Has being on medication improved your math ability?

[MentalNomad]

So, I've been on methylphenidate yesterday and today, and after making sure I was properly nourished and had enough sleep (today was iffy), I've noticed a great increase in my focus, so I've been having somewhat more confidence with academic tasks.

I went to this site, khan academy, which allows one to brush up on their math skills, from basic to complex. I started brushing up on the fundamental skills I've deliberately avoided maintaining for over a decade, and for once in a very long time, I experienced pleasure while doing math. I stayed focused for quite some time, and only stopped to get something to eat. Does anyone here have any similar experiences?

[425runner]

Unfortunately not....

[NATIVE762]

well... being off meds hasn't hinder-ed my skills any

[CheekyMonkey]

I've gone back to math that I used to struggle with in high school, and as an adult it was easier...even unmediated.

In my opinion, math in the US is taught in such a way that children never really gain good number sense, logic, or reasoning behind WHY math is done the way it is. As an adult, those logical sequences make more sense and makes math easier to learn and comprehend.

[Unmanagable]

Math is not my friend.....with or without meds.

[Targaryen]

Originally Posted by CheekyMonkey

I've gone back to math that I used to struggle with in high school, and as an adult it was easier...even unmediated.

In my opinion, math in the US is taught in such a way that children never really gain good number sense, logic, or reasoning behind WHY math is done the way it is. As an adult, those logical sequences make more sense and makes math easier to learn and comprehend.

Very true.

Teachers would rather punish you for not doing something the "hard" way. I can do math but I often go a different route to get to the answer.

Khanacademy.org is amazing.

To answer the question medication improves my focus and improves my math ability greatly. It gave me a fresh perspective on math.

[MentalNomad]

Originally Posted by CheekyMonkey

I've gone back to math that I used to struggle with in high school, and as an adult it was easier...even unmediated.

In my opinion, math in the US is taught in such a way that children never really gain good number sense, logic, or reasoning behind WHY math is done the way it is. As an adult, those logical sequences make more sense and makes math easier to learn and comprehend.

Maybe I just respond better to an online format due to lack of anxiety, but in my college basic math class (didn't know they put so much weight on placement tests, didn't even make a concerted effort) I would make very simple mistakes, I couldn't retain calculations in my memory, even though I had no issues passing the tests, I got very frustrated at my errors. An online format just seems...so much smoother to me.

[CheekyMonkey]

Originally Posted by MentalNomad

Maybe I just respond better to an online format due to lack of anxiety, but in my college basic math class (didn't know they put so much weight on placement tests, didn't even make a concerted effort) I would make very simple mistakes, I couldn't retain calculations in my memory, even though I had no issues passing the tests, I got very frustrated at my errors. An online format just seems...so much smoother to me.

Excellent. I've found that doing math on my own terms is a lot easier. I get frustrated quickly when the pressure is on, and just fluster about instead of taking in information.

I'm learning some awesome ways to do mental math! I never thought I could hold numbers in my head until I learned this way.

[fracturedstory]

Yes. I have attempted to do maths both on and off medication and I always do better when on medication. I'm less nervous and impatient to get to the answer quickly, so I don't just end up guessing what the answer is.

Mental arithmetic turns into a game rather than the usual nightmare where I'm in front of the class in my underwear. And that's just strange.

So with me it's not due to it being online, it's not due to finding my own way to learn - it's all down to the meds. My brain just doesn't want to stop and put focus in it and it gives up quite sooner than when I'm on meds.

I don't have a lot of interest with maths to begin with and even simple things as working with fractions falls out of my head if I don't use them. I have a year 7 maths book that I used to go back to when I forgot. But it happens so much and I never use anything I learn from it, so I just think what's the point?

[spunkysmum]

I don't know, but I suppose it's possible.

I failed ninth grade math and had to repeat it in summer school.

Last year I took the ACT WorkKeys test for the National Career Readiness Certificate when it was being offered for free by the state, and I scored the highest possible level measurable by that test in the Applied Mathematics section. I was undiagnosed in school, diagnosed & medicated when I took the test. So I would think it's probable that medication must have made at least SOME of the difference.

http://www.act.org/certificate/about.html

[MentalNomad]

Originally Posted by fracturedstory

Yes. I have attempted to do maths both on and off medication and I always do better when on medication. I'm less nervous and impatient to get to the answer quickly, so I don't just end up guessing what the answer is.

Mental arithmetic turns into a game rather than the usual nightmare where I'm in front of the class in my underwear. And that's just strange.

So with me it's not due to it being online, it's not due to finding my own way to learn - it's all down to the meds. My brain just doesn't want to stop and put focus in it and it gives up quite sooner than when I'm on meds.

I don't have a lot of interest with maths to begin with and even simple things as working with fractions falls out of my head if I don't use them. I have a year 7 maths book that I used to go back to when I forgot. But it happens so much and I never use anything I learn from it, so I just think what's the point?

I experience "losing" that math ability if I don't practice semi-regularly, too. Or maybe that ability is just dormant, and the meds awaken them. I remember as a kid, I was the first to complete a multiplication/division test (and nearly if not all of the questions answered were correct, if I remember). So, when I was very young, I was heavily stimulated by math, even though I think at that age I lacked a fundamental understanding and just went off of pure memory. Anyway, I still have those flashes of perfectionism, in that if I make even the slightest error, I get very irritated.

In high school for instance, I was put in a basic algerbra class (after I had dropped out for several years, and was about as distanced from math as one could get). While most everyone in that class failed a particular test, I scored a 97% and asked the teacher in front of everyone if I could retake the test. I was mocked by one student after that (alt school stoned hippie, if memory serves). Needless to say, I've learned to tone those aspects of myself down while in public.


...What was my point again? :P

[Twiggy]

I haven't done any mathematics in a very long time, but will have to see how I do at Khan Academy.

[fracturedstory]

Originally Posted by MentalNomad

I experience "losing" that math ability if I don't practice semi-regularly, too. Or maybe that ability is just dormant, and the meds awaken them. I remember as a kid, I was the first to complete a multiplication/division test (and nearly if not all of the questions answered were correct, if I remember). So, when I was very young, I was heavily stimulated by math, even though I think at that age I lacked a fundamental understanding and just went off of pure memory. Anyway, I still have those flashes of perfectionism, in that if I make even the slightest error, I get very irritated.

In high school for instance, I was put in a basic algerbra class (after I had dropped out for several years, and was about as distanced from math as one could get). While most everyone in that class failed a particular test, I scored a 97% and asked the teacher in front of everyone if I could retake the test. I was mocked by one student after that (alt school stoned hippie, if memory serves). Needless to say, I've learned to tone those aspects of myself down while in public.


...What was my point again? :P

The only time I was actually good at maths (apart from when I actually was interested in it) was when my mum had completely given up on home schooling me. Can you imagine home schooling an undiagnosed unmedicated child with ADHD who was taken out of school because of their failure to learn in that environment? So, she gave up on me and I was upset so I picked up a maths text book and my exercise book and did pages and pages of long division. I suppose this is my first memory of hyperfocus. I will never remember that information but I streamed through it and checked if my answers were right. They were.
Mama, don't give up on me, I did long division. I can't even remember if I showed her. Maybe I perform better when people think I'm not worth educating.

[MentalNomad]

Originally Posted by fracturedstory

The only time I was actually good at maths (apart from when I actually was interested in it) was when my mum had completely given up on home schooling me. Can you imagine home schooling an undiagnosed unmedicated child with ADHD who was taken out of school because of their failure to learn in that environment? So, she gave up on me and I was upset so I picked up a maths text book and my exercise book and did pages and pages of long division. I suppose this is my first memory of hyperfocus. I will never remember that information but I streamed through it and checked if my answers were right. They were.
Mama, don't give up on me, I did long division. I can't even remember if I showed her. Maybe I perform better when people think I'm not worth educating.

I think pressure has a lot to do with it. It's why I find khan academy refreshing, little performance anxiety exists for me, and the badges that keep popping up seem to stimulate my reward center.

[CR721]

I really haven't tried as much but I'm pretty good at this game called Math Minute on Facebook and I can't stand math. I usually have to focus a lot to get in that zone but I've never tried with medication.