speech therapy Archives | Math for Grownups

When I was in college, majoring in math education, I learned that math is the language of science. In fact, we called it the Queen of the Sciences. (You’d better believe that gave me a sense of superiority over the chemistry and physics majors!) And yeah, I think that the math I was doing then–calculus, differential equations, statistics and even abstract algebra–is mostly useful for describing some kind of science. [pullquote]We too often think of mathematics as rules rather than as questions. This is like thinking of stories as grammar. — Rick Ackerly[/pullquote]

In some ways, everyday math is also the language of science. Home cooks use ratios to ensure that their roux thickens a gumbo just right. With proportions, gardeners can fertilize their vegetable beds without burning the leaves from their pepper plants. And a cyclist might employ a bit of math to find her rate or the distance she’s biked.

But I think too often we adults get caught up in the nitty gritty of basic math and lose the big picture. This is when many of us start to worry about doing things exactly right–and when math feels more like a foreign language, rather than a useful tool.

Earlier this week, I read a blog post from Rick Ackerly, who writes The Genius in Children, a blog about the “delights, mysteries and challenges of educating our children.” In Why Mathematics is a Foreign Language in America and What to Do about It, he writes:

Why do Americans do so badly in mathematics? Because mathematics is a foreign language in America. The vast majority of children grow up in a number-poor environment. We’ve forgotten that the language of mathematics is founded in curiosity. We too often think of mathematics as rules rather than as questions. This is like thinking of stories as grammar. Being curious together can be a really special part of the relationship in families.

And I couldn’t agree more. For all of you parents and teachers out there: how many questions do your kids ask in one day? 10? 20? 100? 1,000? As Ackerly points out, especially younger children are insatiably curious. They want to know why the sky is blue and what makes our feet stink and how come that ladybug is on top of the other ladybug.

These Stevendotted ladybugs are not wrestling. Photo credit: Andr Karwath

A full 90% of the time, we can’t answer their questions. Or maybe we just don’t want to yet. (“That ladybug is giving the other one a ride.”) With Google‘s help, we can find lots of answers. But how often are we asked a math-related question–by a kid or a grownup–and freeze?

For whatever reason, many people are afraid to be curious about math. Or they’ve had that curiosity beaten out of them. I think that’s because don’t want to be wrong. As fellow writer, Jennifer Lawler said to me the other day:

It’s funny because when I make a mistake in writing—a typo, etc.—I let myself off the hook (“Happens to everyone! Next time I’ll remember to pay more attention.”) But if I misadd a row of numbers I’m all “OMG, I’m such an idiot, and everyone knows I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe they gave me a college degree, and why do I even try without my calculator?”

The same goes for answering our kids’–or our own–calls of curiosity.

So what if we decided not to shut down those questions? What if it was okay to make some mistakes? What if we told our kids or ourselves, “I don’t know–let’s find out!” This could be a really scary prospect for some of us, but I invite you to try.

What’s keeping you from being curious about everyday math? What do you you think you can do to change that? Or do you think it doesn’t matter one way or the other? Share your ideas in in a comment.

When you were in middle and high school, did you think you’d never need to use the math you were learning? Like most grownups, you probably found out that, yes, you did need some of it — and some of it you’ll never do again.

Each Monday, I’ll introduce you to someone who uses math on the job. We’re going to skip over the engineers, physicists and statisticians and stick to folks who use regular, everyday math. First up, my sister, Melissa, a speech therapist.

So, what kind of speech therapist are you, and how long have you been doing this job?

Lots of people think of speech therapists in the school setting, working with kids. But I work with adults, who are critically ill or recovering from an injury or illness in rehab. I’ve been doing this for 19 years. Basically, I provide care in these areas:

Speech and communication: patients who have declined neurologically or physically and cannot talk, have slurred speech, or any difficulty communicating.
Swallowing: patients who have swallowing impairments, usually from neurological deficits, or physical decline in some way.
Cognitive: patients whose thinking skills have declined, including memory, problem solving, attention, reasoning.
Other specialty areas: patients with tracheotomies, laryngectomies, concussions.

All of my patients are adults, and most of them have had some sort of illness or injury.

When do you use math in your job?

Rehab is very goal oriented. I meet with patients on a regular basis and keep data on those goals — how many questions the patient answered correctly or the number of times a he performed a certain task properly. At the end of the day, I tabulate that data. And then at the end of the week, I average the data for the week.

I also use math in some of my tasks with the patients.
Functional math is a form of reasoning, and so I will provide a patient
with math tasks to “rehab” his or her reasoning skills.

These calculations help me determine if the patient has met that goal, and if so, I create a new goal.

I also use math in some of my tasks with the patients. Functional math is a form of reasoning, and so I will provide a patient with math tasks to “rehab” his or her reasoning skills.

What kind of math is important for your job?

Percents! If the patient got 8 out of 10 correct on a certain task, I put in the note that she was 80% successful. (But sometimes the numbers aren’t great for mental math: 29 out of 44 correct, for example.)

Most rehab and acute care settings use a very specific form of measuring assistance, called Functional Independent Measures, or FIMS.

Independent: 100%
Modified Indpendent: 100% with extra time
Supervision: 90% or above
Minimum Assist: 75-90%
Moderate Assist: 50-75%
Maximum Assist: 25-50%
Dependent: less than 25%

So, since I measure FIMS weekly, I am always creating percentages in my head (and on paper) of how a patient is performing on that certain task.

How does math help you do your job?

It allows me to be very accurate in data collection. Of course, many patients’ lengths of stay is dependent on whether or not there is proven progress, and the best way to prove it is to show it in black-and-white. Patients and their families would rather see “80% accuracy” as opposed to “required min assist.” Percents are more accurate and detailed.

I also firmly believe that having patients do math themselves helps them building their reasoning skills. I think I am doing my job better by making them do math! I will even have my patients average their data for the week. This helps them use reasoning skills as well as understand their goals and how they are progressing.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I feel comfortable with simple math, especially if I can write it out, use pen and paper, etc. I get bogged down with more complex actions and definitions, but I don’t have to use these in my job.

Did you have to learn to use new skills?

No, I use basic elementary and middle school math. However, I do feel like it took me years in my job to realize that I could involve the patient to help me! It’s a great way to help the patient therapeutically. I think I forget to make math functional.

Thank you, Melissa for being the first person featured in Math at Work Monday! If you have questions for Melissa, feel free to ask them in the comments section. And if you know of someone who uses regular math in their jobs — duh, of course you do! — and you would like to see that person featured here, drop me a line and let me know!

speech therapy

Is Math a Foreign Language?

Math at Work Monday: Melissa the Speech Therapist