Why Are the Numbers All Jumbled?: A book about dyscalculia

A child reflects on her struggles, strengths, and experiences with dyscalculia

In Why Are the Numbers All Jumbled?, a young girl tells us about her life with dyscalculia. She loves to run races and act in plays. And, like everyone with dyscalculia, her brain processes numbers differently than most people. She has learned some great tools for helping with math problems, like drawing pictures so she can see how numbers work. Some of her classmates don’t understand why she needs help, but she isn’t concerned—she knows that everyone needs help sometimes. And dyscalculia is just one part of what makes her the wonderful, unique kid she is.

Why Are the Numbers All Jumbled?

• Draws on the author’s experience with dyscalculia for authentic representation
• Follows a young girl with dyscalculia, who explains her experience with numbers, as well as her talent for words and solving big-picture problems
• Celebrates disability joy and offers an empowering self-representation for kids with dyscalculia
• Helps children develop empathy and understanding with first-person storytelling from a child’s perspective

The Disability Books for Kids series explores visible and invisible disability in the first person, as seen through the eyes of children and written from personal experience. The series builds allyship, challenges ableism, and celebrates difference, empowering and educating all readers. Each book includes an author’s note to the reader.

| A young girl with dyscalculia shares her strengths, challenges, and smart math tools—building empathy, confidence, and disability joy. |

Dr. Korie Leigh is a child development specialist and grief counselor who specializes in working with children and families experiencing grief and loss. As an associate professor and program director, she teaches graduate courses on child development, death, dying, and bereavement. Dr. Leigh obtained her Ph.D. in transpersonal psychology. She wrote her dissertation on the lived experiences of bereaved parents. She also holds an M.A. in public health and grief counseling and a B.A. in child development. She speaks and presents at national and regional conferences on issues of grief, loss, and coping. Dr. Leigh is the author of What Does Grief Feel Like?, It Won't Ever Be the Same: A Teen's Guide to Grief and Grieving, When Everything Changes: Parenting Through Loss and Grief, and Why Are the Numbers All Jumbled?: A book about dyscalculia. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Andrea Altamirano is a multidisciplinary artist from sunny Central America. Born in Costa Rica and raised in a mountain town in El Salvador, her childhood was filled with folklore, magic, travel, and exploration. Since then, she has always had a pencil and notebook at hand to write and draw dreams and discoveries. Andrea loves the playful creation of art and telling stories in her illustrations. Her work has been selected and celebrated by the Society of Illustrators and the Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño. Andrea works as an illustrator in several fields, including children's books, environmental graphics, and animation.