Looking to improve math skills

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Hey all,

I was hoping somebody would be able to help me on here as they might understand my position. I am looking to increase my math skills, I'm sure I have the capacity to improve on my math skills, but growing up I never had any good relationships with my teachers/peers and it would show in my grades :/ Hence I dropped out freshmen year of highschool and got my GED instead. I am kind of a special case O.O It's odd so i'll just explain it like this:

I'm a programmer, I do very well in this subject, I understand programming very well.. But.. I lack the ability to effectively do math in my head unless it's something i've memorized like say.. multiplication ranges (1's, 2's, 5's, 9's, 10's) or adding and subtracting even numbers. (Those appear to be the fastest ones I can do in my head, I don't know why the odd pattern.)

I can program all these math related things in my programs easily because it's my cpu thinking and not me xD But for some reason when I am asked to do even something simple as addition/subtraction/money related sums in my head.. My thought process just halts.. It's worse when someone is staring at me waiting for an answer.. (Had an interview in Burger king where the interviewer laughed in my face because I couldn't come up with change fast enough . )

I was hoping maybe somebody knew a good free website or program I could use to tutor myself, Possibly even e-books as I'm good at reading and comphrehension. My main goal is to be better at mental math and hopefully work my way out of highschool math. I'm looking to go into college for Computer Programming and for some reason they expect me to do calculus :/ i'm a little worried.

Sorry if I don't make much sense, If there is something you would like me to elaborate on feel free to ask.

Check out Khan Academy and iTunes U.

Thank you, I'm checking out both and so far I'm enjoying Khan Academy.

When it comes to calculating things in your head, practice is the only thing I can think of that can help. When you have a math problem to solve, you can use the opportunity to do the work in your head rather than writing problems down or using a calculator.

Many people with AS also have NVLD, and have severe deficits in mental arithmetic. I'm skeptical that such individuals will improve significantly with practice, however, that's not to say they can't strengthen their skills at all.

People with NVLD tend to rely on counting on their fingers, and will continue to do this or revert to this when stressed as a form of numerical security. Another thing those with NVLD tend to do, is that they tend to cling to the belief that using short cuts is cheating. Most people without NVLD don't just have the numbers come to them, they use short cuts.

For example, when asked to compute 6*7 they don't just envision the answer like savants or count it out on their fingers. They memorize the answer. In other words, when they tell you 6*7 is 42, they are only repeating back what they have memorized.

Another short cut people who do not have NVLD tend to take pertains to arithmetic. When asked what 14+17 is, most people with NVLD will start at 14 and count on their fingers or aloud to themselves until they reach 17more than 14...which is 31. Or they will try to envision working it in their head as they would on paper, including the carrying. However people who don't have NVLD will break the problem down into smaller parts like this...

17 and 14 both have a 10, so 10+10=20.
Then I'm left with 7+4=11
11 is 10+1 so 20+10=30 and 30+1=31

I call this "number hopping" because they are actually counting very little and relying on the fact that they've memorized what 10+10. This isn't beyond people with NVLD but NOT counting actually tends to induce a lot of anxiety in people with NVLD. So it's something they need to accustom themselves to.

I suggest you do mental arithmetic exercises utilizing these "number hopping" principals. Also set out to memorize certain multiplication tables each week. Don't count. Just look at the answer and memorize it.

Hey, this sounds like exactly how I am/what I do I don't know what your acronym means if you could write it out please I would like that. But yes, I do rely on shortcuts like that. I guess i'll just try my best to memorize things and work on mental math problems (as i'm doing now, as I reply to this.)

The other thing that can make it hard to do math in your head is poor short term memory.

Give me a piece of paper and a pencil and I can solve extremely complex problems. But without the paper/pencil I loss track of what I am calculating quickly.

BTW I am the Supervisor of Software Development for the finance arm one of Canada's largest banks

NVLD, sometimes also abbreviated NVL is non verbal learning disorder. People with NVLD tend to not use short cuts with arithmetic and that is one of many reasons that they tend to struggle with it.

This is really interesting to know. I have always thought the short cuts were cheating, and I have just recently started using them, after watching the old School House Rock videos. I always did the counting on your fingers thing-too, to make sure....because I never trusted my memorization.

Why exactly do you need to do math in your head, as opposed to on paper or with a calculator? Heck, I'm an engineer and I can hardly do basic multiplication or addition in my head lol. And you certainly don't need to be able to do much mental math for calculus...you'll be writing all that stuff down (don't worry, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be!)

I have this same issue, and what helps me is to practice visualizing the entire problem in my head as if it were on paper.

I don't always get it right away because like you, the thought process just stops and disappears.

The trick to learning maths is to ask yourself questions and do lots of exercises. Make up your own exercises, and do them. And do them on paper; the act of writing reinforces the process.

In theory, maths is all about theory. And it is fundamentally all about theory. But, in practice, if you want to understand the theory, you need lots of practice first.

Who cares if you can't do calculations in your head. That's what computers are for. I'd also probably lock up if asked to do mental arithmetic in a job interview. It's called anxiety interfering with concentration / working memory. Someone who would judge on that is an idiot. Also, more advanced math tends to be conceptual and doesn't require any juggling of digits in your head. Algebraic manipulations involve some working memory usage but it's not hard to pick up with practice.

As for improving with mental calculation, the key is to practice in a totally relaxed state without distractions. Then it may be easier to perform in a more pressured situation. I think being anywhere on the autism or adhd spectrum, or even just being more sensitive than average, puts one at somewhat of a disadvantage as I think we have a much harder time filtering out background sensory distractions and emotional nervousness.