As 2020 is almost over, it has made me realize how important having strong personal relationships are to help you navigate life. Personally, I can’t imagine going through the pandemic without the wonderful connections I have. While this can be done, it is difficult for many with an NVLD. These times remind us how they are as important as gaining academic skills. Read More
My name is Danielle and I am a 27 year old adult with a nonverbal learning disability. I was diagnosed in February of 1999, two weeks before my 6th birthday. At that time, not much was known about NVLD and it wasn’t that common, especially in girls. I am fortunate enough to have grown up just outside of Boston where we had access to world class doctors and specialists.
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Neuroatypicals find themselves repeatedly a square peg in a round hole especially in academic settings. That is to say the traditional style of education does not quite meet their unique needs. They may never “master” the standard in a classroom. However, they may exceed the standard at a later time through self-teaching or other non-traditional means. This is extremely true in case of learning a new language. I am a classic example of this dichotomy. Read More
“Again, he must be open in his hate and in his love; for concealment shows fear.” Aristotle, The High-Minded Man
Two of my ex-boyfriends from my college days, both brilliant engineers with incredibly broken spirits themselves, loved labeling me as ‘weird’ and would call me that when they were irritated with me. I dated one right after the other, and both could not stand how NVLD had shaped me, snapping ‘Stop acting weird!’ more times then I can remember.
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One of the hardest things about having an NVLD is that you are more likely to be underestimated compared to other Learning Disabled students. Because so many face diverse challenges, it can be harder to see our strengths while our weaknesses are more noticeable. Over the years this often happened to me. Read More
“I can’t do that,” I said, while sitting in the snow.
My hand reaching out to my ski instructor, hoping to be helped up.
I was a child, probably second grade, in my school’s downhill ski program at the local mountain in town. Skiing was very challenging for me, but I grew up in a northern rural town where everyone skied, so I was going to learn one way or another. After last season on the bunny slope, I was finally capable of snowplow/pizza skiing down the full mountain. But I wasn’t fully steady on my skis yet. Read More
Growing up with an NVLD in a rural town brought a mixture of positives and negatives. On the positive side, I could really go after my dreams. On the negative side, I was alone as the harder path wasn’t that encouraged. However, now in adulthood I certainly understand how helpful this was. Read More
Recently, I turned 30. Eek! 30! I know, such a large milestone. I’m still trying to adjust and comfortably say, “I’m 30” out loud when people ask my age. I’m still trying to mentally process where my 20’s went! I thought by writing this blog and reflecting on my 20’s, it would help give reassurance to others with NVLD in their 20’s. My 20’s were a roller coaster! Full of so many ups and so many downs.
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To this day I can remember the looks of frustration on school teachers’ faces when I was grasping the content they were teaching. I can also recall the hours spent in specialized education programs and the stigma associated with that, especially as an adolescent who wanted to be anything but “different” than the rest of his peers. As a child, I did not know what was wrong with me or why I was struggling to learn in the same manner as my peers. All I did know was that for some reason, I didn’t fit in. Read More
Over the years I have thought about my accomplishments and what I have learned is my senior days are more special than I ever realized. Since now I see daily how few people with an NVLD or similar disability get to have this experience Read More