As a child, I was always a little bit different from others; I did many games and activities alone, struggled to make social connections at times, was very resistant to change and new things, and experienced frequent anxiety around daily life. I tried my best to make new friends, as I felt it was important to do that due to being an only child, but often, people would use my kindness against me, and I ended up feeling left out. I had several wonderful friendship groups growing up, and I appreciated the friends who stayed, but as is normal in different phases of life, people drifted. The most significant time of which was in sixth form.
Unfortunately, the combined academic pressure, constant anxiety surrounding friendships, insecurities, and overall difficulty of this time led to burnout, depression, and ultimately a breakdown. I lost my close support system at college, ended up in hospital, and thought I wouldn’t be able to take my A levels. After this period of severe mental illness, and being passed around different medical professionals who all did not seem to know what was ‘wrong’ with me, and with huge help and support from my college, parents, and family friends, I was finally diagnosed with NVLD at the age of 17. It changed my life!
I was assigned a support tutor and an ALN team, as well as mental health support from the NHS. The teams worked with me, my parents, and my teachers to learn more about NVLD and how to make things work for my brain. I achieved 4 A levels and decided to apply for university, which hadn’t seemed possible even one year prior to this.
University was a challenging time, especially studying and moving away during a global pandemic, and leaving for a year abroad in France. I received truly amazing support, from new friends to wonderful housemates, to personal tutors and academic staff, plus the fantastic disability service and transitions team, everyone made a big difference to my journey with NVLD.
5 years ago, I had no idea that I’d achieve an entire degree, let alone A levels, and my confidence in advocating for myself and others, learning more about NVLD and the difficulties people like me face has grown exponentially. My main message is: your NVLD brain is different to others, but this doesn’t mean you cannot do things! You are so capable and worthy of help and support, and you will go far!
Eleanor
My name is Eleanor, I live in the UK and I have NVLD, as well as a few other disabilities. I am passionate about learning and languages, and pursued a degree in French and Linguistics, graduating last summer. I am interested in following a career in access and disability policy, working for change and fair treatment of disabled people.
