NLD Information and Support Thread

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aee this one:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A_survival ... c_spectrum

I have read that it's good to have a provider who is certified by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America.

You can find places certified by the above here: http://www.resourcenter.net/scripts/4Di ... earch.html?
Just use the state criteria like it says.
not sure if it matters if one is EEG certified but perhaps call ones with both certifications

why certify:
http://www.bcia.org/associations/5063/f ... y%20bw.pdf

I agree NLD is on the autistic spectrum. assuming someone didn't know about NLD, but did know about the disorders normally on the spectrum, if not AS couldn't it usually be PDD-NOS?

Thanks Lostinspace...

Having this sticky post has allowed me to have enough info to safely say that what I've dealt with most of my life is NLD. Never even heard of this till my sister had her oldest child diagnosed with it. He is fortunate in attending a school geared towards NLD children.

Likely have ADD as well despite the overlap. Half the battle seems to be understanding what makes us tick. The other half may be relating that 'ticking' to the rest of the world.

Cheers,
Philski

Hi philsky and welcome to WP! Would you like to say more about the challenges you've faced along your life with NLD?

Sure... although not clear on where to start. Most of the symptoms listed I can identify with. Motor coordination early on; lack of Social skills; lack of ability to understand nonverbal communication; Sense of direction (getting lost); poor math skills; Executive functioning (attention, organization, planning, prioritizing).

I'm not sure what Visual and spatial processing is. Can you use an example?

Writing skills (especially organization of ideas) and reading comprehension once were an issue. Was sent to a summer school for a reading deficiency at 13. Was diagnosed with ADD about ten years ago which overlaps into some of these symptoms. Writing skills did improve over time and I consider myself a talented writer today when I can discipline myself to actually do it.

The scars I carry today have to do with the rejection, misunderstandings, condemnations, and many judgments imposed on me by an NT oriented society. The many relationships throughout my life that were aborted due to my poor social skills led to anxiety and depression issues since an early teenager. Often I would find myself utterly dumbfounded by how angry women would be with me despite my absolute best efforts to have that relationship work. Recently made mutual amends with ex-wife number two through emails. My sharing this NLD with her answered many questions she had about the way I was. She also had her part in it as well. Full forgiveness on both ends felt like a healing balm.

Turning 49 next month. The first half of my life was being a chaos junky. Always some kind of crisis in the area of relationships. Grew up with an alcoholic father who, imho was a narcissist as well. As a teen alcoholic, fortunately stopped my addictive personality from falling off a cliff by getting into a 12 step program at 19. The 25 years active in that and other related programs helped a lot but didn't allow me to feel a part of to any large degree. Found myself attracting individuals in that program that completely betrayed my trust. That is when I left. Still sober and drug free since 1981.

Anyways, I'm still learning about NLD and am interested in how others were impacted as well. Still to this day I don't read others non verbal cues. My partner has the same condition. Cognitively I've learned enough to get by in society. In other areas such as work or outdoor activities, I excel. I avoid any large social activities due to the immense amount of energy it takes to 'get by'. Just too much surrounding stimulation which overwhelms my system. Kind of like going into a Las Vegas casino with all the bells, whistles, dings, sirens, and people clammer. That's how it feels all the time in even modest social situations.

Bottomline, my life has never felt a part of anything in a deep meaningful way. Not being able to connect to other humans in a deep meaningful way feels like solitary confinement. A lot of cognitive learning to be better in this area has improved my sense of some connectedness, but there is still that void there that no one could truly understand me. I guess that's the long term effect of living with NVD undiagnosed and not known by me as well until very recently.

It is a relief that there is a name for this. I'm not a defective, unlovable, shame-based human that feels like an alien to the planet I live on. There are others that have the same challenges as I do. We all have challenges we are meant to deal with regardless of who you are. I think it's the human condition. We are here to grow and learn in this classroom called life.
I'm starting to philosophize so time to sign off.

Cheers,
Philski

Your symptoms sound similar to mine, Philski.

Thanks for sharing, philski.

I have strong difficulties with visio-spatial skills. It's the ability to see in your imagination a composition that is 3-dimensional. I have trouble finding my way, get lost extremely easily, and Spatial Geometry is incomprehensible to me. I'm bad at building things too. In general, imagining 3-dimensional things is very hard for me. I had trouble with Statistics in college too.

MMMMmmm... Interesting... Although it's taken awhile to develop my building skills, I've since become a general contractor and have made the visio-spatial skills a strong point. Wasn't born with it though.

Thanks for that; it's more or less my interpretation of the condition, from reason of my experience on Aspie sites, but there are differences; I've posted my e-mail, get in touch?

well I got dx'ed last week. my dx is in my signature.
though I didn't have a neuropsych eval which is required for an nld diagnosis. though i'd like a neuropsych eval since I'm curious and for a 2nd opinion. also to see what else i may have.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt88685.html

I've agreed to start doing the neurofeedback sessions maybe starting tomorrow. plus cognitive behavioral therapy. at the drake institute which i think i mentioned earlier

I think I have aspergers, but I am not aspergersy enough to fulfil all that criteria stuff.

(I just was informed there is a sticky on NLD, so here's my original post, since it will probably get lost down the road..)

Hello, I'm the father of a 9 year old girl with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. I'm wanted to know if anyone here has been diagnosed with this particular ASD?

It's very similar to Aspergers, with a few exceptions. While many with Aspergers/Autism have no trouble with math, my daughter just does not get anything math-related very well. She's in 4th grade and still can't do simple addition in her head. She also has trouble with time. She seldom knows what day it is, can't really tell you what tomorrow is going to be, and sometimes will ask if she has school today in the middle of the day on Saturday. Her short term memory (a few days or weeks) seems to get very confused, but she remembers things that happened years ago with amazing clarity.

She doesn't have the razor-sharp interest focus that some Aspie's have, but she does love to spend time organizing her things.. (stuffed animals, rock collection, lincoln log houses).

She uses what I call "snippets" in her speech. Little bits of phrases that sound like they have no business coming out of the mouth of a 9 year old kid.

She toe-walks, which could also be attributed to her mild Cerebral Palsy, but I've also heard that this can be an AS trait. Sometimes you just don't know where these things come from.

She also has been having a really difficult time recently with socializing at school, and sadly, it seems to be getting worse every year, as the kids get older, they seem to get more cruel, esp. the other girls.. She's just the kind of kid, so desparate sometimes to find a friend, that she'll fall for the same tricks over and over.. then when *she* lashes out in frustration, it's her fault. Instead of trying to educate the others, they put this all on her. As if she doesn't have enough to worry about!

We fear that Jr. High (in a few years) might be too much to handle for her and have been looking into other options, though the options in our area that we can afford are limited.

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this disorder. I know her particular place on the spectrum isn't exactly the same as anyone elses, maybe you recognize some of the issues listed above in yourself or someone you know.

Thanks,
mjj

Re: my daughter with NLD:

Verbal IQ - She's always been a great reader, and she has an awesome vocabulary.

Focus on details - While she's a great reader, it would be hard for her to summarize or find a 'higher meaning' or theme to something she just read.

Sarcasm - at a young age, of course, she didn't get it, but we've made a point to introduce her to the concept over the years and she's getting pretty good at it herself!

Literal thinking - we sometimes refer to her as "miss literal" - enough said!

Preference for routine and difficulty with novelty or change - she has shown this trait over the years, once she knows something is a "rule" she can become quite bossy.. esp. with other kids.

May appear naïve and gullible - this is one of her bigger social problems at school. She just doesn't get when someone is being her "friend" just to they can tease her. The school doesn't take this seriously at all.

Very prone to anxiety and depression - she's always been such a happy kid, but recently she's started to dislike going to school. I think the social issues she has is starting to get to her as she's becoming more self-aware.

I can't offer much advice, but I can definitely relate to your daughter. I wasn't diagnosed with NLD until I was 17, and it was really hard to be so different with no clear reason why. When I was your daughter's age, I was able to make friends through Girl Scouts, outside of my school. Getting her involved with groups/clubs related to her interests might be a good start. Maybe she'll have a better time making friends outside of school, since people will see her in a different context.