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Although it is not
yet recognized as a formal diagnosis with
agreed-upon diagnostic criterial, Nonverbal
learning disorder (NVLD or NLD) is usually
described as a syndrome characterized by a pattern
of unusual strengths and deficits thought to be due
to dysfunction in the right hemisphere of the
brain.
In terms of unusual
strengths, children and teenagers with NVLD often
have a history of early speech and vocabulary
development. They may have outstanding rote memory
skills and attention to auditory detail. They also
often have a history of early reading development
and advanced or precocious spelling skills.
As gifted as they
appear in these aspects of their skills
development, however, they tend to have major
deficits in other skills and aspects of
functioning. For example, while children with NVLD
can decode text with relative fluency, they may
struggle to comprehend what they are reading due to
difficulty in organization and higher level
reasoning. Similarly, although they may have an
excellent retention of material presented orally,
they don't always comprehend or "get" the
subtleties and nuances of language. Like their
peers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), they
tend to be very concrete in their thinking and
somewhat inflexible in terms of how they approach
tasks or handle transitions. Impaired in
problem-solving skills, they may fail to apply or
generalize previously learned skills to new
situations or materials.
The discrepant skills
development may also be manifest in mathematics.
Because of their advanced rote memorization skills,
they may find it easy to memorize their math facts
or equations, but when it comes to applying the
information, they may struggle, often displaying
poor visual attention to the various algebraic
signs. Visual-spatial deficits are also reflected
in poor visual recall, faulty space perceptions,
and poor sense of directionality. Indeed, poor
comprehension of visually presented material is one
of the hallmark characteristics of NVLD, and there
is often (but not always) a significant Verbal IQ -
Performance IQ discrepancy on intelligence tests
(with VIQ significantly higher than PIQ).
In general, children
and teens with NVLD may function relatively
normally when presented with verbally mediated
information, but they do poorly in coping with
nonverbal information. This impairment not only
affects their academic functioning, but also
impairs them socially.
On a motoric level,
students with NVLD also appear to be clumsy, and
many will have balance problems as well as
graphomotor or handwriting impairment.
Not all students with
NVLD will have significant impairment in all of the
deficit areas noted above. They may be impaired in
only one of these aspects of these functioning.
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