The excitement mixed with a little anxiety most parents experience during a child’s senior year in high school. Mine is anxiety and uncertainty.
Seven years ago it was suggested my son may have Asperger’s. A few years later it just developed that he was simply on the Autism Spectrum. This was all unraveling while working on my Master’s Degree in psychology. My formal education, the intimate knowledge of my own son, and a gut feel persistently gnawed at me. The diagnosis just didn’t seem right. The pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit.
My supervisor introduced me to Non Verbal Learning Disorder. Almost every characteristic of NVLD fit my son. It was like a weight had been lifted!!!!
Now, what does a parent do with this information? Faced with the arrival of college next fall and the fear of setting him up for failure is it too late?
My hope is NVLD will soon be approved to be included in the DSM (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Until then, I welcome any suggestions from other parents or professionals.
Lore
I am a mother of a child whom I believe has NVLD. He has not been professionally diagnosed or tested for this. He has been tested in the over the years but NVLD never has been suggested. I am not sure if it is due to lack of knowledge or if it is not considered an official diagnosis.
I am searching for ANY help I can get. My son really wants to attend college but he struggles so much I am not sure he could make it through the first semester.
His grade point is roughly 2.5 and his ACT score was 20. He is a senior this year and turned 18 last August.
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