Re: math and a very literal 9 yr. old...

[Guest guest]

I found with my daughter that using items (especially

candy) to illustrate math works well. She is a very visual learner so

having 3 M & M’s then taking them way will not only make sense, but my

daughter is riveted on finding out how many candy’s she can eat etc so

plays a LOT of attention. Also giving her money for chores has made her

not only careful with her money, she can add up what she wants in her head to

see if she has enough money for it. Math in action : )

From: autism-aspergers [mailto:autism-aspergers ] On Behalf Of Lynne

Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2012

1:13 PM

To: autism-aspergers

Subject: math

and a very literal 9 yr. old...

Hi everyone, I have always homeschooled our 6 kids, as

of last year after moving across country, we put 2 in high school and last week

2 in middle school, I am left hs the youngest who will be 10 next month. She is

very smart, loves to read and reads better than her big brothers, loves to

memorize and is very neat and organized and creative, shes inbetween pdd and

as, also has dysgraphia, sensory issues, epilepsy, lots of food sensitivities

including a severe latex allergy, her brothers play with one elastic and she

gets hives, shes so literal. In writing the problem " 3-3=0, she

disagrees, her explanation is " if you have one three and take away one,

theres really two threes so you are left with one three " . Also,

dates,calendars confuse her badly, she says " days don't come in

squares " . Ive given her her own little princess calendar to mark the days,

it doesnt make sense to her at all. Just wondering if anyone else is this

literal? I am using Making Math Meaningful with her and lots of manipulatives,

shes great to memorize but not able to apply or really understand. Thanks for

your help! Lynne

[Guest guest]

I'd work with physical manipulatives and probably skip doing a lot with the

calendar for now. I have a magnetic calendar and we move a magnetic marker each

day to represent the date. In the morning when we start school I say today is

(example) Thursday, March 8th and then someone moves the marker.

If she's a good reader, perhaps find a book or article online that explains

symbols and symbolism and how they are used in language so that she can see that

the square or the number is a stand-in for the actual item. Because really,

there are no " 3 " s floating around out there. There are 3 children, or 3

dollars, or 3 dots... The number is a symbol and when we are doing a problem

such as 3-3 we aren't moving anything- just showing what is happening to the 3

somethings symbolically.

Take a look at the Singapore Maths Teacher, they have some videos that might

help, as might Khan Academy.