Colleges with comprehensive disabilities produce more successful stories for students with disabilities however the unfortunate thing is sometimes the students who would benefit the most from this support get rejected. There are many reasons why students can be rejected. Often the simple but disappointing reason is that their IQ score is regrettably below what the admission teams require. However, it can also be because the student didn’t make the right academic and personal decisions. This can be very disappointing as often their decisions come from the recommendation of their IEP teams. In this piece, I will offer advice based on my personal experiences to help you have the best chance to be accepted into these schools and programs. Read More
Math was always challenging for me when I was growing up. I had so many math tutors. I remember one day I had 3 of them come at different times to help me with my homework. That was too much for me that day but it did help a lot. It made it easier so I wasn’t so frustrated with myself all the time and crying because I couldn’t get it. And I didn’t understand why it was so challenging until I was in college and got diagnosed with NLD at age 19.
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The title, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, can have some misconceptions. I’ve even been told numerous times, “Oh but you talk so well.” In reality, I can’t read non-verbal communication such as body language, facial cues, etc.
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‘I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
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While I am not a special education teacher, I have a deep understanding of what students need. This understanding comes from remembering all the techniques and methods that my teachers, therapists, and coaches used with me over the years. Their willingness to work with me differently compared to other students truly contributed to my success, as the reality was that an NVLD has different needs than others with learning disabilities. Read More
44 years ago, I entered the world as a child brimming with potential, the convergence of a sportsman father with an affinity for the natural world and a mother with a creative vision. Read More
Being 19 years old, living in a college two hours away from my home, and having NVLD is both good and bad. I was diagnosed with NVLD at 12 years old and ever since then, I’ve always been seen as the “weird kid” and I took that to heart and made it into who I am. Read More
I am the parent of an amazing 13-year-old boy who loves all things aviation, enjoys being with family, has a great sense of empathy for others, and also has a nonverbal learning disability. As a learning specialist, I’ve focussed my career on helping students reach their potential and I’ve preached for many years that it’s not about the label, the diagnosis doesn’t define the child. Yet here I sit today, desperate for a diagnosis, a label, a formula, a treatment plan… or even just an understanding of the challenges my son faces every day. The truth is, without the diagnosis, the blame is projected onto the child and the focus becomes what they can’t do. A neuropsychological evaluation can certainly shed some light on the why behind the can’t, but without a diagnosis (or at least an accurate one), the child is entitled to very few services and is often labeled as inattentive or behavioral.
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Have you ever had the awareness that you misunderstood a situation, in hindsight?
After 66 years of lived experience with non-verbal learning disability, selective mutism, and autism, I know what it is like to misunderstand and be misunderstood.
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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. Read More