Math Disability

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I am having trouble with my algebra class. I know that people may do well in one area and not so well in other areas, however, I feel that in my struggles with algebra, it goes way beyond what the normal person struggles with. I think it all goes back to high school when I was diagnosed with having a math disabitlity. Today I had to withdrawl from my alegebra class because I simply do not understand it. The nursing advisor asked me that since I am struggling with algebra, then how am I going to make it through nutrition and chemistry. No matter how many times algebra is explained to me, I just don't get it. Is this the end for me??

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English is my second language. Reading books is a nightmare to me, just like math is a nightmare to you. A normal student can read a chapter in 30 minutes, but it will take me 5 hours to completely understand it. I have to check dictionary, learn every single new word. It takes time and patient. I do it step by step. I think math would be the same. You just have to put a lot of effort on it, just do one problem over and over until you understand it. You will do fine. I took Chemistry and nutrition, both of them are not that bad, you don't need a very high level of math to pass that class. It will be the end for you if you are not study. Good luck!

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Since you recently dropped the class, why not look over the chapters and seek help. Keep doing the problems until you completely understand it. You will eventually have to take that class again. Take it one step at a time and don't overwhelm yourself.

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Specializes in EMT-P.

I suspect that much of your trouble is due to a poor math foundation. Math is a cumulative subject and as such you must understand one aspect of math prior to progressing on to the next, for example; without a good understanding of basic fractions and the manipulations of fractions, you will just flounder when trying to perform algebraic factoring. With that said, and I am sure this is not what you wnat to hear, but I suggest you take a lower division math class that covers the essentials that you need to have in order to succeed in algebra. Sure it is a lost semester, but at this point, you already lost a semester in math. Gaining a good foundation in the math basics makes higher level math so much easier and also relieves much of that math anxiety I am sure you feel.

If it makes you feel any better, when I started school I had to start with the lowest math level, something like math 20, I eventually worked my way up to math 252 (Calculus). So it can be done. :)

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Specializes in ICU.

Algebra is definitely a tough subject for a lot of folks. It's kind of that bridge between the tangible concepts of basic math (we can visualize addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and factions using objects) and calculus, where mathematics takes on a tangible form of its own (as calculus is the language of physics).

It might help to know that algebra is just an amalgamation of processes designed to show you how to use information that you have to find information that you don't have - sometimes through reduction, sometimes through elimination, grouping, or proofing. I've found that a lot of algebra teachers overstress the importance of the process without offering any insight into how the process works. That's probably because they were trained to memorize the process without much regard to why.

What *might* also help is to find some website that explains linear equations and then teaches you how to plot them and use graphs to solve them. I don't know what specifically is the disconnect that's making it difficult for you to understand algebra, but if you're anything like I was when I was learning algebra, my biggest hurdle was that the way I learned it, I felt like I was expected to take a huge leap of faith because there were no visualizations to accompany my learning - it was all numbers.

Good Luck!

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Thank you for all of your replies! The nursing advisor told me that I need to talk with the person in charge that accommodates people with disabilities and I will have to show him proof. I have had a few tutors and to be honest algebra tutors are very hard to come by. I found a place that charges $40 an hour and I cannot afford that. If I show proof of my disability then the school will have to find me the tutor and help me since I have exhausted all possibilities on my end. I even went as far as finding some one on craigslist. He was a good teacher, but I still did not understand. A big reason why I dropped the class is so I can get help before I take it again in the fall.

When I took my college placement test, I only scored a 15%. So needless to say, I did start out at the very bottom and it still did not help. My school does it's algebra classes in 7 weeks sessions and they offer 5 classes, but nursing students only need 3 out of 5 classes. Currently, I just dropped my third and final class. At this point, it's not really setting me back. I have also watched countless videos on you tube about factoring and linear equations and nothing is clicking. My high school counselor actually told me not to go into nursing because of my math issues, but I was hoping to prove him wrong!

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
I am having trouble with my algebra class. I know that people may do well in one area and not so well in other areas, however, I feel that in my struggles with algebra, it goes way beyond what the normal person struggles with. I think it all goes back to high school when I was diagnosed with having a math disabitlity. Today I had to withdrawl from my alegebra class because I simply do not understand it. The nursing advisor asked me that since I am struggling with algebra, then how am I going to make it through nutrition and chemistry. No matter how many times algebra is explained to me, I just don't get it. Is this the end for me??

Algebra is key in Chemistry and to some degree, necessary in nutrition.

Knowing how to do math and do it well is essential in nursing. It is the nurse's responsibility to double check the order against what pharmacy enters as the correct dosage of a medication.

Math takes tons of practice...daily homework is essential in order to be successful.

The basics of all math fall into the categories of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division...just in different ways. The application of formulas is something that you will have to master in nursing.

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Algebra was very hard for me. However, I made A in both my pharm classes and on Dosages exam's(where you miss one you fail the whole test) every term. Alot of the things you learn in Algebra might not ever come up again with nursing. My advise would be to review your book until next term. Alot of dosage problems can be solved by using the ratio and proportion formula. This is the easiest for me. Look in the book and become familiar with how to do ratio and proportion and I think it will help you once you reach higher levels.

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Specializes in EMT-P.
Algebra is key in Chemistry and to some degree, necessary in nutrition.
Not hardly, and no need to discourage our poster. Aside from maybe a Clausius–Clapeyron equation and perhaps a little manipulation in an Ideal gas law formula,algebra is hardly required to do well in chemistry. Indeed math is required but not at an algebraic level, in fact; a whole new way of looking at math is introduced in chemistry, and that being dimensional analysis. It is unfortunate that nursing schools do not emphasis this math method more as it makes solving equations much simpler.

If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, then intro chemistry math will not boggle your mind as algebra may have done in the past. As a side note, I would emphasis that you learn dimensional analysis well as it will serve you long after chem class.

Have a look at this link if DA interest you.

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/analysis.htm

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/fun.htm

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Specializes in ICU.
Not hardly, and no need to discourage our poster. Aside from maybe a Clausius-Clapeyron equation and perhaps a little manipulation in an Ideal gas law formula,algebra is hardly required to do well in chemistry. Indeed math is required but not at an algebraic level, in fact; a whole new way of looking at math is introduced in chemistry, and that being dimensional analysis. It is unfortunate that nursing schools do not emphasis this math method more as it makes solving equations much simpler.

If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, then intro chemistry math will not boggle your mind as algebra may have done in the past. As a side note, I would emphasis that you learn dimensional analysis well as it will serve you long after chem class.

Have a look at this link if DA interest you.

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/analysis.htm

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/fun.htm

I am sooooooo bookmarking those two web pages. Thanks!!!

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
Not hardly, and no need to discourage our poster. Aside from maybe a Clausius–Clapeyron equation and perhaps a little manipulation in an Ideal gas law formula,algebra is hardly required to do well in chemistry. Indeed math is required but not at an algebraic level, in fact; a whole new way of looking at math is introduced in chemistry, and that being dimensional analysis. It is unfortunate that nursing schools do not emphasis this math method more as it makes solving equations much simpler.

If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, then intro chemistry math will not boggle your mind as algebra may have done in the past. As a side note, I would emphasis that you learn dimensional analysis well as it will serve you long after chem class.

Have a look at this link if DA interest you.

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/analysis.htm

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/fun.htm

Sorry, I beg to differ...if you don't know how to do algebra, then you'll be hard pressed to do the equations needed for Chemistry, because they ARE algebra, thus, why no college in the country will allow you to take college-level Chemistry without taking Algebra first.

I'm not trying to be discouraging, just honest.

My biggest challenge with Chemistry was the level of Algebra involved, so I speak from experience...dimentional analysis was a piece of cake once I got it down, but we never touched it again after the first 6 weeks of class, when we moved on to more complex equations.

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Specializes in ICU.
Sorry, I beg to differ...if you don't know how to do algebra, then you'll be hard pressed to do the equations needed for Chemistry, because they ARE algebra, thus, why no college in the country will allow you to take college-level Chemistry without taking Algebra first.

I'm not trying to be discouraging, just honest.

My biggest challenge with Chemistry was the level of Algebra involved, so I speak from experience...dimentional analysis was a piece of cake once I got it down, but we never touched it again after the first 6 weeks of class, when we moved on to more complex equations.

What equations are you referring to specifically?

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