I recently had my youngest undergo a neurological assessment because things were just not adding up. My 10-year-old has always been extremely shy. She was a late talker and walker compared to my older daughter. And things my other daughter was able to do just took longer for my youngest. In grade 2 her teacher suspected a language blockage but wrote it off because we are a bilingual household (my kids go to French school).
I had her eyes tested and yes, she needed glasses. Then I got her into the speech pathology program at the local hospital for kids under 9 but nothing “remarkable” was seen. Then by grade 5/age 10 I trusted my instincts and had her tested. She worked so hard but her grades weren’t showing it; she was having conflicts with kids in her class and was often either left out or made fun of, but unaware of what may have triggered the issue. Teachers noted inattentiveness in class sometimes, a reluctance to engage with other students than the 2-3 close friends. And on that, she relied on them heavily. She was feeling badly about herself saying things like she was dumb and stupid and fat. And was rarely invited over to other kids’ houses.
And now we understand why … and what a difference that has made to her in terms of her self-esteem. And we are putting in place strategies to help … my child is finally happy!
We have made it clear that NVLD is not an excuse, but rather a key to understanding why things have been increasingly hard and how to adapt.
I have shared the neuropsychological report with her teachers and her swimming and riding coaches – they all need to understand how my child’s brain works to know how to get through to her and help her.
Now it all makes sense! And now we have a path forward
Glenda
Mother of 2 girls. Step-mother of an older boy and girl, both of whom have some form of learning challenge. Step-daughter had a neuro-psych evaluation done at age 14 after failing 5/7 classes in grade 8. Older step-son was identified with a vision-spatial deficit in grade 1 and put in a special ed class but was never diagnosed tested or treated further. Seeing that and the impact it had on their lives, I watched my girls very closely – and my youngest exhibited similar symptoms to her step-siblings but less severe. So I took action.
I was also an old other having had her when I was 42. So the question or impact weighs heavily on my mind – what “caused” this atypical right brain development…
