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Nonverbal Learning Disorders:
What To Look For
by Pamela B. Tanguay
As you review the characteristics outlined within this article, please
keep in mind that many of the characteristics listed under one heading may, and
often do, impact the individual in many areas of their lives. The hallmark of
those diagnosed with NLD appears to be their fear, and sometimes terror, of any novel
situation.
Cognitive/Academic
1. Generally the individual’s WISC
VIQ is higher than their PIQ, but not in all cases - particularly during
adolescence.
2. There is an excellent vocabulary and more than typical verbal
expression, starting at a young age.
3. Exceptional rote memory skills are quite common, and may
mask the disability in early education.
4. There is excellent attention to detail, but the individual will
likely miss the big picture.
5. The individual may be an early reader, OR may have early
reading difficulties. However, in either case, there is generally difficulty with reading
comprehension beginning in the upper elementary grades, especially for novel material.
6. Difficulties in math are common, especially in the areas
of computation, word problems, and abstract applications.
7. Concept formation and abstract reasoning may be significantly
impaired.
8. There is likely to be great difficulty generalizing information
- applying learned information to new situations.
9. Generally their strongest learning medium is
simple/rote auditory - if they hear it, they will remember it.
Physical
1. Physical awkwardness is quite common - they appear to lack
coordination. As a youngster, the individual does better in individual rather than team sports.
2. There is difficulty learning to ride a bicycle, catch and/or kick a
ball, hop and/or skip.
3. Physical difficulties may be more pronounced on the left side of body.
4. Fine motor skills may be impaired -
handwriting may be poor and/or laborious.
5. Significant problems with spatial perception are quite common.
Language/Communication
1. These individuals are very concrete and interpret information
quite literally.
2. Normally, they do not process or benefit from nonverbal
communication - body language, facial expressions, tone of voice may be lost on them.
3. They are unable to intuit or read between the
lines (impacting both conversation and reading comprehension).
4. Generally, these individuals have poor social skills. They will most
likely have trouble making and/or keeping friends.
Emotional/Behavioral
1. In all likelihood, they will have tremendous difficulty adjusting to
new situations, or changes to their routine.
2. These individuals generally appear to lack
common sense, or "street smarts" - they can be incredibly naïve.
3. Anxiety and/or depression are very common, especially during
adolescence. This problem may be quite severe.
4. Often these individuals suffer from low self-esteem.
5. It is quite common for them to be withdrawn, and they may actually become
agoraphobic.
6. There is a higher than normal incidence of suicide within the NLD population.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
References
Allen, Kathy, Star Shaped Pegs, Square
Holes, Unicycle Press, 1076 Lynn St., Livermore, CA 94550.
Antoniadis, Maria, PhD, & McCarthy, Kathryn, PhD, Social Skills Training for Nonverbal Communication, Nonverbal Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Bishop, D. V. M. (1989), Autism, Asperger's syndrome and semantic-pragmatic disorder: Where
are the boundaries?, British Journal of Disorders of Communications,
24, 107-121.
Bledsoe, Peg, MA, OTR, FAOTA, The Hand, Handwriting, and the Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Nonverbal Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Brumback, R. A., Harper, C. R., &
Weinberg, W. A. (1996), Nonverbal learning disabilities, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder -- should we care?
Journal of Child Neurology, 11 (6), 427-429.
Clarke, Sarah, & Antoniadis, Maria, PhD., Advocating for the Individual with Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Nonverbal Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Duke, Marshall P., Nowicki, Jr., Stephen,
& Martin, Elisabeth A. (1996), Teaching Your Child the Language of Social
Success, GA: Peachtree Publishers, GA
Foss, J. M. (1991), Nonverbal learning disabilities and remedial interventions, J.M.Foss,
Annals of Dyslexia, 41, 128-140.
Gross-Tsur, V., Shalev, R. S., Manor, N., & Amir, N. (1995), Developmental right-hemisphere syndrome: Clinical spectrum of the nonverbal learning
disability, Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28 (2), 80-86.
Hallowell, Edward (1996), When You Worry About the Child You Love: Emotional and Learning Problems in
Children, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Klin, A., Volkmar, F. R., Sparrow, S. W., Cicchetti, D. V., & Rourke,
B. P. (1995), Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36 (7), 1127-1140.
Koplewicz, Harold S. (1996), It’s Nobody’s Fault, NY: Times Books division of Random
House.
Kosters, Diane, PhD, Assessing and Diagnosing the Individual with Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Nonverbal Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Nowicki, Stephen & Duke, Marshall (1992), Helping the Child Who Doesn’t Fit
In, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
Osman, Betty B. (1982), No One to Play With: The Social Side of Learning
Disabilities, NY: Random House.
Petrauskas, Ray, Making Sense of Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, Annual Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario,
Toronto, Ontario, 1995.
Rourke, Byron P. (1989), Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: The Syndrome and the
Model, NY: The Guilford Press.
Rourke, Byron P. (1993), Treatment Programme for the Child with
NLD, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4
Rourke, Byron P. (Ed.), (1995), Syndrome of Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: Neurodevelopmental
Manifestations, NY: The Guilford Press.
Stewart, Kathryn, PhD, Psychological Interventions for the Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Thompson, Sue, MA, CET (1997), The Source for Nonverbal Learning Disorders
CA: LinguiSystems Inc
Thompson, Sue, MA, CET (1997), Nonverbal Learning disorders.
Retrieved October 4, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.nldontheweb.org/thompson-1.htm
Thompson, Sue, MA, CET, & Paton,
Judith, MA, Educational Interventions for the Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Nonverbal Learning Disorders Symposium,
Concord, California, April 1996.
Westhead, Eleanor, Blalock, Jane, &
Gregg, Kay Noel, The Nonverbal Disabilities: Dense, Dyslogic, Self-Defeating,
International Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, 1990.
~~~~~~~~~~
© 1998, Pamela B. Tanguay. All
rights reserved.
Source - This article first appeared on the web
site of ASC-U.S.
(formerly ASPEN
of America, Inc.), and is posted here with the author's permission.
About the author - Ms. Tanguay is the site owner
and co-developer of NLD on the Web!, author of Nonverbal
Learning Disabilities at Home: A Parent's Guide, a
member of the Advisory Board of ASC-U.S., and the parent of a teenage daughter
with NLD.
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