I was born with NVLD due to a likely brain injury during labor. I grew up with it unknown to myself, family members, schools, or professionals. It wasn’t even known as a category then. One sign of its presence was my precocious reading ability in the early years, probably as a compensating strategy. That continued into later school work and higher education. In addition were growing social skill deficits with communication issues. These continued through years of struggle, learning some improvements with various therapy sessions. I later ran into difficulties with my vocation, enduring a number of failed attempts over time (more on that below). Yet no one ever discovered any connection to NVLD until recently.
However, with my reading and research skills, I managed to complete two college degrees, one in health science, and later two master’s programs. One of them involved a thesis, probably the best work of my life. Now vocationally I simply walked into work with disabilities after career problems. That turned into an over three-decade span up to now in retirement years. There‘s another part of my life with a disability here, but no room for it now.
I only found out about the LD after being alerted by family about possible autism history. Following that, approx. ten years ago two separate assessments occurred and confirmed its presence. After that, I sought resources and finally discovered two to assist me. One is the nearby Amen Clinic, located in Costa Mesa, CA; the other is Brain Recovery and Injury Network— BRAIN— located in Cypress, CA. The latter involves both professional services and peer support. All of these resources have been helpful for socializing and progressing with NVLD.
H. Broadbent, M. A., M.Div.
researcher and board member, Disabled Resources Center, Long Beach
Henry
See above, a mature man living in a senior community, Leisure World, Seal Beach, CA.
