for two buddies a week and see how that works. I would rather go slow and build success and confidence as this has been very difficult for him. I have felt all along that he just needed something to "frame" the math facts in or to hang them on. I really hope that after all the solution really is this simple and effective :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 For a long time I slowed him down trying to get the math facts in him. A couple of months ago, I gave up and let him move forward with concepts and I allow him to use a multiplication chart for math. I do make him fill out a new chart once a week. He uses his fingers for addition and subtraction. I feel like I have tried everything flash cards, flash master, wrap ups, RS math games and currently we are using the v/s cards from Diana Waring (with less than good results). I don't know if this will help or not, but I have found a number line to be helpful for my son who has trouble with math facts. (This is the same child who can pretty much see a 2-D object as 3-D without a thought). He struggled with manipulatives and had trouble remembering the tricks you can use to remember math facts (adding 2 to a number is just the next odd or even number, doubles plus one, adding nine is just like adding ten take away 1, etc) He still has some trouble with the lower problems but I can ask him to give me the sums of 15, and I can literally see in his eyes as he recites that he is visualizing the way they connect on the number line. (My son is hFA, not the same problems as your son, so I don't know if this will be helpful or not. My son does still struggle with the left and right on the number line, but not anywhere as badly as he did before I introduced it to him as a way to see greater and less. He just couldn't figure out how 8 was bigger than 3 for the longest time!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Cuisinaire Rods!!!! If he's interested in physics, does well with the charts and using his fingers, then my guess is he's a visual learner. My ds is a visual learner and we have to use or have the rods available for every math lesson. They help a kid *see* the problem and with time and repetition they start to learn the facts. Also I wouldn't give up on doing a daily mental math facts drill. Maybe do a mental math sheet or cards with the rods handy for several days/weeks and then do the same problems without rods. Also I would't worry about memorizing the mult facts until he understands the concept of mult and how it relates to addition and doubling and division. You're on the right track with teaching concepts over rote memory---but I'm willing to bet that with repeated use of some great manipulatives (psss--c-rods) then he will start to internalize them. And maybe some spiral review---go back to the earlier grades/concepts on a regular basis. Constant reviewing and even reteaching are key with my ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I would suggest looking into Time Tales I haven't used it yet with my dc but it has gotten great reviews. Susan Barton also recommends it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akalori Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 My DS9 had ADD and dyslexia. He wants to be an engineer or a microbiologist. However he has trouble memorizing everything (low working memory). He is working on subtraction. I held him back so he would have more time to master basic reading and math. He is dong much better with Touch Math. He can add quickly by visualizing the touchpoints. He still hasn't memorized his math facts. Glad to see we aren't alone. I never thought of just letting him progress with the math concepts without mastering the basics. I'm still hoping for a break through but eventually I may need to move onward. It is comforting that calculators are used in higher mathematics. Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The issue isn't working memory but how many times they have to see it and use it and live it before it goes to the automaticity side of their brains. I had resisted flashcards, buying into the line that it should all come just by understanding and using it. Well my dd's facts are there, but they sure took a long time. Next kid I'm gonna do some flashcard apps. I gave her a multiplication table (or in your case an addition table), and that was great. But I think they will benefit from both the understanding and from a little (emphasis on little) gentle work on automaticity. DA (Dyslexic Advantage by the Eides) talks about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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