While there are several excellent colleges that have structured learning support programs for students with an NVLD and other learning disabilities, many who could greatly benefit from these programs get rejected from them. I believe a common reason for rejection is because the students don’t take enough challenging courses and their application doesn’t include enough non-academic activities. I believe one of the reasons for this is school counselors and resource room teachers don’t think the extra pressure this puts on students is necessary which through my own personal experience I know this isn’t true.
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Looking back, I remember the difficulty I had making and keeping friends. I remember the challenges I had in various social situations as well. Despite all of the quirks, I spent so much time trying desperately to change myself in one way or another. I would change the way I was dressed to blend in with various social groups, however my social skills (or lack there of) would give me away and they would soon discover that I was not who I was trying to be. Read More
2022 started at an all time low for me. I’ve had many lows over my young adult years with mental health and illness (I am now 27 years old), but things didn’t truly start to change for me until I hit the deepest of rock bottoms. I was hating myself, driven to a mental health crisis that ultimately landed me in the hospital for a week. However, this isn’t a sad story. No. This story is one of resilience and triumph, and I hope that it helps someone else.
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I am 36 and was diagnosed with NVLD at 11. I have just recently retrained as a French and Spanish teacher, having worked previously for the UN and the private sector. I find working within a structure of a school (fixed timetable, holidays) best supports my NVLD and having a mentor to check in with too. After all these years I am still coming to terms with having NVLD and getting the support I need within a working context.
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My name is Daniel and I am a 22-year-old living with NVLD. This diagnosis is under the ASD umbrella.
NVLD has been a constant in my life and was detected when I was 10 years old and in 5th grade. My case of NVLD is quite interesting, I am above average with my conversation skills though my not understanding of non-verbal social cues is a challenge for me it is something I’m working to overcome. An interesting fact is that my reading skill is above average for people my age.
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Welcome back to another blog of mine, this time we’re going off the last blog I wrote which was sometimes if I feel down it can turn me bitter and that has happened as recently as September. Read More
Language can be an angry beast in the way that it shapes a person’s existence. When a child receives a learning disability label at an early age, the language used already pre-determines a child’s worth and what they can and cannot do. Words and language have significant weight, common ways to describe one’s learning disability may include “low percentile” and “weaknesses”. As a child continues to travel through the educational system, the label travels with them, and outsiders draw their own assumptions based on what they may perceive. Read More
As a clinician, I became aware of nonverbal learning disability or NVLD in the 1990’s. At that time, little was known about NVLD and the impact it has on people’s lives. However, we now know that NVLD is unlike any other learning disability, as it affects several areas of daily functioning, while dyslexia, for example, primarily affects reading and written skills. By listening and understanding the challenges faced by my NVLD clients, I gained valuable firsthand knowledge and anecdotal information about the disability. Although the severity and areas of challenge varies from person to person, the symptoms are indeed present and the struggle is real. The personal stories and challenges described by my clients are fairly consistent and similar to the descriptions provided by current researchers in the field. Based on the accounts of my clients, the following are some of the most common symptoms/challenges reported over the years: Read More
Since receiving my Non-Verbal Learning Disability diagnosis as a young adult (along with diagnoses of Autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), I have made an important and transformative transition in my approach to navigating life. Rather than reactively compensating for my disabilities, I proactively accommodate them.
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College graduate, employed, married, and a graduate student with double master of science majors with 3.75 to 4.0 GPA. However, I struggle daily with day-to-day living. Visual memory and recall issues, visual processing issues, including visual-spatial and visual backgrounds, very slow at performing tasks, constant high anxiety, and fatigue due to high anxiety. I do NOT let my issues and disability get the best of me. I am creative, organized, and persistent. I have goals. I have a life. I move forward and persist each day.
Tammy
My name is Tammy and I am from MN. Have been dealing with Anxiety and Nonverbal Learning Disorder since childhood. I am a college graduate, married, employed, and a double major master of science graduate student.
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