NVLD

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Interesting because my 6 yr old son who has a PDD NOS dx has also been referred to as possibly having a NVLD instead. (He also has ADHD) I guess he has to be a little older before a test will be reliable, but I do think they look at the discrepancy between verbal and non verbal IQ scores. Interestingly I don't think he can truly fit NVLD as he had a language delay at age 3 (albeit a milder one and is fine now but still struggles with pragmatics a bit. Funny but back then he seemed to fit the profile of semantic pragmatic disorder more which is sort of the opposite of NVLD I thought) I don't know...so confusing! I thought that people with NVLD usually developed language early and well, so it didn't seem like it could be NVLD to me. I think some psychologists used that term to basically let me know that my son's social issues seem more similar to those with NVLD (as in milder and maybe not as pervasive) as someone with an actual spectrum disorder. (even though many argue NVLD is on the spectrum) Of course all this is totally complicated by the ADHD. So when I have heard NVLD in reference to my son, I think it actually may be a misapplication of the NVLD term. (as in he is so mild he is more like NVLD vs. PDD) Is that accurate? I have no idea.

Confused? I am. Like someone else said, you might as well call it HDTV for all the good some of these labels do. I don't think my son is really going to fit in any one explanation. He is a puzzle...lots of things going on at the same time, and some sort of conflict.

Yes Sarah81 it is at least somewhat possible to improve my visual spatial skills.

Has anyone heard much about the NVLD-lazy eye connection?

l once read that it can develop due to the proper connections neglecting to occur in early childhood, l don't know how much truth there is in that.

l did have a lazy left eye that was operated on at age 5 and again at 10. l'm fine now lol. So, weak right brain activity, l guess since it was fixed l made more connections than l otherwise would have but a lot of crucial brain connections take place before age 5.

l don't know if the right side of my brain was weak and it lead to the lazy eye, or if some kind of abnormality in the nerves or development of the eyes lead to the misalignment which lead to the right eye being favored.

And am bad at spatial relations. Operated on at age five. Three operations by Dr. Kraft himself, world renowned children's ophthalmologist at sick kids hospital in Toronto.

When I had my MRI and Pet CT scan after the results of the neuropsychology testing it was suggested that I get an ophthalmolgy exam, but the doctor was satisfied that the Pet CT scan showed the reason why I have visual spatial deficits. In the past I remember the optometrist saying during my eye exam that I seemed to be looking very intensely at the objects in the exam and I know wonder if that was something unusual and maybe related to the fact that I have NVLD.

I was diagnosed with NVLD last year. My understanding of NVLD and autism is there are some common traits. For instance, I hate crowds and won't get on an elevator. I hate talking on the phone or having my picture taken. Children are a kind of STD. I am thought of as stuck up because I never initiate conversations at work and never go to work related gatherings, partly because I'm a celiac and there's never anything I can eat safely. But get me started on something I'm interested in and I'll talk all day.

My differential in verbal/nonverbal was 48 points, and I do have strabismus in both eyes. I've always aimed for big things but have had to settle for mediocrity since it seems most every vocation I've tried has significant right brained tasks that I have trouble with. Nobody understands why I have problems, so I hear "you've got to want it more" or "just try a little harder", "pay more attention" and other frustrating cliches. I have tried to explain my NVLD and people still don't get it. I had a nervous breakdown in the fourth grade. My reading and comprehension were on a high school level and my mathematical ability was zero. I had dyscalculia (dyslexia with numbers) and didn't know it until last year, forty years too late, so everyone, parents, teachers, classmates thought I was seeking attention or just not trying and I lost it because I was trying and could not explain what was wrong. I can all to easily understand why NVLD has a significant suicide percentage.

I was just diagnosed with it yesterday.

While I love Tyri0n's description "trapped in a cloud, driving down the road trying not to run over pedestrians" (it is actually very similar to explanations I have given people of walking through a fog), I disagree that people with NLD are NTs. I find I have many things in common with Aspies, and have had multiple people, including people who know what they are talking about (speech pathologists and psychologists) tell me I have some Asperger's traits. I don't think NLD is entirely on the spectrum, but I think it is related. I like the phrases "one foot on the spectrum" and "spectrum cousin". NLD is definitely more complex in terms of how pervasively it impacts your functioning than other learning disabilities like dyslexia.