NVLD

Some additional 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

looks like i goofed again w/ his scores upon further review

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 would def. pursue private neurological testing. You cannot make a diagnosis of NVLD on the basis of IQ scores. There also are kids who have right brain weaknesses/dysfunction who may not be severe enough for a diagnosis of NVLD. This doesn’t mean they don’t have problems but it may not be at the level of a syndrome.

Also be aware that the term NVLD can be tossed around rather causually. What you are reading on the internet refers to specific diagnosis while the psychologist most like is saying he has a type of nonverbal learning disability. I speak from experience.

My son was evaluated by a neurologist this summer for ADD-inattentive and elimination of Asbergers. The neurologist told me he has a right brain dysfunction but clearly not Asbergers. When I asked about whether he had NVLD, he told me “that is what I am telling you.” Now I had read the diagnosistic criteria for NVLD and there is no way he had the information to make that diagnosis. He had not done any testing or even asked about motor skills, for example. But what he meant was that he had a disability that was nonverbal in nature.

Also, do a search by name for Karen Randall. She has a child with NVLD and has been most successful setting up an appropriate environment for him. It is not a resource environment but rather an inclusion one with appropriate support.

Beth

thanks!….I’ll try to locate karen for more information. I am curious, how did you go about getting private testing for your son? How do you know who to go to?

The neurologist was recommended by the pediatrician. My son was having attention issues at school but the pediatrician was not sure that something else wasn’t going on. In other words, he didn’t present like a classic ADD case and he wanted to be sure before medicating him.

I think a neuropsychologist would be more useful though in really sorting out what is going on with your child. I started down that path this summer, feeling dissatisfied by the neurologist’s general comments. I would try to locate other parents who are satisfied. Perhaps you can find an advocacy group. I called local Chadd organizations because many kids with ADD get neuropsych exams. I also found a special education lawyer and emailed her. I called special ed type schools. I then interviewed people over the phone.

There also are some sites for NVLD and one of them (can’t remember which) has a list of places that specialize in it. There were none in my state but maybe there is in yours.

Beth

Beth

Thanks again, I will check it out. I was reading some of Karen Randall’s posts regarding the subject of private testing and found that it could take a while to get in w/ a Neurophyscologist. Thanks for the advice, I’ll start w/ Chadd and go from there. Wish me luck!

Rosemary

Rosemary: where are you located? I can recommend private testers in Wash. DC/Baltimore area. Not cheap but worth the info.

When my daughter was originally evaluated, the pediatrician sent us for a “full developmental workup” we had neurologist, speech eval., OT eval., psychoeducational eval., the neurologist looked at it all, figured it was NLD or Aspergers, and sent us for full neuropsych that confirmed NLD.

NLD presents in many different ways, and has many different components that can vary greatly from one person to another.

Hope that helps.

Barbara:

We are in PA about 30 miles west of Phila. Baltimore is certainly do-able, but I hope we can find someone closer.

Curious - does your daughter exhibit the motor and social deficits? Do you know of kids that have been diagnosed NVLD without these components?

Also, are NLD and NVLD one and the same?

Rosemary

I would consider traveling for someone really good but another idea is to call these people and ask if they would have anyone they would recommend in the Philadelphia area. You never know.

NLD and NVLD are the same thing.

Beth

Hi Rosemary,

My son has NLD or NVLD - yes, they are the same. I had a full eval done for him by a local center that does the full range of psychosocial, psychological, educational and medical testing. It is affiliated with the State of Virginia.

My son has a range of comorbid disorders (auditory processing, inattentive ADHD, anxiety as well as the NLD), but he does exhibit the social deficits and the motor skills problems. We have testing that bears that out from the psych eval. With that eval we got the “probable” ADHD diagnosis - and were sent to a neurologist - where we got the EEG, EKG, and meds for confirmed ADHD. After more research, I discovered that all my son’s testing bore out the NLD diagnosis, and contacted the psych who did the original eval. He confirmed it based on his original testing - but said it was “less specific.” However, since my son fits so much of that profile, it was a real eye-opener for me - plus it was tied up into one neat little package, with lots of info available in book and on the web, that helped me understand my son better.

There is a very simple checklist for NLD at the nldontheweb.org site - go into “Assessment.” There are two checklists there - one is a very simple and straightforward list of questions. This site also has a lot of good information re: NLD if you haven’t visited it yet.

Lil

Rosemary,

When you mentioned how your son is oblivious to time I thought maybe you should read the following article and see if some of it fits.

Spatial Relations and Learning
this article has been posted courtesy of the ARK Institute of Learning
by Carol Stockdale and Carol Possin, Ph.D.
http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/teaching/stockdale.html

Helen

We found our neuropschologist through word of mouth- I asked our speech therapist and some other psychologists I knew. A neuropsych eval is really the way to begin. You don’t want to go in assuming you know what the diagnosis is - there are many different reasons kids may perform or behave in a certain way.

Also, kids who are “dyslexic” which is clearly a language disability often display many of the same fine motor/ social skills problems that NVLD kids do.

Rosemary, I have on hand an online brochure that outlines what NLD is and consists of. Here’s the URL:

http://www.geocities.com/zorrothefox2000/nldbrochure.html

Yours truly,
Kathy G.

Probably doesn’t have the difficulties usually associated with NLD because his nonverbal score is in the average range, therefore you may not find difficulties that stick out like a sore thumb. Often you are more apt to find relatively average verbal and nonverbal well below. Now, this does not account for the subtest scores and that can certainly change the picture.

I do know that the block design is typically low in a more typical NLD pattern, indicating weak visual-spatial abilities. This also usually affects math and often reading comprehension. He does not have that difficulty, hence you don’t see a more classic NLD pattern.

Look under google for articles on dual exceptionalties, twice exceptional and gifted learning disabilites.

Bring these articles to the school. Your child will fail as long as he is not challenged. They REALLY need to focus on his gifts.

My son does not have scores as high as yours but he has some real strenghts. He was also in a situation where the curriculum was dumbed down and he was doing poorly. I explained that he needed to be in a regular class which he now is. He is doing much better. They thankfully gave him a teacher who is laid back and kind. She just wants to see him progressing which he is by leaps and bounds.

In the other class he looked like a kid who couldn’t do anything. Removing him from the setting was the best thing I ever did for him.

PS. I truely believe that he would not be doing as well as he is without interactive metronome.

Thanks for the info, checking out some articles on dual exceptionalities now. I think what we really need to do at this point is get neuropsychologist to test him.

Beth:

Thanks, I’d love to call this Dr. you have and see if they can recommend someone in this area. I’ll probably ask the pediatrician and the psychologist we’ve taken Robert to and see if they have any recommendation.

Rosemary

Barbara:

Would you mind passing on the names of the Drs. you went to in Baltimore/DC area? Perhaps they can refer someone in my area.

Rosemary

That’s a great way to start. In our case everyone came up with one name - but you couldn’t get into see that person for over a year! But he had other names… and so on.

When looking for a tester make sure it is someone who has experience testing for gifts and deficits. You need to define both. Otherwise your child will be stuck with a label which only provides the schools with an excuse for why he is failing. In other words it is not the school’s problem, it is the child’s problem.

I would bet if they remediated the basics (reading and math, writing can wait for now) and then just allowed him opportunities to showcase his gifts, you would have a different child on your hands.

Mel Levine says, “Success is a vitamin.” All kids desperately need success.