maths Q

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If being 22 and having the math skills of a 5th grader if even that, is considered good at math than I'm great at it.

I am only good at maths.

I never thought that I was any good at maths at school but I was always hearing other people say how much they hated maths. For me the English class was a much more difficult lesson. I remember being humiliated when I had to give a talk in front of the class. Verbal communication is not my strong point and my lack of confidence and self esteme in social situations has forced me to avoid these areas of expression. It was more as a default that I ended up doing maths courses with the open university and then getting my degree in maths. I am sure that if I was a great communicator and more sociable then I would have found a different path with a better quality of life, by being more integrated with people, I would have found more opportunities but such is this condition I find myself in.

I think the main reason I'm good at math is the fact that I find it somewhat enjoyable. When I first took calculus I spent hours mentally laboring over the concepts and trying to understand all the logic behind various formulas and derivations. The same with physics. I did well partly because I spent a lot of time thinking.

I respect that for some people math isn't their forte. If all studying mathematics produced was frustration and drudgery there's no way I'd even be able to put the effort into it. The fact is the majority of people aren't mathematically inclined, even some otherwise highly intelligent people. For most people, AS or NT, math is hard. It really shouldn't be any big deal if your not good at it unless you're really interested in being an engineer or scientist.

Something I noticed when I worked as a paid tutor. A lot of the people who struggled were bothered because they only learned how to follow certain rules to solve a problem. They hated following rules while not understanding why they worked. Therefor I'd try to explain in various ways why a given method works. Usually there's multiple ways to explain concepts. I like being able to use visual intuition whenever I can to augment my understanding. I found that almost everyone else liked it too. Most people who wailed and gnashed their teeth were frustrated not because math was beyond them. It was more a case of them not being able to learn simply by reading a text and listening to a lecture. They just needed a different way of understanding, which they couldn't come up with on their own like I could.

All you need to do for maths is follow a logical routine, making it perfect for most aspies. Because you just need to follow a set of rules its much easier then things like english, well for most it is.
And almost every aspie I've met who was bad at math was only bad because of their teaching or not understanding what they were supposed to do.

Once the routine of what to do and what rules to follow are shown to me I can do almost any question. However almost nobody teaches math like this, personally I now have to tell all my teachers to just show me the routine and rules needed. (Sometimes I also have to know much more because I become fascinated with how something works...)


(This is all personal experience so I'm sure others may be different.)
Edit: What I wrote refers to most of the common aspergers traits I know of. And I only really know people with aspergers so don't know what the other spectrum is like in this area so it may vary....

Which is how many? We are not ALL good at math. MANY of us are no good at it at all. I am very good with math. My eldest son is good with it. My middle son is very good with it. My youngest hates it because he can never understand it. My wife isn't good with it either. We're all on the spectrum.

Be careful accepting generalities and stereotypes.

I was always very bad at maths, and still today, when it comes to numbers, my mind goes almost blank.

I'm an Aspie who struggles at maths. I am good at spelling but not at maths. I failed maths in school, and I was in the lowest maths class with the special needs kids.

I know a lot of NTs who are good at maths aswell.

I was good at maths, but only up to a certain point. I loved algebra and could happily sit working out x's for hours.
I hated statistics and mechanics, though, and because they didn't interest me I barely made an effort.

I am average at maths. Can grasp most of the concepts easily enough but I am hindered in applying that knowledge by poor working memory.

I mean, it's uneven with me.

Some of the higher level maths, i found easier than the lower level ones.

A Lot of different variables come into the equation. (no pun intended) LoL.



TheSunAlsoRises

There were periods of my life when I had flashes of mathematical brilliance, but then I'd change schools and everything would go to pot.

I actually like math, but I've had many bad experiences with it and I'm not particularly good with memorizing endless rules and procedures. It's pointless.

In contrast, I have an insane memory for printed text.

I was pretty good at math up to middle school in Algrebra 1. My math teacher even asked me to help tutor some of my classmates after school (something I sucked at honestly, but I tried).

But somehow, I lost that mathematical acuity in high school and became pretty average since.

I'm terrible at maths and have always hated it. I had to have years of extra tuition on and off between 10-16. I got a C at GCSE but after that never wanted to touch it again. I kind of want to improve at it again at some point. I have a friend who has Asperger's who also says he is no good at maths.

I've never been any too good with math, but I think this has more to do with a possible learning problem than with Asperger's.