NVLD 7 year old

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Hello, I have a 7 year old dd who has been dx with NLVD since 4.5. She was retested at 6.5 by a different clinician who was unable to dx definitively but I was told "aspie traits". She has lots of classic or seemingly classic traits of NLVD. She's highly verbal, advanced reader, sensory sensitive, socially immature, literal, poor motor skills, poor handwriting, etc.

I pulled her from public school after 6 mos of kindergarten as I saw that the stress of school interfered with learning. We have been homeschooling and it has been a much better fit. The area that has been a challenge is how to instruct her on subjects that she struggles in--math, handwriting, etc. Most of the curriculum out there is not for non-neurotypical child.

I am hoping to learn what kinds of curriculum and or methods have been most effective for other NLVD people and/ or their parents. Thanks in advance for your insight and help.

Things that help my son with handwriting are: a weight at the end of the pencil, a short pencil, leaning on a slanted board when writing, and visual cues on the lined paper. In his school, they use a program called "Fundations" and they use the terms sky line, plane line, grass line and worm line. Here is a link: http://star.spsk12.net/english/k3/handwriting_1.jpg

The sky line would be for capitals and letters with long lines, like "b". The grass line is where the letters lie. The worm line is for letter like "g", for the tail. The plane like is where you would cross the "t".

The weight can be bought online at: http://www.therapyshoppe.com/category/P773-weights-for-pencil-pen-weighted-pencil-writing-tools

You can also get a slanted board there, but just using a binder will do too.

It would help if you told us what her particular struggles in math are.

By the way, Welcome!

I'm curious, because I have heard of other kids I know with aspie traits also being diagnosed with NVLD. What differentiates NVLD from ASD? It seems like the term NVLD used to be used for a much different disorder that had to do mostly with writing, but now seems to be used in place of what was once called Aspergers or PDD-NOS. My (also 7 year old) was just evaluated for ASD, and I wonder if they will also say it is NVLD instead.

For me true NVLD is mostly "scholastic" disorder. This term might be even reserved to describe visual-spatial deficits, which "gives" dificulties in reading clocks, maps, graphs and other areas of Maths. Motor problems may be named as "dyspraxia" or "developmental coordination disorder".

Having problems in social interactions, being highly verbal, sensory sensitive, literal are not things which could be named as signs of "nonverbal learning disorder" in my opinion, but are signs of more complex condition than just "learning disability". They are traits of other conditions. For me maybe even most NLDers should be named as people with a PDD and be classified with people with (high-functioning) "typical" autism spectrum disorders, not with people who just have scholastic difficulties. NLD may be a function of "aspieness". I think that the name NLD underestimates the problem of many (maybe even most people who are diagnosed with it) people affected by it.

If someone has just problems in scholastic area (such as difficulties in handwriting or Maths), then this child can be classified as having just learning disorder. But when socio-emotional problems are marked, then I think that it is sort of a "complex" (or pervasive) developmental disorder which in my opinion has to be classified in one group with autism and not with "pure" learning disorders.

Social immaturity and marked impairment of nonverbal communications (such as significant troubles with eye contact, facial expression, interpersonal distances) are definately symptoms of different sorts of "aspieness", not "just NLD". Having nonverbal learning disorder should not automatically mean that a child has problems in socio-emotional area. NLD should also not means that a person who has it has to have well-developed verbal skills.

When a child has problems in addition problems with social reciprocity (such as "one-sided" conversations), "obsessive", atypical interests, odd customs and motor movements, then it appears to be a form of autism. People with NLD can be "normal" socially, at least before adolescence. It appears that some people who should be described as "autistic" may be misdiagnosed as having just nonverbal learning disorder.

For me social incompetence and emotional immaturity are not signs of a (nonverbal) learning disability at all, I would associate them with pervasive developmental disorders. Many texts about "NVLD" are just RUBBISH for me (those which subscribe socio-emotional disabilities and "weirdnesses" to NVLD).

I think that "classical" ASD is only one of types of PDDs and "autisms" and maybe even most people diagnosed with "NVLD" should to be re-diagnosed as PDDers or "autistics". I "hate" some definitions of "NLD". For me NLD is just a scholastic/cognitive disorder which is not a social problem when it occurs it its pure form, which may be quite rare.

Definition of ASD in DSM-V is "too strict" for me. I would coin also other, more inclusive definition of PDD than one from ICD-10, which would be rather about "emotional immaturity" or "weirdness" which start in childhood than about "restricted, stereotyped pattern of activities, behaviors and interests". Social "disability" and "emotional immaturity" are for me good indicators of PDD or even autism (in its various forms). I have another approach to naming developmental disorders. Language problems and rigid thinking (which are for me more "learning disorders" than social and emotional issues subscribed often to "NLD") may be even completely not present in PDDs and autism.

It may sound harsh, but for me some texts about PDD or AS(D)/NLD "case" are harmful stupidities. The term NVLD became highly misleading for me because of its association with social, emotional and sensory issues. For me most of "NLD" is just a subtype of "aspergerism", maybe often with another etiology and without genetic link to Kanner's autism.

For our daughter NVLD meant that she didn't understand non-verbal social cues: Ie.
Tone of voice (don't make mommy user her mad voice)
Body language including facial expressions
Social language - having a conversation with others

I explained it to people that is was like when you text someone - you don't have the visual cues for emotion or context so there can be misunderstandings and misinterpreted information.

She had to be taught these skills the same way other students are taught to read and write. She had a wonderful autism teach all through grade school who helped her. She also had speech therapy, occupational therapy, social skills therapy and adaptive physical education.

For me "nonverbal learning disability" should not mean problem with expressive and (or) receptive nonverbal communication (dyssemia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyssemia)). Having "nonverbal learning disorder" should not mean problematic developmental dyssemia. I do not think that dyssemia is a learning disorder, but it is something which should be not classified with scholastic problems.

Here is a presentation in which there is something about so-called "nonverbal learning disability": http://www.powershow.com/view/3cf424-OGRmM/Dyslexia_NLD_autism_powerpoint_ppt_presentation (pages 14 -

It could be rather named as "developmental automation disorder" (DAD), not as a "learning disorder". For me it looks rather as a problem with executive functioning than learning. The name "NLD" is bad, this condition is not a learning disability (learning disability is (or may be) only one of the consequences). "NLD" was named as "not a behavioral diagnosis" and there was written about " high risk for (secondary) behavioural problems but core problem is automation, spatial abilities, organisation..."