Not sure how many others have come here with an NLD diagnosis, but I earned one after completing two IQ tests and being told I could not be given a score both times, each given by a different psychologist, and each test 10 years apart (ages 16 and 26, respectively, since I was failing to advance academically or occupationally in that time-span). Since I scored way, way higher on verbal, vocabulary, and composition parts--and then astronomically low on the Performance IQ part, which is basically spatial reasoning and perception, mathematics, and simple figure-and-block-copying tests--I had a 41-point difference in the two respective Verbal IQ and Performance IQ scores, when, I was told, the two typically were the same.
I always wondered what that was about, since I was always thinking, "How the hell does anyone do these things?" in some grade school subjects, while in others I was top of the class, which continued through college--and hence didn't actually complete, since there were always necessary courses on which I finally gave up out of frustration and discouragement. Still, I'm employed as an IT consultant and technician for a small hospital, so it's cool.
I really would love to speak with anyone else who managed this "Other" autism-spectrum disorder. Any tips for how to freaking cope with it would be awesome, since I strongly doubt many employers have even heard of NLD, even if they've heard of autism. It's kind of a pain in the workplace and can be socially disastrous (I can get that "sensory overload" thing, so I'm not so adaptable in high-activity places), as anyone who lives with it could vouch for. That's the worst part of it.
Anyway, it's nice to be here.
10 Aug 2013, 10:48 pm
