#Nonverbal Learning Disability

[thatgirlwithnld]

Let's Get Something Straight

NLD is not Asperger's Syndrome. Yes, I have social difficulties, but I can read social cues and pick up on facial expressions, etc. I actually do very well in social situations...I'm just shy and introverted. I may have trouble with eye contact, but that is a characteristic of many disorders; not just exclusive to NLD or Asperger's. I don't obsess over things (except maybe with anxiety provoking decisions...like if I remembered to lock the door or not). I don't appear to be lacking empathy. I'm actually very empathetic and show that very well. I don't have preoccupations on certain subjects and I don't talk about them all that often; well once and a while I will have a fascination but I think a lot of people do. 

So I wish people in the NLD community and elsewhere would STOP thinking everyone with NLD is an Aspie, because I'm far from it. I've been tested several times and not once did it say I have Asperger's. Stop comparing the disorder to Asperger's because it's far from it. 

[sootonthecarpet]

I can't find people with NLD, like, anywhere on the internet.

[its-murderous-business]

An Introduction to Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Happy disability pride month! I am celebrating by trying to educate people about my learning disorder, because it is one of the least known learning disabilities and deserves more recognition.

What is Nonverbal Learning Disorder?

Nonverbal Learning Disorder (also called Non-Verbal Learning Disability and other variations on the same name), often shortened to NLD or NVLD, is not a new concept, but the idea of it as its own diagnosis is relatively recent. A common misconception upon hearing the name is that people with NVLD are non-verbal, but this is not the case. The name essentially refers to the fact that people with this disability are affected in almost every area except verbal and language skills, where they often excel.

What areas can NVLD effect?

NVLD can take a lot of forms, and not everyone with it will be affected in every area, and other areas are also able to be affected this is just a general list:

- exceptional skills in the areas of comprehension (understanding) and production (ability to utilize) of verbal language. Basically, we are really good at reading, writing, speech, spelling, and have large vocabularies.

- difficulties with visual spatial processing skills. Fun fact, NVLD was briefly called Visual Spatial Processing Disorder! Visual spatial processing is a term that describes the process of seeing things and then understanding how they relate to one another in space.

- difficulties with understanding non-verbal forms of communication such as tone, facial expressions, gestures, metaphors and exaggerations, and (sometimes) context.

- difficulties with math, including arithmetic, fractions, geometry, telling time, pattern recognition, and much more. This can be very similar to dyscalculia.

- difficulties socializing (often presents similar to the social difficulties faced by autistic people)

- other miscellaneous neurodivergent traits such as hyperfixations, difficulty regulating emotions, distress when faced with change, sensory overload, motor skill and coordination deficits, attention deficits, and executive dysfunction

How does that affect people with NVLD on the day to day?

Let’s use me as the example. I love to talk to people but I often run into issues because I take things very literally, struggle to read social cues, and can have trouble connecting with others. Growing up I was always in advanced English and literature classes, but was in special education for math due to my extreme difficulties with it. I have a lot of trouble dealing with last minute changes in my plans and loud noises bother me A Lot.

I struggle greatly with visual spatial processing skills, specifically for me that can manifest as not knowing where my body is in space (causing me to bump into things a lot), difficulty navigating maps, struggles with knowing left from right, a complete inability to use the knowledge of how an object looks from one angle to visualize how it would look from another angle, and many other things.

NVLD can present in a number of different ways and affect different parts of peoples lives. I have multiple neurodivergent comorbidities which can make it difficult to tease the exact symptoms apart from one another, but there are plenty of articles online where people discuss their own experiences if you look for them.

Is NVLD in the DSM/an official diagnosis?

ehhhhh it’s complicated. NVLD is not currently it’s own differentiated diagnosis within the DSM-5, however it can be diagnosed (as it is with me) under the DSM-5 as Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in Mathematics which serves as a sort of catch all for any learning disability that affects math or areas other than reading/writing.

NVLD as its own diagnosis is a relatively new idea, as historically it’s been lumped within other diagnoses (typically autism, adhd, or specific learning disability). However over the last 15 years and especially the last 5 years, there has been a significant increase in academic literature and acknowledgement of NVLD as its own distinct diagnosis. Columbia University has been conducting research on the disorder alongside the NVLD Project, which is the only organization that exclusively does advocacy, education, and research around NVLD. These groups are doing a lot of work to attempt to get NVLD classified as its own diagnosis in future editions of the DSM.

How common is NVLD? What causes it?

NVLD is uncommonly diagnosed due to lack of official DSM recognition, misidentification as other neurodiverse conditions, and lack of awareness of NVLD from neuropsych evaluators. However one study from earlier this year estimated that between 1-8% of children have NVLD depending on what diagnostic criteria is used.

There has been some early evidence that NVLD is the result of dysfunction in the right hemisphere of the brain or more specifically the inability of the right hemisphere of the brain to effectively communicate to the left hemisphere.

Why are you telling me all of this?

The majority of people do not know that NVLD exists, and as such those of us with this condition often get left out of neurodivergent and disability communities. I would like to be included in advocacy and understood by the community since we all face very similar challenges! I really encourage y’all to learn more about Non-Verbal Learning Disability

Here are some links to learn more!

From the Child Mind Institute

Psychology Today article

From ADDitude Magazine

Article from Very Well Mind

Medical News Today article

Learning Disorder Association of America article

From Learning Disability Association of Ontario

And of course the aforementioned NVLD Project website!

[radiant-array]

punkkitten replied to your post:in case u were wondering heres my dx laundry list ...

hey i have a q do you know what nonverbal learning disorder is? i could google it but idk i feel like someone who has it could explain it in a better/more accurate/not ableist way

yeah! ive only been researching it for like a day but from what i gather the hallmarks of it are

high verbal ability, reading comprehension, (in children) use of words & sentence structure above age level

severe difficulty with organization, task management, planning

motor control issues including difficulty balancing, often clumsy, difficulty with handwriting, aversion to tasks involving movement

difficulty processing nonverbal cues like body language, tone of voice; tendency to interpret statements literally

lack of a "filter" in social situations (says things that may be inappropriate or overshares)

tendency to pay attention to detail but having trouble making generalizations

poor performance in school despite generally being seen as "gifted" or "bright"; often considered lazy/unmotivated/defiant/etc. frequently struggles with math especially.

i probably missed some things but i think i got most of the big ones.

so like basically, it has to do with a significant difference between a person's verbal (and often reading) skills & social, motor, spatial, and abstract reasoning skills.

kids with NVLD who get a diagnosis frequently end up diagnosed as either Aspergers or ADHD.

as a kid i displayed more of the social symptoms than i do today, basically i just learned a lot later than most people to interpret certain things and to not talk about things that made people think i was weird. i still have pretty much all of the other symptoms of it. like any other diagnosis, it manifests differently in everyone.

i hope this was an okay summary! if you have anything else yre wondering, let me know.

[nldexplainsmylife]

Staring Into Space

I'm a member of several NLD Facebook groups and recently a member said they spend lots of time 'not doing stuff'. By that, they meant they spend lots of time daydreaming and fantasising, appearing to simply stare into space. This was an interesting realisation for me.

Most people I meet (ie. neurotypicals) are almost always doing something. They do activities to relax. There is this constant pressure to always being doing something. Nobody wants to be considered lazy or, as we say in Australia, a bludger! 

For as long as I can remember, I've had a very active, unique and deep inner world. I suspect many with NLD are the same. If I allow myself to daydream, my mind goes lots of different places - there seems to be so much to explore! I've gotten very stressed over the last few years, trying to keep up with the pressures of life. Maybe I need to stare into space a bit more often? Maybe that is an effective stress reliever for those of us with a brain like mine?

[brightorangerain]

Facts about Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD or NLD): MANY people with spina bifida have NVLD.

[magicqueen]

Like or reblog this post if you think I should start another petition to add nonverbal learning disability to the DSM.

[thisisdyscalculia-blog]

Learning Disability Fact #3:

Working-age adults with learning disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-learning disabled adults.

[writerwithld]

Being told "you don't speak like you have a learning disability" makes me not want to tell people about my disabilities ever.

[hashtagld]

As a student with an LD this was always one of the worst ways to out me to the rest of the classroom.

[insanecatgentleman]

Eye contact without context is seen as threatening.

Apparently this is a "thing" about how people experience eye contact.  Explains a lot...

[mossangel]

yooo if any of yall have nvld/nld hmu so we can talk abt it and complain abt how annoy it is bc i have no nld buddies :(((((((((((

[adhd-dog-guy]

I have diagnosed with nonverbal learning disability last year. If ya don’t know what that is, hang tight:

There is a discrepancy between performance IQ and Verbal IQ (Verbal IQ is stronger/higher)

Very strong verbal skills

Visual - spatial processing issues

Coordination difficulties — fine and gross motor

Focus issues

Executive function challenges

Challenges with math

Some difficulty reading social cues

This disorder is neurodevelopmental and exists on a spectrum!

And more…

Yes there is a lot of overlap with ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia, Developmental Coordination disorder/Dyspraxia… you can also have comorbid conditions.

This disability isn’t recognized officially in the DSM but the NVLD Project is changing that hopefully so accommodations can be made for those diagnosed. It is always diagnosed by a neuropsychologist. I was dx’ed at 26 but it explained so much.

[thatgirlwithnld]

I just realized that when I'm talking my sarcasm often sounds bitchy because sometimes I don't know what sounds right or wrong. I think maybe I should just try using it in front of people that understand me.

[tonomato39]

I decided to write some posts about my experiences with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NVLD or NLD):

NVLD is walking into people every time you turn a corner because you're looking at the ground in front of you.

[nldexplainsmylife]

A two-question quiz to assess Asperger's.

Do people with NLD process information in a similar way to those with Aspergers? I suspect that in some cases, they do. If you have NLD, I recommend you check and complete the above two-question quiz. Be careful not to read any further down the web page until you have answered both questions, because reading the explanation below the questions may affect your thought process. Interestingly, I answered the questions as someone with Aspergers would. I encourage those with NLD to complete the quiz (it only takes a few minutes) and leave a response below with your result. Who knows, this could be fun and we might learn something new!