How to know if you're NVLD

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I haven't made an introductionary post yet... but i'll let this one be that. I've had problems with maths all my life. Since 6th grade i've been terrible with math. My biggest issue has been without a doubt word-problems(which I still struggle to do and fail miserably at). I learned high school level maths slowly and steadily, (it took me time to learn it), but I learned it enough to barely pass.

Why do I think i have NVLD? I've always excelled at verbal things. English, language, history, sociology, you know it. While i've sorta scrambled through things that require logic and visuo-spatial abilities. I mean as a kid, I achieved all the mile-stones you'd expect, learned to tie my shoes, learned to ride a bike, I sucked at sports(Slightly clumsy), but I could catch ball and I could kick it. The only thing I really was terrible at was my handwriting and drawing. I've always been terrible at drawing and maths. Socially I was akward until I about young adulthood... where I learned to see social-contexts. My increased ability to see abstract things and focus. I still have problems with visual cues(like someone nodding to another person) but perhaps that's more down to attention than NVLD . But I can catch sarcasm, humour, hidden meanings. I can read maps and do tasks that demand visuo-spatial skills, albeit I might miss visual details, and some of them are only done slowly(like jig-saw puzzles, or fixing the door)

The reason why I i think I have nvld(or atleast a mild form of it) is because the huge discrepancy on the WAIS III test I had to do on the ADD investigation(yes... I have ADD). Which showed a descrepancy between the verbal index(120)and the visual-spatial index(86) by 34 points. Most of this was related to slow processing speed, rather than mistakes on tasks(my untimed visuo-spatial performance was just around average).


Things in favor of NVLD:
1. Poor hand-writing.
2. Poor drawing.
3. Slow performance on visuo-spatial things.
4. Don't always capture visual cues.
5. Abysmal at maths problem solving.

Things not in Favor of NVLD:
1. I have no problems with mental rotations.
2. I have no problems with gross-motor skills.
3. I'm not extremely detail-oriented.
4. I can understand abstract language, social contexts, atleast at a normal level.


anyone here with NVLD..... please share your experiences.

Last edited by Tiredrexus on 04 Feb 2014, 1:39 pm, edited 3 times in total.

hey, welcome. maybe you might have something like dyscalculia. I have the same problem as you but in English, in terms of writing. The best thing to do is to get assessed so you can get the help you need

nvld bump

That is a pretty big gap. I have NVLD (officially diagnosed), and my gap is 39 points, so it's pretty close to yours. You said it seemed to be due to slow processing speed though- so maybe it is related to your ADD rather than NVLD? Some of the other things you described are consistent with NVLD, and you don't have to fit every single characteristic in order to be diagnosed. For instance, I actually am not bad at math.

Have you always been able to recognize sarcasm, humor, and hidden meanings? I used to be terrible at recognizing sarcasm, but now I am pretty decent at it. I don't have issues with humor. If by hidden meanings you are referring to hidden meanings in social situations, then I am awful at that. I have a terrible time with maps, but I can do puzzles. How are you at finding your way around? Do you get lost a lot? How is your sense of time? (although with ADD it's probably pretty poor) Do you have difficulty dealing with novelty/change? Do other people around you notice odd things about you/wonder what is wrong with you? (my brother always says, "I don't know how you function!") Anyway, even if you don't meet every single characteristic, you definitely could still have it. Is there any way for you to get an assessment? It's easier to diagnose than AS I think because the diagnosis is based heavily on neuropsychological testing, so it's less fuzzy than an AS diagnosis.

Anyway, you kind of sound like me, even though there are some differences. I would encourage you to seek diagnosis. You don't say how old you are, or if you are employed. I have had a great deal of NVLD-related difficulty with employment, so if you are having issues, or if you are too young to be working yet, investigating NVLD might give you an idea of what kinds of careers might fit you better. If you are in school, you may need accommodations. Good luck!

Edit: Forgot to add that even though I did fine in math in general, I did have difficulty with word problems. I also had problems lining up the numbers for large number addition/subtraction. I had to draw great wiggly lines down the columns so I could see which numbers belonged to which column.

Last edited by LostInSpace on 04 Feb 2014, 1:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You might want to check out this thread- it used to be a sticky dedicated to NVLD, but lost its stickiness at some point

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt84443.html

The first couple pages of posts might be confusing because originally the thread was for voting on whether there should be an NVLD sticky. You should also know that NLD is an alternate abbreviation for NVLD, and that is actually the one I usually use, so that's the main abbreviation used in that thread.

I guess so.... hidden meanings... as in someone not revealing their intention or basically using euphemisms or down-right deception. I think as a kid i was defintely a bit worse at sarcasm and understanding humour. But i always put that down to being a little kid with an undeveloped brain, rather than an real deficit. I guess i might be wrong.

I can do puzzles, but it takes me alot more time than the average person. I can read maps(I had no problems with maps in video games like gta, or google maps or any of the not overly detailed maps i've seen) but i'll occasionally miss details f.ex.


No problems finding my way out... but probably sh***y in new places. I'd say I have decent mental mapping. But then i have nothing to compare with. But I have no problems getting out and into places generally, once i've learned the routes. My visualization is not terrible. Albeit i have no way of gauging what is normal visualization or not. But i can tell you that i can visualize things my head, even something as complex as human faces or cars. My ability to rotate stuff mentally is also normal. I can even fold cubes without huge difficulties. But my ability there isn't consistent(Once the patterns get more difficult... i have to literally fold parts and do my best to try to imagine them). But when i try to translate this into real life.... it's just... poorly drawn ugly lines. But works better if i do it slowly and focus.



It's half bad. sometimes accurate... sometimes off

I'd say i'm slower to it than others, but it really really varies. [


I'm slow, clumsy, forgetful. Thats what they tell me.


I'm going to contact the psychiatry here soon..... but i'm sure i atleast have a mild form of it.


That's what i find the most depressing about having these symptoms... is that it limits my career prospects severely.... and while i might be. I'm in Uni now. This scares me the most tbh.... I'm fearing failure.

My problem is more that i forget maths facts quickly... and find most math problems just difficult... and probably the thing i frequently fail at.

Last edited by Tiredrexus on 04 Feb 2014, 2:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Don't despair. There are plenty of jobs NLDers can do, even jobs you wouldn't ordinarily expect. It all depends on the individual. There is a great book out on there on NLD and employment:

Employment for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome or Non-Verbal Learning Disability: Stories and Strategies

It definitely is important to understand your strengths and weaknesses though when choosing a career path, because if you have NLD, it will definitely impact you.

Try not to worry about the future too much yet. The bad thing about becoming an adult is that expectations and demands on you increase greatly, so that your symptoms more severely impact your life. The good thing however, is that the older you get, the more you develop your skills and the better you become at compensating for your weaknesses.