Difficulties With Calculus

[KinivTerranova]

Has anyone ever taken a course where calculus, Classical Mechanics or Mathematical Physics were taught? If so, did you have any difficulties? And if so, what did you do to overcome the difficulties? I'm saying this because, as someone with ADHD, I find it difficult to do very large calculations because my concentration fails me. And where I study, the teachers think I use ADHD as an excuse not to take exams.😑

[STEM_Dad]

I learned Calculus 1 twice, first in high school (but I didn't retain much), and then several years later in college (when it really stuck).

The best advice that I got from a teacher the helped me with mathematics was from my high school Algebra teacher (who was later my Calculus teacher, too).

• Do one change at a time.

(I was trying to do multiple steps at once in solving problems, but was accidentally changing signs, transposing numbers or forgetting a variables.)

I had to slow down, be more methodical in my approach. I ended up using my eraser less, and more sheets of paper.

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The advice that I didn't follow in college, which I wish I had, was to go to the math lab for assistance with assignments, and to visit my teacher during office hours to get clarification on lessons/lectures/book reading. As a result, I had to repeat Calculus 2 and a one or two other math classes. (I also had to repeat a few computer science classes.)

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By meeting with your teacher, you will help prove to them that you are actually giving it your best effort, not "using ADHD as an excuse". But don't take anyone's suggestion that "maybe this isn't for you" at face value.

You can learn difficult concepts, but your brain works differently. You may have an "Aha!" moment when a particular concept suddenly becomes clear to you, as I have had at times.

[KinivTerranova in reply to STEM_Dad]

In fact, many things have happened in my life in terms of health that I believe have an impact on my mental capacity and health in general. I've tried to go to the doctor in the public health system and I've already spoken to the psychologist at the institution and asked her to sensitize the teachers, but nothing has been done. Eh, you talked about fluid intelligence, I don't remember having seen this concept before, but I think that unfortunately my fluid intelligence has diminished. Now with regard to stress, this is one of my biggest problems at the moment and it has to do with my work. Here the teachers don't have any time to mentor the students, it's every man for himself, not to mention that the subject content isn't taught either. What the teacher does is simply answer a few examples in class. For example, now in this class we're looking at solving power series using Frobenius. But the teacher omitted several concepts in class and I only saw this when I picked up the book from the library.

[STEM_Dad in reply to KinivTerranova]

The terms "crystalized intelligence" and "fluid intelligence" have been around for decades, but I didn't hear them until the last year or two.

I think that it's just another way to think about neuroplasticity.

I didn't recognize the name Frobenius, so I had to look it up. It looks like calculus that I'd done with infinite series. Unfortunately, I haven't used any of it since leaving school, so I wouldn't know how to help.

Have you tried looking on YouTube, or looking for tutorials online?

[KinivTerranova in reply to STEM_Dad]

Yes I tried Youtube and there´s a lot of video about this stuff

[STEM_Dad]

Welcome to the forum KinivTerranova .

I read your profile bio. You and I are about the same age. Acquiring new learning can change greatly as we age, where we tend to build new learning on top of existing knowledge.

Young people's (birth through about mid-20s) brains are wired for rapid learning of unfamiliar things.

(I know that I'm oversimplifying this.)

In psychology, they refer to these as "fluid intelligence" being higher in younger people, and "crystalized intelligence" as being higher in older people. These are each different advantages.

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Try to explain the concepts that you are learning in your own words.

Work through example problems on your own, checking against the steps the way that the example does. This a a good way to check your understanding.

Try to find articles and examples online which cover the same topics that you are learning for class.

~~~~~

Are you taking ADHD medication?

If so, has it helped with your concentration?

Concentration is part of the brain's attention system. ADHD medication ought to help with attention in various ways, such as:

• Improving ability to concentrate (maintain attention on a task)

• Reduce distractibility

• Improve working memory

• Improve sense of time

I'm helped with all these things, but I know that not everyone is helped as much as I am, and some people are helped even more than I am.

• I still have some struggles in all those areas of attention, but I'm way better than I used to be.

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There are other things that you can do to try to improve your ability to concentrate and to accomplish things.

• Make sure that you are getting enough rest.

• Take regular breaks, letting your mind have an opportunity to relax a bit. (Don't try to keep thinking about what you were working on, but don't stress out if your brain naturally does...let your mind wander, if you can. During mind-wandering, the mind can reorganize information.)

• Try to eat an appropriate diet for you needs, and drink enough fluids to be properly hydrated.

• Try to maintain stress levels low enough that you aren't worried all the time.

• Engage in regular physical and enjoyable social activities, if you are able to do so.

[KinivTerranova]

Thanks for answering, it really helped me a lot, a lot. When I went to college I didn't know that math would be so difficult, but the biggest problem for me is actually doing very complex questions, I say solving, because I get lost, it's like my mind turns off and I don't realize it. Despite this, I still manage to do Calculus 2 by taking tests, but recently I've realized that I'm not mentally well. I don't take any medication and unfortunately I can't afford treatment, which has become very expensive.

[KinivTerranova]

My work on math 10 years ago

This is i can do in my best mind!

[Highlysuspect99]

I have the same problem, the more steps involved, the easier I get stuck in the problem. I have dyscalculia that's a genetic disability that no matter how hard you try you just can't understand complex math. Furthermore, I had to take technical mathematics 3&4 and failed miserably, it makes calculus seem like addition. I had to change my degree path because while I could complete all other work which was difficult, they were sticklers about math.

You have to break down the problems into easier steps. If you still get lost in problems, it's possible you have dyscalculia. Eventually, under the ADA, schools will have no choice but to excuse students with dyscalculia from difficult mathematics. It's genetic, my brother has it my mother has it and my grandmother had it. You are far from the only one that gets lost in steps and ADHD makes it much harder for most. Hope this helps