Social anxiety or Dyslexia?

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I can read fine, and I think the only reason why I find it quite hard to read is because I get distracted too easily and also I'm not really into reading anyway, but I can read just at average speed really.

But I can't add up numbers in my head, and if I do my mind either shuts down or I take a mighty long time finding the answer, which leaves me standing or sitting very still, and then I lose count and have to start over. Now I just take a calculator into the shops with me. But also, when I'm reading a long phone number off of a piece of paper, I find I really struggle and am so slow at it. I write the first 3 numbers down, then I have to read them out loud to myself so that I don't accidentally miss out the forth number or type the third number twice, then sometimes I press the wrong key on the phone, even though the numbers are boldly printed on the keys.....

Does anyone else get this? Do people who are Dyslexic get this? Or is it a form of social anxiety, since I do have difficulties talking on the phone?

Unlike you Joe90 my reading is not the best. I have a tendency to misread stuff and cannot read for more than 15 mins without feeling exhausted. I am therefore forced however reluctantly, to use text to speech software at work and at home to compensate. I do like reading though.
I’m not too bad at adding numbers up in my head as long as I don’t get distracted. If I am distracted however I just can’t do it.
As for having difficulty reading a long number off a piece of paper, I also have trouble with this. For example, when dialling into a conference call at work I almost invariably dial the wrong number on my first attempt and sometimes even on my second. I also have difficulty reading back telephone numbers to other people.
I have been diagnosed as dyslexic. Part of my diagnosis suggested I have a particular difficulty with my short term memory and can as a result experience problems ordering and sequencing words and numbers. As I understand it, this is very common for dyslexic people and would explain the problem.
But I do also suffer from a fair degree of social anxiety, which may result from some undiagnosed AS traits, which is why I am here on WP. Because of this anxiety, speaking on the phone is difficult for me.
It’s therefore not easy to tell when I mis-dial, whether it’s the dyslexia or the anxiety about speaking that causes the problem. I suspect actually is both, one playing off against the other. It would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who definitely doesn’t have dyslexia or dyscalculia, but does have AS, to see if they still experience this problem.

I have been diagnosed dyslexic among other things. I have a difficult time reading and writing. I've learned proper grammar skills over and over with no success, and I can't even remember how to spell simple words on a bad day. I've given up on math completely. I'm lucky I can even use a cash register. I can't read clocks that are not digital. I can't pay attention to things around me like street signs so I get lost easily. I can't take orders over the phone because I can't spell names or places. My memory is extremely poor. I don't think my social anxiety is simply because I miss social ques. I feel the vast majority of my depression and anxiety is the fact that I feel like a failure as a human being. I feel so impaired and I just wish that I could actually do things like people who don't have my problems. I feel like defective goods, that need to be thrown away. That is what being Dyslexic has always meant to me as a child. Learning to live with AS takes some of the pressure off me, but living with LDs still traumatizes me to no end.

I was just diagnosed with social anxiety, and I'm not dyslexic.

Like you, I cannot see numbers (or words for that matter) in my head. I work on the phone all day, and I'm always taking phone numbers, prices and credit cards. I always write them down as I'm hearing them, and repeat them back to make sure I got it right. This has helped considerably with my accuracy overall, but I always find a mistake when I'm repeating them back - so I'm not improving, but I'm getting by.

I can't speak to if this is part of my anxiety though.

Yes, some people do have problems with numbers. It's called dyscalculia. It's a learning disability. As with any learning disability there are ways to compensate for it to some degree.

First off you shouldn’t think of yourself as defective goods, as you most certainly are not. From reading a fair few of your past posts I can say, that as far as I am concerned you come across as very thoughtful and intelligent. And you shouldn’t think of yourself as a failure; you have difficulties which very few people can even imagine; and because of this you have to work a hell of a lot harder than others to compensate. It takes no strength of character to do something that is essentially easy for you to do. Unlike others, you must call upon every ounce of your strength to meet the challenges of life. In no way should someone who is able to do this every day, without becoming angry or bitter, see themselves as a failure.
Living with both AS and LDs is doubly challenging. This is because if someone has LDs but not AS, they can take consolation in a closeness to others. And those who solely have AS can perhaps focus on gaining academic qualifications or a career, to compensate for a poor social life. If you have both it is quite easy to feel that every aspect of your life is affected; that there isn’t anything you can do like anyone else. But this isn’t true; everyone has something to offer. And quite often the thing that makes you unique and special comes out of the challenges you have had to face.
You make a good point about LDs, social anxiety and depression. I often wonder how much of my social anxiety is down to me worrying about getting stuff wrong and how much is due to my difficulties with people. I think perhaps it’s probably about half and half; even when things are going well, I still feel as if they could spiral out of control at any moment. And I never seem able to balance success at work with success at home; one or the other is always out of kilter.
Just while I’m on the subject, another thing I find difficult is finding a suitable forum on which I can communicate. I have a diagnosis of dyslexia, but when I try to post on a dyslexic forum I don’t seem able to relate to the people there. They appear to be all very social, extravert and into stuff of which I’m just not interested. But when I come to a AS forum like WP, I can relate to the people but feel a bit of a fraud as I don’t have an AS diagnosis.
Incidentally, your posts seem very well written Angel ryan; do you use text to speech software on your computer? I do, and I find it amazingly useful.

I have what has been named: number anxiety. I used to be diagnosed with General anxiety disorder and that was a big part of it. As far as we (me and doctors) can make out, I am actually quite good at maths, but I have so much anxiety about it that I panic when I try and write the numbers. With the phone, there is the added pressure that I could accidentally press a button incorrectly and end up with some random stranger on the other end. I don't get this so much anymore because I finally managed to start thinking more rationally about things. It's not easy to do though and it took me over 8 years

There is such a thing as maths anxiety too. I think I have a form of that, no doubt from very strict math teachers from my school days.

So yeah, basically what Jellybean said.

I don't think it's dyscalculia because when I'm on medication I'm able to work through math problems more easily.

Hi Joe
Firstly, yes I am the same. I cannot count unless using fingers, calculator or my own weird style lol.
Secondly, I also hate speaking on the phone. Talking face to face is awkward as well.
And last, I'm from town near Ipswich, so hello neighbour!!

Morph

No dyslexia, no discalculia, and I do have Asperger's, and some social anxiety. When I was younger, and working as a bookkeeper (old fashioned kind: on paper), I could go through the grocery store and have an accurate total for my cart. Later, when I had a baby in the cart, it was too distracting, and I couldn't do it. Never got it back, either, without the daily bookkeeping practice. No problems with phone numbers, or other long strings of digits.

Thank you very much that's very nice of you to say. I personally don't think well of myself because I do have extremely low self esteem. Mostly because of my feelings towards my disabilities. It really does have a hold on me on a deep psychological level. Even though I'm trying to overcome it, it's been etched into me like a bad scar that won't fade. I often think people have a tendency towards disliking me which I know is not true but I have bad memories of being bullied as a child. I'm actually having a tremendously difficult time getting help for my trauma. Because it wasn't rape or physical abuse it isn't considered real trauma by the mental health system. I have to suck it up and that doesn't exactly work for me all the time. My disabilities constantly remind me of the trauma whether I want to remember or not. The other problem I find is that right now I'm not surrounded by people who completely understand how much harder things are for me. I'm often patronized and the worst part is that it comes from people who are supposedly trying to help me and yet have no idea what they're dealing with. One of the few places I can find people who get it is on wrong planet. Outside of that I only have three people who get what's wrong and they have no power to do anything about it at the moment.


I don't think your a fraud for not having a diagnosis. It's not easy for everyone to get a diagnosis and there are a lot of people with ASDs who have LDs co-morbidly. If you feel that you benefit from these forms than you shouldn't feel like a fraud because the forms are here to help people on the spectrum and I think that can even include people with strong ASD traits or people who can't officially get a DX for what ever reason. Essentially even if you feel it isn't bad enough to warrant a full DX you should still feel welcome here if your benefiting and feeling understood.


Unfortunately I don't use speech software. I painstakingly re-read my work ten times over. I get upset because it doesn't always matter how many times I go over it I still miss things. That's why many of my posts are often re-edited. Although I have always been good at creative writing it's always been an interest despite my great difficulties. I got an English award in high school for it, unfortunately though I burn myself out for the day when I write. I have what many on here describe as fluctuating abilities. It's not simply the range of skills I have that are affected, I have a great range of skills it's more my disability to perform them with any kind of consistency. I don't use the speech software because I have even more difficulty saying what I'm thinking properly due to my speech problems. My memory problems are extreme in that regard. So even if I can't spell something right getting my ideas down in front of me visually helps me construct my ideas better. I would not be able to communicate as well as I do without a computer. I can't always say to people how I feel because I often have trouble organizing my thoughts into speech. I find I reach people better with writing and that is still quite taxing for me to do.