I recently joined The NVLD Project and it has allowed me to reflect on my past. The NVLD Project is an organization centered around bringing awareness and understanding to this hard to define disorder. I was diagnosed around 6 years old with a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. The diagnosis was something intertwined in my sense of self. My earliest memories are at occupational and physical therapy. There, I would have to hold a fork and knife correctly to eat an Eggo waffle or I have to pick up pennies split on the floor one by one. To most this just seemed like a tedious task but to me it was Hell. I wanted to eat the waffle my way, with my hands.
You see, the muscles in my hands weren’t responding to my brain properly. I couldn’t pick up pennies one by one using my thumb and my index finger. I couldn’t react properly or know how to adjust to a situation. I am not sure but I think this is where my anxiety stems from. I couldn’t rely on my body to listen to my brain and that was confusing for a little Catherine.
I think often on how my NVLD shaped me. I won’t say it defines my character because I believe we are a composite of all emotions and experiences. Though my experiences were seen through the lenses of my NVLD.
This next year as I join a team of young adults all with their own type of NVLD, I hope to gain a new perspective on life. I am excited to self-reflect and think critically on topic understood by so few and see my diagnosis through a new light through these amazing Ambassadors.
Always with love,
Catherine
Catherine
Catherine is 25, lives in NYC, and works in a big office with a view of Central Park. She loves exploring and trying new things. She says that having “an NVLD means things take more time, but that just means we get to enjoy things longer.” Catherine is a Project Social Ambassador.
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