Loss/ decline of math skills

[thenmama]

xx

Edited March 28, 2013 by thenmama

[MomWithOCDSon]

My DS sounds quite a bit like yours . . . has always excelled at math, always been ahead in it. Does great with it when not in exacerbation.

 

But boy, when he's under the weather in some respect . . . . look out!

 

He seems to retain the concepts as a whole, but he complains about how everything in his head is a jumble . . . that he can't think straight or organize his thoughts. I keep going back to what another parent here said at one point about how it's like all the file folders in his brain get tossed up into the air and scattered willy-nilly. He's still got access to everything . . . but it's in such total disarray that he feels as though he'll never "locate" it, and then the anxiety over not being able to quickly access all the stuff he "used to" be able to starts to spin in on itself and he just gets more distraught, and the more distraught he gets, the less capable he becomes of getting the file folders back into their proper places again.

 

Because his PANDAS behaviors are almost 100% OCD-oriented, this distress can lead further to trying to avoid beginning the math at all, and/or getting overwhelmed by what he perceives to be the magnitude of the task before him ("She gave me 15 problems!").

 

Here's what we do -- to some success -- when this particular monster strikes. First, instead of letting DS get instantly overwhelmed looking at the math problems along with all the other mumbo-jumbo on a page of his math book or worksheet, I have him copy the one problem down that he needs to focus on onto a separate sheet of paper, all by itself. Then I sit at his side while he has only that problem on that piece of paper in front of him . . . no book, no instructions, nothing else. Then I have him explain to me out loud what he needs to do to solve the problem and explain to me what he's doing as he writes down the steps and ultimately the solution. Being able to focus on only one problem at a time and using his additional senses to speak and explain as he's working the problem seems to help him "corral" his brain into the level of focus he needs to get through the assignment.

[ibcdbwc]

Ditto. Our DS10 is in advanced math class and normally a whiz. During a flare however, "overload" is the problem. Complex, multistep problems which are normally not a concern become overwhelming with his first glance. During a flare, I have to sit by his side as well -- and help him break it down by asking him to repeat the steps. It's not that he doesn't know how to solve the problem--- it's that he won't even attempt them during a flare. For us it's not a decrease in math "skills"-- but rather an increase in anxiety-- making his normal focus completely lost.

[T_Mom]

Similar symptoms --

I don't think I can pick it apart enough to analyze the type of problems, it is global functioning and math is one area that is affected (as is the ability to write coherently.)

[nicklemama]

My DS is also ahead in math. We never noticed any decrease in math skills but I kind of attributed this to the fact that he was so far ahead already. He may have been slower in processing while in exacerbation and more easily distracted.

[thenmama]

xx

Edited March 28, 2013 by thenmama