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\n\tLarry Mullen Jr. may have spent his career drumming, but that doesn\u2019t mean it all comes easily to him. In a new interview with Times Radio <\/a><\/em>published Thursday (Dec. 12), the U2<\/a> percussionist revealed that he has long struggled with dyscalculia \u2014 a learning disorder related to mathematics \u2014 that sometimes interferes with his ability to play.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile speaking to the publication about his work on the soundtrack for Anna Toomey\u2019s Left Behind<\/em> documentary, which tells the story of five mothers working to establish New York\u2019s first school for dyslexics, Mullen Jr. said that he\u2019s \u201calways known that there\u2019s something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m numerically challenged,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd I realized recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a sub-version of dyslexia. So I can\u2019t count [and] I can\u2019t add.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to Cleveland Clinic<\/a>, dyscalculia interrupts the areas in the brain that process skills related to numerical comprehension, similar to how dyslexia complicates the brain\u2019s ability to read. For Mullen Jr., the disorder makes it difficult for him to count through measures of music while he\u2019s playing alongside bandmates Bono, the Edge and Adam Clayton.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen people watch me play sometimes, they say, \u2018You look pained,’\u201d he told Times Radio<\/em>. \u201cI am pained, because I\u2019m trying to count the bars. I had to find ways of doing this \u2014 and counting bars is like climbing Everest.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFeaturing music written and produced by Mullen Jr., Left Behind<\/em> first premiered at Woodstock Film Festival in October. The documentary\u2019s story hit close to home for the U2 band member in more ways than one, he says, as one of his sons also struggles with a learning disability. <\/p>\n \n\t \u201cMaking the music through the eyes of my dyslexic son felt personal and visceral,\u201d shared Mullen Jr.<\/p>\n \n\tThe interview comes just a couple weeks after the Nov. 22 arrival of U2\u2019s How to Re-assemble an Atomic Bomb<\/em>, a special release celebrating the 20-year anniversary of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb<\/em> that features previously unreleased<\/a> tracks from the 2004 album\u2019s recording sessions. In September, the rock band premiered V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas<\/em>, an onscreen playback of the group\u2019s historic residency<\/a> at Las Vegas\u2019 The Sphere. <\/p>\n \n\tU2\u2019s most recent album was Songs of Surrender<\/em>, which arrived in March 2023. The project reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n