Below is information re: our son that was obtained over a year ago from school testing. This testing generated an IEP for organizational skills as the outcome indicated he/we were dealing w/ ADD and not a LD.
After a year with his IEP in place and absolutely no progress, we asked to have him tested again, clearly there was something else going on and he seemed to present a challenge to both his general ed and special ed teachers (and his parents).
We are about to meet w/ the new school phsycologist that did Roberts’ recent testing and prior to our meeting, he threw out that he felt strongly that we were dealing w/ NVLD. Not having any experience w/ NVLD or generally LD’s, I said okay and began to research NVLD.
Robert does not exhibit social difficulties although he is quite talkative and can interrupt. He generally does not invade others space. He isn’tusually described as annoying to his peers and doesn’t seem to suffer from social isolation. However, he will tell me at times that he is not liked and has no friends. To the observer, he appears to make friends easily and has a great sense of humor which he uses often. With respect to math, in the past, he would get extremely anxious about math, it was always a battle. That ususally went along with introducing a new concept in math. Once he got a concept he would be whip through his work ( this often led to carelessness). He is beginning to show increasing signs of difficulty w/ math but has a fairly good ability to recall his math facts. He is artistic, loves to draw but also a perfectionist so when he does draw he is very hard on himself and sometimes will give up altogether if his work is not up to his expectations. He has a low tolerance for frustration. He is extremely coordinated, tumbling, skateboarding, good eye hand coordination ( a whip at the hacky sack thing). He is very musically capable, plays trumpet (hates it but does it!), very good at reading music. He did have difficulty learning to ride a bike, but once he got it (age 7/8) he was great, but he doesn’t seem to choose to ride if that indicates anything.
Some information from Roberts testing in third grade :
Information - 13
Similarities - 16
Arithmetic - 10
Vocab - 15
Comprehension - 11
Digit Span - 13
Picture Completion - 8
Coding - 10
Picture Arrangement - 7
Block Design - 12
Object assembly - 11
Symbol search - 9
VIQ = 118, PIQ = 98 Full Scale 109
What is the difference between these scores and the following scores which are listed alongside the above
verbal comprehension - 122
perceptual organization - 97
freedom from distractibility - 109
processing speed - 99
according to the information in his test results all of these scores are considered average. There are more scores related to reading, math and comprehension and with the exception of his listening comprehension (84) they are also within average range.
I am sorry to ramble on but was hopeful that the more info I could put out there the clearer the picture would be for anyone who might have some insight. THank you in advance
Rosemary
Re: NVLD diagnosis????
I agree with Beverly that you need to get more information and maybe another opinion from someone well versed in NLD before jumping to conclusions. While my NLD son doesn’t seem to be a severely affected as Beverly’s step daughter, all the same issues are there. It’s hard to imagine many NLD kids playing Hacky Sack!
Beverly is also correct that while a marked VIQ/PIQ split warrants further investigation, in and of itself, it is not diagnostic for NLD. My NLD son has a split of 22 points. But my younger son who has ADHD/LD & Anxiety disorder has a split of 21 points but is not NLD.
A VIQ/PIQ split is a clue, nothing more.
Karen
Re: NVLD diagnosis????
Just had our meeting with the school psychologist today after updated round of testing. Indicates Robert is struggling mightily with attention and the split does seem to indicate “some form” of NLD. We told him that we were thinking of having private testing done (mistake?) and he seemed to think it was expensive and unnecessary. He recommended child psychiatrist to help find a medication that would help.
Re: NVLD diagnosis????
Well, school psychologists are in the business of finding as little as possible so that the school has to DO as little as possible. (perhaps a somewhat jaded perspective, but one based on experience) I want outside, independent evals done on my kids when I have questions about their academic functioning.
Yes, it is expensive, and I have found it worth every penny.
And the fact that based just on a VIQ/PIQ split, this person is telling you it is “some form of NLD” makes me think they don’t know much about NLD. You are asking these questions because your child is having trouble. If that’s the case, I’d want to learn as much as I could about exactly HOW he leasrns best, his strengths and his weaknesses. Now, maybe your school does a better job than most, but I’d still feel better, even if all the outside testing did was confirm what the school psychologist said.
Karen
I have an NLD stepdaughter diagnosed a little over a year ago but finally classified in school in September because it has finally effected her schoolwork. She has “friends” but they are only the people she is assigned to sit with on the bus or who sit next to her in school. If we went (her father and I split a month ago) somewhere without my children (very social) she would sit in a corner and ignore everyone. She once stood in the middle of the pool at our swim club and spun around for 2 hours rather than speak to anyone. If a book report happened to be called a “biography” book report by her teacher, she wouldn’t understand that it was still a book report. She absolutely cannot learn math facts without learning a song, riddle or picture to go with it. She takes things literally and once actually “read” an eye chart rather than just reciting the letters since that was what she was told to do and once left our house without underwear on because I told her to take off everything and put on her clothes from her Mom’s (I had told her clothes and not included underwear). She can recite details of a book but cannot tell you the main idea or infer why a character did something unless it is clearly stated as a detail. She still doesn’t understand that our dog, who is being “put to sleep” tomorrow, will be dead though it has been explained in detail several times. She has been taught sex ed and doesn’t understand how my neighbor had her daughter a year before she got married. She doesn’t understand that though knobs can work differently on different sinks and showers, left is always hot because she focuses on how to turn the knob. She cannot tie her shoelaces if you talk to her because she is reciting in her head the steps necessary to tie them. She is almost 11 years old.
There are more websites specifically for NLD-NLD online and NLD on the web that may help. I have also read several books that are listed on that site that are very helpful including one that was just published last winter (in a box in the basement that I cannot find). A difference between VIQ and PIQ does not diagnose NLD, my ADHD/Gifted son has a much more significant gap between his than she does. Get much more information on NLD and get a second opinion.