Who has is harder: aspies or NLDers?
It is case-by-case ting also. But te topic is rather about "general truth".
I wrote my "mature" Math exam really good, liked maps and video/computer games despite my general verbal thinking style. I do not have more marked scholastic issues associated with NLD profile. But I suppose that in America I would be diagnosed as just NLDer, not with AS(D)/PDD. I have rather flexible mind, do not like schedules, I am not "overinterested" in sameness. I think that "NLD profile" is something other than having nonverbal learning disorders (which are obvious scholastic problems). I think that "special interests" are not NLD traits and overlap between NLD and aspieness is "overestimated". People with learning disorders should not have scholastic skills as teir main strengths (I have).
I think that many "NLDers" should (or even have to) be (re)named as Aspies/PDDers, not just as people with learning problems. Someone can have NLD without marked "social ineptitude", especially in childhood. NLD can be a large problem even without Aspergerism. The term NLD is obviously misused in my opinion, which makes large confusion. I read about people with AS diagnosis who are married or even have children. "Classic" Asperger's is disorder from mildest end of childhood autism spectrum. Other forms of Aspiedom may be nottrelated to the syndrome described by Leo Kanner at all. I would name this syndromes as forms of Asperger's also. They may be "undernamed" as "social NLD", "social learning disability", "socio-emotional learning disorder", "social communication disorder". "Obsessive", atypical interests in childhood are clearly Aspergian trait for me. Someone with (especially milder) "classical" forms of Aspergerism is not "sentenced" to be less functioning than someone with "nonclassical" forms of it. It looks quite clearly for me that I have a nonclassical form of Aspieness, I was diagnosed with Asperger's and schizotypal disorder (earlier with OCD instead of it). I may be unable to be married. I do not want to live without family and I am afraid of it. I may have concentration and attention deficit disorders. My family is not so helpful in my problems. I probably have cognitive profile of "nonverbal learning disability". I have not excellent visual thinking and photographic memory. I am rather a verbal thinker. I think that people like I have types of "pervasive developmental disorders" which are not (so) well recognised. I think that the diagnosis of just "nonverbal learning disorder" and "emotional problems" would be obvious understatement in my case. It might lead to ignorance of my problems. People with so-called "NLDs" may have problems because of bad and misleading name of their sort of "aucorigia" (developmental condition characterised by autocontrast (uneven development - especially poor socio-emotional skills and anomalies in that area despite good intellectual skills) and originality (bizarrity, strangeness, being "odd")).
A post from the page: http://thepreemieexperiment.blogspot.com/2007/11/nonverbal-learning-disorder.html
One of the things that I've noticed with my daughter also, is that while she is able to read well, inference is a challenge. In addition, when it came to math - adding up rows of number was/is extremely difficult - she doesn't get the lining up of numbers to correctly add them. This apparently is pretty typical of kids with NLD.
Organization in general is a huge issue at our house. She cannot get the concept of organizing her things - preparing in advance, time management - these things just escape her. She (at 21) is like a tornado going through the house. My daughter has also received a diagnosis of Aspergers, although if I were to choose between the AS and NLD dx, the NLD is much more impactful, as it permeates such a large portion of her life skills. I do not foresee her being able to live independently. It would be nice if there were an "assisted living" arrangement for adult kids with her abilities/disabilities - she is able to drive, attend school (part-time) or work (part-time), but being able to handle life and all that it entails full-time, even with her high intelligence, is just not going to happen. She still has frequent melt-downs and is easily overwhelmed.
And she is one of those who definitely slips through the cracks due to her intelligence. She talks a good talk - literally! She sounds wonderful one on one. We have been warned by neuropsych that people will have the tendency to overestimate her abilities due to her intelligence which will cause her stress and lead to increased mental health issues. We've seen it with school personnel, who are clueless, we've seen it with social services (she did not qualify until adulthood).
As I've said previously - it's a fine line between encouraging her and holding her back so as not to overwhelm her. She is of the mindset that she will be getting married, having children (part of that pesky right-brained unawares.) One of the books I had read on NLD initially said that many "street people" have NLD. They are easily victimized due to their literalness, lack of street smarts, gullibility. Not comforting, I know, but living with her, I certainly can see how this could happen without appropriate supports and a family that understands this mindset (sort of).
In this article "NLD" appears to be named as worse than AS, although NLD is not classified as PDD/ASD. The picture of NLD from this text is "serious" - it looks for me as a pervasive, serious and complex developmental disability, not a specific developmental disability. NLD was associated here not only with serious problems with mathematics, but also with bad organisational skills, being naive and gullible.
I suppose that NVLDers can have tougher life because of the name of their conditions. NVLD can be worse than at least mild ASD. For me many NVLD cases are cases of PDD. I think that NVLD could allow a person to life on Social Security Insurance money. So-called NVLD can be really limiting occupationally and socially.
I have both, and NLD is awful. Can't do math, which kept me from going to a better college since I couldn't pass college algebra; struggle with reading comprehension, which prevents me from being a more well-rounded editor; have absolutely no sense of direction, so if the GPS is wrong, I will be up a creek without a paddle; can't memorize things worth s**t, no matter how much I study (except things relating to my special interests)...I could go on and on. NLD is an absolute b***h.
Wow...I didn't realize NVLD could be that bad. No offense. I passed College Algebra, but I've never even attempted math higher than that (took Trigonometry my senior year of high school...never done Calculus). I especially struggled with Geometry.....makes absolutely no sense to me.
Ever look at a list of Top 10 highest-paying college majors? Yep...they're all something an NVLD person can't do. Ever look at the list of Top 10 lowest-paying majors? Yep...they're the things we major in
ASPartOfMe
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Screw is one disability or condition worse then the other comparisons. Yes some are worse than others, but not only is it a waste of energy to compare, it creates negative energy.
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Plus rigid routines, circumscribed interests, often sensory issues, poor theory of mind, poor self-help skills, language/speech problems, self-injurious behaviours.
Poor self-help skills is part of (classical) autism, not of Asperger's. In fact, an absence of problem with self-help skills is required for diagnosis of Asperger's under the DSM-IV.
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Diagnosed with Asperger's at age 12 after years of being bullied without knowing why. Finally learned what Asperger's was actually all about at age 17. I'm a Carroll.
They face the same problems as aspies(they even experience information overload and can have some sort of "special interests") but also are unable to learn anything without a verbal instruction and fail at math.
Aspies without NLD are good at math and can figure something out by just seeing it even if they don't hear any verbal explanation.
An aspie can solve practical problems without other people around. A NLDer needs other people to explain him how something works before he can solve a practical problem.
[I refresh an old topic in which I have posted many years ago]
So I do not know if I am autistic or NLDer according to this description. I have information overloads and special interests which last for ages, but I do not have sensory overloads at all, I thought. I have only mild to moderate sensory issues, not severe or profound ones. Personally I think that pure NLD is clearly dissimilar to autism in social and behavioral aspects (in pure NLD there might be no social awkwardness at all) and that quite many autistic people have comorbid NVLD.
I liked maps in childhood and like them still. I had some interest in mathematics even in preschool age. My spatial orientation in environment is not very bad, but not very good too. On Wechsler IQ test I had the highest result in Arithmetic subscale (18, in my case corresponding to IQ 141, which is about 99,7th percentile) while I had the poorest result in Picture Arrangement subscale (associated with social stories, my result was 8 and it corresponded to IQ 89, which is just about 23rd percentile). My VIQ was 126 and my PIQ was 104 - it is 22 points difference. It is rather large difference, almost 1,5 SD. I had spiky profile. My full scale IQ was 117. In Performance IQ part my highest results were Block Design (14, corresponding to IQ 118 - 122) and Coding (13, corresponding to IQ 113 - 117). In Verbal IQ part my lowest result was Digit Span (11, corresponding to IQ 103 - 107). I had above 90% in high school leaving exams at advanced level (geography and mathematics) in 2010. But I was very poor in highly visual-spatial topics in physics (like mechanics or things associated with electricity), I have predominantly auditory verbal thinking - inner speech, endophasia. I was very good in chemistry when I was about 13 - 18 years old (chemistry became one of my special interests when I was about 13 years old). I had even just satisfactory (3 in 1 - 6 scale where 1 is the poorest (unsatisfactory) and 6 is the highest, better than 5 (5 is very good)) mark in first grade of my middle school in information technology when I was 13, I was never good in programming and I was never interested in programming.
I admit that I had Wechsler IQ test in May 2016 and the results were:
Arithmetic 18
Information 17
Vocabulary 14
Similarities 13
Comprehension 13
Digit Span 11
Block Design 14
Coding 13
Object Assembly 9
Picture Completion 9
Picture Arrangement 8.
Perceptual Organization Index 100
Verbal Comprehension Index 125
Working Memory Index probably between 120 and 128
Processing Speed Index probably between 120 and 128.
My results suggested schizoaffective disorder according to Rabin and Piedmont formula. I had Wechsler IQ test on day hospital. It took about 2 hours and was done with a psychologist.
I think my sister has NVLD, but it's never affected her functioning in the same way my AS/ADHD has affected me. It might be because her NVLD has never affected her emotional processing, so she doesn't get things like high anxiety, RSD, avoidance, PTSD or depression. In fact I don't think she even knows she has any learning difficulties, as she's never ever talked about it. She just wades through life without worrying about anything, even though she lacks confidence and some social skills, she doesn't seem to realise it.
She's never learnt to drive and I don't think she ever will, and she's only really ever been in low-paying jobs. She used to just pack boxes in a warehouse, now she's a cleaner and kitchen assistant. But I feel I have NVLD as well as AS, ADHD and anxiety disorder, because I'm also only good for low-paying jobs and I don't have a car.
I really wish I didn't have emotions, I hate emotions, as they're what holds me back more than anything else. If I had the same problems but minus the emotions then my life would be a lot easier. Although at the same time I don't want to take loads of meds to take my emotions away, as that'll just make me an emotionless zombie and not me. My stupid overwhelming emotions does make me who I am, but I'd still rather I was like my sister.
She spent the first 4 years of her life in her own world and crying her head off, and she was delayed in speech. Then in her 4th year of her life she suddenly became a very easy child and just got on with it, even though she was behind intellectually at school. Me, I spent the first 4 years of my life being a normal baby and toddler, developing normally and no speech delays, then all of a sudden in my 4th year of my life I suddenly became a problem child; lashing out at school, exhibiting behaviour problems, and having severe anxiety and poor emotional regulation. So it's like me and my sister swapped brains. I don't quite know what the f**k happened.
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My diagnosis story and why it was a traumatic experience for me:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=416910&start=1056#p9695026
Please notify me if there's a spelling mistake or an obvious autocorrect error in my posts.
I think that AuNLD (autistic NLD, pervasive developmental disorder with NLD skills profile) is relatively common.
I think that NLD/NVLD should mean only developmental visual-spatial disorder without autistic traits, without less or more subtle autistic traits. NLD/NVLD should be not associated with social awkwardness or behavioral quirkiness, autistic traits have to be not required for the diagnosis of DVSD (NLD/NVLD). Most people with NLD probably have AuNLD, not NLD without autistic character.
I would say that generally AuNLD would have it the hardest - both socio-behavioral impairment and visual-spatial weakness, "aspieness" without NLD would have it less hard than AuNLD due to balanced profile without visual-spatial weakness and NLD without autistic character would have it less hard than "aspieness" without NLD because of lack of awkwardness and quirkiness associated with "aspieness".
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Sounds like my sister has NVLD or whatever it is, but not sure if she could have mild autism with it. She's not diagnosed so I can't be sure. She's always had better luck with finding friends than me, although she did go through periods of a bit of loneliness on and off as a child, until she found a best friend when she was 12.
She was known by the school to have "learning difficulties", which sounds less "serious" than Asperger's syndrome. But she wasn't exactly slow-witted. Sometimes she spoke like an adult, rather intelligently, and had good drawing skills. I liked drawing too and often drew a lot of pictures but I always rushed mine, while she would take more care on the details.
We had very similar personalities, which is why I felt devastated when she found herself a best friend and kinda drifted away from me. I became the clingy one who demanded her to play with me, and my mum had to tell me that my sister was getting older and wanted to hang out with her friends. I felt so socially isolated and wished my sister had the same disorder as me so that I could have had someone to share my lonely adolescence with.
I secretly began to hate her friends for taking her away from me. But I was in the wrong because you can't stop someone from having friends. It wasn't that I wanted to stop her, it was just that I couldn't handle the way things were and I spiralled into a self-loathing depression. I hated being the troublesome Aspie with that stereotypical teenage loneliness and awkwardness that autistic teenage girls are often described as in Tony Attwood's books. This is because as an otherwise non-stereotypical Aspie it felt like I had regressed when puberty hit, then regained again after I had grown up.
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My diagnosis story and why it was a traumatic experience for me:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=416910&start=1056#p9695026
Please notify me if there's a spelling mistake or an obvious autocorrect error in my posts.
