I’m 75 years old and was diagnosed with NVLD six years ago. Going through school there was always a discrepancy between my verbal and math/science grades. Because having trouble in math wasn’t viewed as unusual in a girl it wasn’t a big deal until I started to apply to college. My high 600 in math SAT didn’t compensate for the 400 in math. However, any academic issues I had were mild in comparison to my work problems. I couldn’t coordinate the various parts of my jobs and my poor self-esteem was made worse by my inability to make enough to support myself. I was fortunate that I found a vocation that fit me 12 years before I retired at 70. Better late than never. Read More
I have always wondered as a child why I was different from others and struggled to be a part of everyone else world having to face day-to-day tasks at school and home with no support or help from SEN teams. My mother who wanted answers and help would consistently ask for help or support from many people in the sectors to help me never got any response or simply had no interest in assessing me. It went on for many years until high school and a noisy, busy, and crowded classroom full of neurotypical teenagers was my nightmare. Read More
I’ve posted before, back at the start of my journey post ‘diagnosis’ of being NVLD. One thing is to note, it is a journey – I was pleased initially to have an explanation of my challenges, and then later became frustrated as I realized the day will never come when I can play chess or win an argument. Read More
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.
Read More