nonverbal learning disabilities assessment

Hi. I am an adult with NLD. I was given several tests to reach a diagnosis. The first was the WAIS. In my case, there was a large verbal/performance discrepancy, but I know this is not the case for all people with NLD.

I was given the grooved pegboard test for fine motor coordination assessment. The neurologist also did some tactual tests where she wrote on my hand and had me identify what she wrote with my eyes closed.

A history of social impairment was recorded.

Several different tests measuring visual and auditory memory were administered like the Rey-Osterrich Figure and Judgement of Line Orientation.

If you go to www.nldontheweb.org and look under Rourke, you will see his protocols and what he uses for diagnosis.

Another excellent site is www.nldline.com.

Debbie M.

Debbie,
Thanks so much for your help. I’ll follow up on all the info.

Mamm:

WISC was used to diagnose mine. The thing to remember with tests with LD is that they do not always give a good indicator of what the extent of NVLD or LD has affected the kids. The kid may be upset, worried, frightened etc. on the day of the assessment so it is not always a clean read. See if your district would consider other ways besides that test to get a reading.

Being a current student, I was wondering what your take is on the differences between NLD and other specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia. I think my son fits the description of dyslexia more than NLD, yet the school wants to classify him as NLD.

Any clarification would be helpful. Others on the board have tried to explain it, I am just not seeing where they are getting this from.

Thanks

My older son is 10. My younger son is 7 (he is a carbon copy of his brother with LD issues).

I truly believe, from all that I have read, that he (and his brother) are dyslexic and not NLD.
I have gone back and forth because like you say, some of the symptoms of dyslexia mimic NLD. But he just does not have the social or gross motor problems.

His problems center around academics, not the world around him. I also read on a post somewhere that anxiety can be misread as characteristics of NLD. And that is my son. But his anxiety is limited to certain situations (mostly when dealing with academics). I think he is being misread by the testers because the testing makes him extremely anxious. When he gets anxious he gets confused easily and the frustration become evident right away. Then the tears.

I am meeting with the school on Tuesday (our meeting keeps getting pushed back) and we will talk about the latest round of testing. I think they want to classify as NLD because of the visual perception issues and the fact that they have no idea who he really is. I think the clincher was when the anxiety took its toll this year that required him to see a private psychologist. I think they jumped on the chance to then nail it down as NLD since emotional distress is secondary to NLD as they get older. The fact of the matter is (and the psychologist agrees) that since he is reading at a 3.1 grade level (in 5th grade) he knows he is not on a level playing field in his classroom. That’s what’s causing the anxiety. Not confusion about the world around him like in a case of NLD.

They also absolutely REFUSE to use the word dyslexia and auditory processing deficit is out of the question as well. I took my son to the neuropsych because I just knew he had auditory issues that were not being, the SPED director told me, even if you find out he has it, it will not change the way that we service him.

Thanks for your response. I love to get as many opinions as possible, whatever the level of expertise.

I will post the results of my meeting with the school, since I’m sure I’ll be exasperated and exhausted with them as usual. Oh wait, I’m supposed to think positive when I go in, silly me!!!

Since you have the combination of NLD and dyslexia, I should ask YOU what the difference is.

Why do you feel that the NLD causes you the most difficulty? I would be interested in knowing what your difficulties are (if you don’t mind) that you feel that the NLD is more of an issue for you. What specifically would you say defines you as NLD rather than dyslexic first.

Thanks in advance.

Please don’t apologize. I thank you for taking the time to reply.

What a great explanation and a lot useful information.

I hope this isn’t offensive to say, but from the way you write and organize your thoughts, I would never guess that you had a disability.

It gives me much hope that my son my be able to express himself as well as you do in the future.

Best of luck to you and thanks again.

Hi,
Thanks for posting your conversation on the web. My son, 12, was just diagnosed with NVLD. Partly it’s scary, but parly it’s a relief because it explains a lot.I have so many questions. The social piece scares me the most.The testing psychologist recommends he be in one on one psychtherapy.I am wondering if he belongs in a group with other kids with NVLD or a psychologist with that particular expertise. Any ideas?
Thanks,
J.R.

Hi,
Thanks for posting your conversation on the web. My son, 12, was just diagnosed with NVLD. Partly it’s scary, but parly it’s a relief because it explains a lot.I have so many questions. The social piece scares me the most.The testing psychologist recommends he be in one on one psychtherapy.I am wondering if he belongs in a group with other kids with NVLD or a psychologist with that particular expertise. Any ideas?
Thanks,
J.R.

Hi,
Thanks for posting your conversation on the web. My son, 12, was just diagnosed with NVLD. Partly it’s scary, but parly it’s a relief because it explains a lot.I have so many questions. The social piece scares me the most.The testing psychologist recommends he be in one on one psychtherapy.I am wondering if he belongs in a group with other kids with NVLD or a psychologist with that particular expertise. Any ideas?
Thanks,
J.R.
little lulu wrote:
>
> Please don’t apologize. I thank you for taking the time to
> reply.
>
> What a great explanation and a lot useful information.
>
> I hope this isn’t offensive to say, but from the way you
> write and organize your thoughts, I would never guess that
> you had a disability.
>
> It gives me much hope that my son my be able to express
> himself as well as you do in the future.
>
> Best of luck to you and thanks again.

My understanding is, at least in Pa, dyslexia does not qualify for services but LD does. So, even if he is dyslexic he may be getting help under another catagory.

To my understanding, dyslexia qualifies for services at the federal level. States and schools may not take “away” from what qualifies at the federal, but they may add to.

So, anyone with dyslexia qualifies for services because IDEA (federal law) guarantees it. States and schools cannot say no to this.

My 8 year old has the behavior of a person with extremely mild NLD - fine motor stuff, social skills stuff, rigid personality etc. But the academic problems of a dyslexic. And academic and cognitive strengths that really don’ t sound like NLD. And anxiety (who wouldn’t?) that could also be responsible for some of the behavior.

We are tackling the big issues (reading!!) as they come, trying to keep an eye on what may be down the road. I’ve made my peace with him not having a diagnosis.

It really depends on his issues and what services are available in your area. I’d ask the psychologist who tested him for clarification. Just make sure that you obtain the services of a therapist (for 1:1 or group therapy) who has a good grasp on this and other developmental diagnoses that impact on social skills. The therapist needs to understand that your child is struggling in some social-emotional areas due to underlying neuological “glitches”, not necessarily family dynamics, inner conflict etc (although of course they can come into play as well). He needs to learn to compensate for his vulnerable areas by relying on his strengths and using particular strategies. Good luck.

Hi, my son was recently diagnosed with NLD too. He is 9, and I agree, it is scary and overwhelming, but what a relief too! Such a seemingly disparate set of symptoms and difficulties. My biggest worry is self esteem and social stuff. My son is seeing a psychologist but it’s early, so I can’t tell you if it’s going to help, but he likes having someone to talk to other than Mom. I have been the only one listening for so long. He also attends The Academy, a place in Newton MA that specializes in small groups of kids with social competence troubles. They have been esp helpful. If you can find anything like that where you are I’d recommend it highly. I’D LOVE TO FIND AN NVLD SUPPORT GROUP, esp on the web. Do you know of any?

Go to NLDontheWeb.org - they have a chat room on Wednesday nights - and a great forum in delphi.