Bollywood actress Tara Sutaria recently talked about one of her problems, about which very few people know. Tara told that she has dyscalculia. This is a type of learning disability, due to which a person may have difficulty understanding or performing tasks related to numbers and mathematics correctly.
In an interview given to Hotterfly on August 28, Tara talked about her difficulty while talking about financial literacy. He told that he often makes mistakes while doing calculations. For this reason, she takes the help of her father and the accounts team in important decisions related to banking, paperwork and money.
Tara said that she tries her best to understand things herself, but mathematics has not always been easy for her. According to the actress, her father helps her a lot in understanding the work related to the bank and the necessary paperwork. Apart from this, their accounts team also handles matters related to their finances.
What is dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia is a learning disorder in which a person may have more difficulty than the average person in understanding numbers, mathematical concepts and calculations. It is sometimes also called ‘Math Learning Disability’. This problem can appear since childhood, but in some people it remains undetected for a long time.
Weakness in maths does not mean less intelligence
A person suffering from dyscalculia being weak in mathematics does not reduce his intelligence or ability. Such people can be completely competent in other fields. However, frequent mathematical mistakes or problems related to numbers can also create feelings of stress and lack of confidence.
Tara shared her experience
Tara Sutaria talking openly about her condition is also important because it increases awareness about learning disability. She also clarified that despite facing problems, she tries to understand her finances and important tasks and takes help from her family and professional team when needed.
How can symptoms appear in children?
Symptoms of dyscalculia can appear in different ways in children. Some children take longer to learn counting than other children of their age. They may also have trouble relating a number to its quantity or shape, comparing larger and smaller numbers, or identifying the number of dots on a dice without counting.
Additionally, children may have trouble remembering the days of the week or the order of everyday activities. It can be difficult for them to remember the basic rules of addition and subtraction, learn tables and understand which mathematical process to perform in worded problems. Many times they take more time than others to complete mathematics work and also make more mistakes. Understanding time by looking at an analog watch can also be challenging.
Problems can be seen in adults also
Dyscalculia is not limited to children only. Older people may also have difficulty in everyday tasks related to numbers. For example, making mistakes in remembering and writing phone numbers, dates or login details correctly can be a sign of this.
While shopping, it may be difficult to estimate the total amount or change received, split the restaurant bill or calculate the tip. While cooking, changing the quantity of a recipe to suit more people can also be challenging.
Keeping track of money can be difficult
Dyscalculia can also cause problems in financial matters. Keeping track of bank accounts, understanding credit card payments, managing a checkbook, or understanding financial terms like interest and APR can seem daunting.
Apart from this, there may also be difficulty in understanding directions, reading maps and graphs, estimating distance or speed and completing work on time. Due to constant problems related to mathematics, some people may also develop math anxiety or fear of mathematics.