Who has aspergers/autism here, who are good/bad at maths?

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I'm conducting say a psychology experiment ; even though I have aspergers and have no clue about people. Anyway, I'm bad at maths as are my brothers who are also on the autistic spectrum. Which is perplexing because I can do physics. Also, I'm: constructive, logical and analytic as a person in general as are my brothers..

So, here are the questions for people who struggle with some maths:

1.) What concepts of maths do you struggle with?
2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?
3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?
4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?
5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?
6.) What usually throws you off?
7.) Your problems with maths in general?


And people who are good at maths!

Could you explain to why and how you understand it?
And if its any help, why do you think some people on the spectrum don't understand it?

Whats made me so interested to start this topic is because my brothers and I both understand the concepts of mathematics;however when it comes to tests my one brother makes lots of silly mistakes like I do and don't notice it. And my brother seems to get thrown off by wording such as "lines of symmetry." I don't think it as to do with maths as a subject per-say;however some external biological feature.

Anyway, please help with my study^^ Thank you.

These were some very interesting posts, thank you guys =)

Last edited by NateRiver on 17 Apr 2012, 2:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am bad at maths. In fact, I'm extremely poor. I was put in the lowest class for maths at school and even then I was the most bad at it, whilst all the other kids (who had learning difficulties) were ahead of me, even though they struggled and were behind for their age. We were taught maths at the level of 7-year-olds when we were 15 but I still was the one lacking the most at it, and I didn't even mind the subject either (probably because I got to be took out of the maths class to be taught one-to-one).

1.) What concepts of maths do you struggle with?
I don't know what ''concepts'' means, but I'll just say I struggle with all. I enjoy probability, and that's probably the only maths I can do, although I can only do it giving ''certain, likely, even, unlikely, impossible'' answers, not fraction-type answers (if fact I can do a lot of maths in words, instead of figures, like writing ''a million'' instead of ''1,0000'' because I don't know how many zeros a million has but I know how to spell it).

2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?
Silly mistakes? Mine are big mistakes. Well, I can't even make mistakes because I don't know how to do it to begin with.

3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?
I don't understand all maths, only the basics.

4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?
No, logic is too hard. I just need a 4-year-olds maths textbook then I might be able to work from there.

5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?
No.

6.) What usually throws you off?
The adding in my head or on paper. I need my fingers, and if the sum is too big, it'd have to be a calculator. But I didn't even know how you work out what half of something is until someone told me that you divide it by 2. And I only learnt that just last year, but I have to use a calculator if the number is too big.

7.) Your problems with maths in general?
Everything really. I know my 1, 2, 3, just about 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11 times tables. With 9 and 11, though, I get muddled up after I get past 90, for some reason.


The other day I thought 1 thousand times 19 was 1 thousand and 19. (Can't right one thousand and nineteen in figures).
And you should of seen me get with my money when I was playing Monopoly, and I had my 10-year-old cousin helping me.....

I'm good at maths, my daughter is terrible. The problem, or lack there of, comes from executive function deficit, specifically: planning. She struggles with the 'steps' necessary to complete a maths problem. If I sit with her and say 'first you have to .... next you need to ...' etc she can do it fine. Go over it a million times. Perfect. Leave her to do one alone and it's tears and tantrums because she can't.

I'm excellent at folding clothes, and someone at my volunteer job said to me, ''you're very good at folding clothes. You must be good at maths then.'' I didn't know being good at folding clothes was related to being good at maths, but for some reason I realised it could make sense. So I said, ''no, must just be a female trait, related to being good at housework''. Another woman agreed with that.

Someone also told me that males in general are better at maths, and females in general are better at spelling. Is this true?

Males tend to be much better at maths than women. I'm not too sure about the women thing;however I'm assuming because women are better at communication i.e linguistics this would also include phonetics. Maybe, because of advanced linguistic skills, women find it easier to understand phonetics therefore much better at spelling?
Then, again I have a friend who is very good at spelling too and he is a male too on the autistic spectrum so I'm not too sure. Although, women do tend to be literary figures so they would be good at spelling. Maths and Men.. Men always tend to be slightly autistic( more men are autistic than women) and I think these subtle autistic traits help them to excel in maths?

These are all assumptions, bare in mind. I can try ask my Auntie who is a biologist for you and see what she tells me.

This is very interesting because my brothers and I find understanding concepts fine. But an "executive function deficit" is a common problem shared with me in my autistic traits. May I ask, does she find it hard to understand questions sometimes? What's her approach towards questions? And the matter of silly mistakes, does she make any and out of what reasons? May I also inquire solutions just JUMP right in front of her or does she need an extra push? And also, does she sometimes understand questions incorrectly from their sole purpose?

Thank you

Yes she does sometimes find it hard to understand the questions and she does make silly mistakes. With the questions it's usually the way they are worded. There's some level of ambiguity in them or assumed understanding which she just doesn't get. When I explain them in clearer language she gets it. I think sometimes she thinks about the words too much and then can't work out the meaning. (Like when you try to spell a word you know well but think to hard and then it doesn't look right even when it is)

Silly mistakes happen because she struggles with the steps. Her brain wants to jump to the end as quickly as possible. If she just dealt with each step at a time, she'd be fine. Also she has a perfectionist mind. She wants to perfect at everything so she gets very angry at maths because she has to work out the answer rather than just knowing it right away. I suppose it's a bit of black and white thinking. 'I either know the answer or I don't' No grey 'but I could work it out'.

Why do I have to explain why I'm good at math? I can't, it just comes naturally to me. You explain why you are bad at math, that's what confuses me. If you understand the concepts, but keep making small errors, than I say the problem isn't that you are bad at math, but that you keep overlooking things.

I've always been good at math, because in the end it is made of rules that are applied over and over. It works fine as long as I am able to break down things into steps.

However, I often have issues with the order/position of numbers/digits - when I copy or note numbers down, I switch digits all the time (eg. writing 125 instead of 152), sometimes even when writing down my birth date (!). Sometimes I also mix numbers that are one below the other in a column, if I have to copy them.
I also have a hard time remembering or even just writing down (when I remember correctly) the right alternative when I have to choose among pairs - like + and -, log10 and ln, etc. unless there is a logical way to get there, inferring from some other formula or graph.

I should note that I'm not good at math in that I make tons of silly mistakes because I misread or write things down wrong, and I'm not all that great at memorizing facts and formulas, but I'm 15 and already finishing a 2nd year of Calculus, I understand math well.

I have Asperger's and am good at math. I find working alot of math problems to be relaxing. I don't like word problems though in math.

I have AS and I am good at maths. I am not great at arithmetic (just addition or subtraction) but I can make and understand formulas. I excelled in Cal 1,2,3 Differentials, Math Reasoning, Linear Algebra, and Number Theory, even though I was often the only girl. It has never been a special interest but it was an easy minor in college.

I should also say I am horrible at spelling.

I also have trouble with physics. I know all the formulas and how to solve them, I get stuck on which formula to use when if there are multiple possible formulas in my mind to get to the solution. I cannot see the path to take.

I'm very good at math. I understand all the concepts perfectly, and I usually don't pay attention when the teacher is teaching because I need very little coaching. Silly mistakes usually keep me from getting perfect scores on my tests, though. I'm usually around 95% or so. I can't tell you why I'm good at math, it comes naturally. I like learning interesting mathematical concepts, but I despise the worthless repetitive work the teachers make me do.

1.) What concepts of maths do you struggle with?

I struggle a lot with visual maths such as trig and scale drawings. In trig, I have a hard time seeing the triangles when solving word problems. I am sort of OK if they give my the triangle but not when I have to find it myself.

2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?

When I am rushing. I find that I do much worse when there is a time limit. This could also be related to anxiety.

3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?

No, if I understand it, I can apply it, and if I can't understand it, I can't apply it.

4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?

Somewhat. I am able to do it if the logic isn't explained, but I do better if the logic is explained, just not as well.

5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?

No. I can't.

6.) What usually throws you off?

Usually when you have to convert measurements. Especially imperial to metric or metric to imperial. I have more problems converting imperial to other imperial units than I do metric to other metric units.

7.) Your problems with maths in general?

I have a lot of issues with the visual skills involved in math. I have a lot of issues when the teacher goes really fast, when the room is noisy and when the teacher refuses to help.

I should mention that lots of people I meet assume I am good at math because I have autism and I am not mentally handicapped. I once had a helper in school who got annoyed with me because I was taking math that semester and she said "I bet your good at math" and I said "Not really, but this year but might be better because I am in lower level math class this year and we learn more basic math", she got mad.

She is exactly like me! I'm going to looking into the reasons of why some people like your daughter and I are like this way. Unless, you know already and could give me some advice? Any tips on how to sort these problems too? Or do you not have any specific ideas like me?

I get that too sometimes. I was meant to write down 160 instead because the last question I was doing involved circles or something and a full turn is 360 degrees. Instead, I wrote 360. This also happens with me in words too. Where instead of writing me I write be.