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Oct 20
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Spreading Your Wings, by Megan

By NVLD Bloggers

Sweaty hands, a racing heartbeat, a churning stomach and so many “what if’s” running through my mind. These were some of my thoughts and feelings when I decided to pick a college five hours away and move away from my parents for the first time in my life. I was 18 when I began college, and I decided to live in a dormitory. I selected a school away from everybody and everything I knew because I wanted to experience something new and exciting. I wanted a “new beginning” if you will, a new experience. I grew up in a small country town, and stepping into a city for the first time without my family by my side was nerve wracking. My family was very encouraging with my decision, and I’m thankful that I chose to leave for college.

Here are some tips I would like to share with other NVLDer’s who might also be moving for the first time:
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Oct 20
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Getting a Diagnosis at 66-Years-Old, by Barbara

By Diagnosis

My entire life was impacted by something that I couldn’t explain to anyone because nobody knew what it was. In those days, children like me were set aside and considered lazy and unmotivated. Punishment came from both school and at home, as if that were going to make a difference to me. I was lost, sad, felt abandoned and not worthy of love or kindness. My middle school years were perhaps the most traumatic years of my life. I had no support from my family, actually I was bullied by older sibling at the encouragement of my father.

I’ve been on a lifelong journey to discover what made me different. Not knowing, yet knowing that something wasn’t right. I’ve been from neurologist to therapist to psychiatrist and back again. I received a diagnosis of ADHD and thought that might be that, it wasn’t. Thankfully I had neurological testing and that is when it was revealed that my particular issues were not ADHD but in fact NVLD. I was surprised to find out that what was wrong isn’t even listed in the DSM-5.
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Oct 18
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The Importance of Being Connected, by Eileen

By Eileen, NVLD Bloggers

Growing up, my parents never kept me from being involved in the community and at school as they were strong believers that inclusion needs to occur in all settings. Through this experience I had a great group of peer and adult support and was never a target for bullying. Yet it still brought challenges as on occasion as the resource room teachers didn’t quite understand why I was getting the extra attention from peers and teachers.
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Oct 14
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Growing up with NVLD, by Matt

By NVLD Bloggers

I am 27 years old from NYC with NVLD. My childhood/adulthood was very rough. By the time I was 18, I went to 5 different schools. The bullying because of what I had was tremendous. The one thing that kept me sane and gave me a sense of escape was music. Through music I was able to perform in front of my peers and write my true feelings. I also was able to make friends and played in several bands and then ventured into the production chair. However, sadly my mom did not make me feel accepted as a person who has NVLD.
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Sep 28
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The Importance of Not Saying Yes to Everything, by Eileen

By Eileen, NVLD Bloggers

One of the hardest things about overcoming an NVLD is that you have significant weaknesses and unique strengths so you need to figure out how to manage the two. Due to this you should remember when making some decisions about your IEP it is okay to say no at times.  While having too many services and taking less challenging courses may seem beneficial, it can do more harm than good. Since it can negatively impact your self-esteem as you are reminded of your disability too much and you can feel you can’t achieve as much as your peers.
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Sep 22
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Leslie’s Story, by Leslie

By NVLD Bloggers

My first time stumbling upon this website, I was relieved. Hearing the stories on the main page reminded me of my own experience. I’ve always known something was off as if I did not fit in with the society around me. I always had a poor memory and I only excelled in subjects that interested me nothing else. Except under pressure I can finish a 7 page essay 1 day before the deadline.
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Sep 15
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Inclusion: Part B, by Eileen

By Eileen, NVLD Bloggers

In my previous piece I wrote about my biggest disappointments growing up in the small town of Ogdensburg. That was while inclusion was so important, there were always pieces missing. This is because they generally went for partial inclusion rather than full inclusion.

For example during my high school years we had C courses which were the least challenging and just for resource room students for English and Social studies. They included support of a resource room teacher, teacher’s aide, and sometimes a speech therapist. Due to these classes being limited to resource room students these students weren’t full inclusion students and for some students this was a mistake.
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Sep 10
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Inclusion: Part A, by Eileen

By Eileen, NVLD Bloggers

One of my biggest disappointments growing up in the small town of Ogdensburg was that while inclusion was so important, there were always pieces missing. Inclusion is so much more than just putting us with regular peers; it is giving us equal opportunities to achieve our full potential and to connect with others.
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Aug 26
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My Journey to Florida, by Ryan

By NVLD Bloggers

It all began when we loaded up my dad’s car and my car.  My car was shipped from PA to Florida. My dad drove down to Florence, South Carolina. It took about 8 hours. During the drive, my mom and I slept most of the time. I greatly appreciated my dad driving. We stayed at a hotel in Florence for one night and then my dad proceeded to drive to the Homewood Suites in Palm Beach Gardens. That took about another 8 hours. We stayed there for 12 nights until our apartment was ready. Read More

Aug 13
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Why Having a Coach and Athlete Relationship is So Important, by Eileen

By Eileen, NVLD Bloggers

While forming relationships with your teachers is especially important for an NVLD student, or any learning disability for that matter, it is equally as important for these students to have a relationship with a coach. As a coach and athlete, the relationship in many cases is more casual and you can have more heart to heart conversations about what you’re going through. The level of attention you receive is also so greater as your coaches have less teammates than teachers have students. Read More