Larry Mullen Jr. has revealed that he struggles with a learning disability called Dyscalculia. The 63-year-old spoke about his difficulty with basic math skills such as adding and counting during a recent interview on Times Radio.
“I’ve always known that there’s something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers. I’m numerically challenged. And I realized recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a subversion of dyslexia. So, I can’t count [and] I can’t add,” he explained.
The drummer also mentioned the condition’s effect during shows, saying, “When people watch me play sometimes, they say, ‘you look pained.’ I am pained because I’m trying to count the bars. I had to find ways of doing this — and counting bars is like climbing Everest.”
Dyscalculia often appears alongside other conditions such as dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety, according to doctors.
Mullen’s own son with Ann Acheson has dyslexia himself. This is what pushed the U2 drummer to write music for the upcoming documentary ‘Left Behind,’ which follows five mothers establishing a state school in New York City for children with the condition.
The documentary is set to open in select theaters on January 17, 2025.
