Andrea Sonnier

I would like to emphasize that Aphantasia should be considered a learning disability for testing purposes related to STEM classes or with standardized testing (e.g. SAT).  This is my opinion based on my experience with my daughter (has Aphantasia). In Math, Physics and Chemistry (I am sure there are more) there are many lectures, topics, sections and test questions related to rotating objects in your mind.  For example, rotate this object 180 degrees, what is the angle of xyz?  Another common one in Chemistry is related to rotating molecules.  Interestingly, my daughter and I both have Aphantasia, although how we discovered it was very different. Her discovery was unfortunate. When she took testing in high school for her Engineering tract all the students were given a test.  They were asked to rotate objects in their mind and answer specific questions.  Those that failed this exam (which she did) were placed in Civil Engineering instead of other tracts because those that failed, lacked the ability to rotate object in their mind. Had she been offered the ability to create a model (draw, cut, create an object), she could have easily passed this test.  It is a simple accommodation that would have made a major difference. She has a high IQ, tested out of college physics in high school, wiz at math/science.  Despite her intelligence, not being able to rotate objects in her mind, definitely impacted her education and aspirations.  Simply accommodating students with Aphantasia by allowing them to use/create models (with a little extra time to complete this) is essential to performing well in STEM topics. Despite the setbacks with Engineering, she was also interested in Dentistry.  To earn her undergraduate degree, she has to take Chemistry.  Luckily her current Chemistry teacher is open to allowing her (and the other students) to use actual models for class, homework and exams.  However, to become a dentist you ALSO have to take a standardized test. As part of the Dental Admission Test (DAT) there are STEM topics  (e.g Chemistry).  As shared, in Chemistry you have to rotate molecules "in your mind" and she is terrified that she will not do well on the DAT exam because she cannot rotate molecules in her mind.  Bringing in a model is not permitted.  Let's hope this does not deter her from her dreams a second time.  Interestingly, I also have Aphantasia but I didn't realize it until we started learning more about why she could not visualize molecules or shapes in her STEM classes. As I shared, my daughter is very intelligent and realized something wasn't quite right. We realized, I too could not visualize "in my mind's eye" and didn't catch on that it was not typical.  Ironically, I also was strong in math, science and engineering. I find it interesting that both of us have Aphantasia, wondering what the genetic links are and cannot wait to learn more on this topic.  I now understand why I struggled in a few of my STEM classes when it came to mentally rotating objects and answering questions.