My son, age 27, has NVLD. I do not have a written diagnosis for his NVLD as when he had his complete neuropsychological testing in 1998 that term was not used. His test results showed verbal spatial discrepancy of greater than 30 and WISC scores ranging from 5 on visual spatial tasks to 16 on isolated verbal tasks. (I am not a professional psychologist so I’m using this terminology as an amateur.). He struggled to get through high school and never formally met the high school graduation foreign language and math requirements. He did not go to college. He has had several minimum wage type jobs in landscaping and marine activities. He has no comprehension of why he can only get minimum wage jobs as his diagnosis has never been explained to him. I feel this is definitly hindered by the lack of a DSM diagnosis of NVLD. My son quit his job last week, and announced he must get a college degree to be successful. I don’t even know where to start in addressing this issue with a twenty seven year old young man, who wants to believe he is as capable as the next person, who could not sit still long enough for me to pronounce the words visual spatial deficit, but who verbally and in many ways intellectually is a lovely, strong, handsome young man who is totally confused about the world and how to fit into it and I as a parent am at a lost to help him.
Pamela
I am the mother of a twenty seven year old young man with NVLD. He does not understand why he can’t be successful in life. He doesn’t understand why he can’t go to college and get a degree like everyone else. He just quit his labor job and announced he must get a college degree to be successful. I am realizing for the first time that my son has no idea why he never went to college, he has no idea that he has a visual spatial deficit that makes math impossible, he has no idea that he has NVLD, he has no idea that although he is so bright verbally and in certain practical ways, there are too many things that he can’t do and you never know when they are going to pop up and end any dream you dared to have, which aren’t many at this point.
Share your own story
