What Is Nonverbal Learning Disability? 

NCLD has developed the LD Checklist: Recognize & Respond tool to help spot the potential signs of LD. Take the first step here: ncld.co/LDRR. #Check4LD

To those who made this video, I would say it's pretty spot-on, but realize that some of our biggest problems (even with the social deficits) are our organizational deficits and poor time perception. Especially the way those last two couple together: it makes it impossible to plan out the day or even gage how long it will take to complete one task, let alone schedule an entire day.

I have NLD and completely agree. As I've gotten older my social skills have improved as has my critical and abstract thinking. I think it's all about getting the right education and learning how to use your strengths.

I have a nonverbal learning disability and every day is a nightmare. I come from a family that believes in pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and the level of frustration and disappointment from them towards me hurts more than they can ever know.

Few will ever understand the degree in which we suffer.

I love how the comment section is full of people that also have NVLD which means they are very articulate. It is truly comforting to see a bunch of people that can ACTUALLY form a sentence in the RU-vid comment section from time to time.

I had this, but was never diagnosed as a kid. The thing is, there's so little help for LDs like these that few people know about. Even if you do get a diagnosis, it means little. It doesn't mean that the schools, jobs, or even your own family will do anything to try and understand it and adjust things so that you can actually succeed within your natural capabilities. They just blink real hard a few times, and move on. On one hand, I'm glad to know this about myself, but I'm also feeling like it doesn't mean much when the only people that try to understand are a handful of professionals that can only work within their own narrow parameters. If you try to get a job that will modify their training to help you understand, you find that they meet that kind of idea with hostility. They see you as just wanting someone to hold your hand. In fact, if I had the chance to make up a colloquial name for NVLD, it would be, "the no one wants to hold your hand disorder." People just don't care to see that it's not about hand holding, it's about filling in the missing pieces of communique that I can't find for myself.

Getting tested and diagnosed with a nonverbal LD has been one of the single most important accomplishment of my young adult life. So many things about my childhood, adolescence and academic career totally made sense following the diagnosis and learning about how my brain works. I love my brain and I would love to be more in touch with others who operate in similar ways or who deal with similar conditions.

I've been diagnosed with NLD when I was a little kid. I knew what it was about but I never really knew what it really was. So I have been doing some research about the disability and I relate to almost everything especially the social/ emotional part. I was bullied when I was 12 because I changed school and I had a very low self-esteem. Being bullied made me feel insecure and now I've a lot of anxiety attacks. People laughed at me because I sucked at math and I never knew what to do or how to react to it. It's really interesting to see all the aspects on a paper and compare it to my situation. I changed schools so much that I learned how to interact with people it's still hard but now I've found my way. I wish I had more friends but the hardest part is to keep the friends you made. There are a lot of good aspects too for example my handwriting sucks so I never write when someone needs to write in a group, I'm very creative and I love to make stories and write them down also I'm good at playing music. I'm very happy now that I know where most of my problems come from but it doesn't mean that I don't have anxiety anymore or that I care way to much what people think of me. I wish I had more support from my family because as a kid they helped me through a lot but when I became a teenager they thought I was old enough to do it by myself but I couldn't. Anyways I just wanted to write that down and it seems like a good place to talk about it :) maybe it helped you x Also we nld-ers think wayyyyyy too much

10 years later. This video is still helping me for my exams. GREAT work sir

Love to see this disability getting more awareness! I have it and most people don't know what it is, don't think it is real/exists, or they ask me why do I have a disability because I look normal. I wish there was someone to have a way to get more awareness out there. I would support it with a percentage of the funds from my crafting business!

As a parent of a child with NVLD, I thought this was a good, thoughtful introduction to the disorder. Factual and accurate. Thanks!

I was diagnosed with NVLD when i was very young, elementary school. Just now excepted it. This is a very painful struggle for me. I'm so glad i found others who might understand.

Christopher Powell my son was diagnosed at the age of 4years 10 months old. He has known for a very long time and was not hit at the of age 25. My son and I have read everything Dr. Rourke has put out. His book left NLD-ers with little hope. It is what you live and suffer that makes you the expert. I am a cancer survivor. It was self determination that has made me want to live beyond what is marked on my chart.

NVLD is often a sort of autism IMO. People with pure NVLD are not socially inept so much and are not "creepy". I think that many individuals with pervasive developmental disorder are misdiagnosed as having just nonverbal learning disability.

By definition, NLD-sufferers are literal thinkers, hence also concrete thinkers that have difficulty with abstraction and improvisation into new situations. That's kind of the core asset of the disorder. I'm an adult who got hit with NLD at the age of 25, and I at least know that much from the literature.

Thank you so much for this. I was diagnosed at 15 years old. I am now 55 years old. It is a struggle everyday, but this is so helpful.

It was a real piss off for me as a kid because of the fact that I was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. My parents were told I had add and NVLD as a young child. My physique differences caused me a lot of distress as a kid as I was made fun of almost daily.My parents always instilled confidence in me, but never pulled me from the classes or schools I was being bullied at, until I reached the 10th grade and threatened them to drop out of school if they didn't change where I went to school. I then learned to cope by avoiding people and would only tend to cling to people who were in their own mental distress because I felt like they wouldn't judge me. No matter what school I was at growing up, my outer appearance was always judged firstly. I never got to make real close bonds with children who were healthy mentally and felt like I was always over looked and just medicated for ADD, which it turns out I don't have. I later in my twenties found out the reason I couldn't focus was because I needed glasses for a stigmatizm. I would get nauseous when I had to try to focus on anything up close for long periods of time. So I would always be looking up to try to get the sick feeling to go away. I only have a few things off of this list but, because I was diagnosed with this, my family treated me as though my opinion was not really valid, I was never heard out properly and that got me very depressed and angry inside and resented the people who diagnosed me. Also anytime I would go for a new assessment, I would mess around as a kid and not take it seriously because no matter what I did, they were NOT listening to me. My mother was the only one who took me seriously. Because my dad never listened I never had full trust in him. He really messed me up emotionally not ever trying to understand me as a person. If I would use the wrong words in a sentence he would just go with what I said and take it as I was just talking nonsense and get made and shut me up and end the conversation. Never did he try to ask me if I meant something else. He would just take offense to everything and never try to get to the bottom of what I was trying to say. I am bad at math but, everything else in this list I don't have other then sometimes using the wrong words in a sentence. I am very good at reading people but am scarred from a careless and senseless diagnosis! Thank you America for putting me and others in a box to try to explain the in-explainable. Sometimes we just have difficulties in certain areas, and don't fall into a certain category!

My stupid school said i had adhd when i was younger. When i was 15(im 16 now) they diagnosed me with nld and that made me feel much better

I have suppressed some of the NVLD in my life and mostly counted myself as weird. I am glad that I watched this and I really resonate with the view. This very well helps me understand myself now and others that I work with. Thank you

This is me. This is exactly what has been going on with me all my life. Thank you!

All the videos from LD are structurally easy to understand with the narrator guiding you touching upon just the right amount of information. I hope all parents or caretakers who home school take time to watch each video LD publishes, watching all is important because of the similar or the overlap of symptoms, they guide you in an informed direction,testing is so readily available. Parents often don't want to think their child has a disability, but believe me, your child wants to know

I too have NLD was dignosed with it when I was 10yrs old so this helps a lot!!!

who else got this?????!!! I DO

it's awkward when you don't fit all of the symptoms of an already little known learning disability, and especially not the strengths. though i don't think you have to and i wish that was clarified in this video. i'm not detail oriented, because i have adhd too. i don't necessarily have trouble with the big picture. i do have trouble with abstract, but only in math! i do have social problems and low self-esteem. i have always had an overwhelming amount of trouble with math. it's even gotten me held back. i've been told i have a large vocabulary ever since i was a kid. a change in routine can indeed be distressing. i can hyper-verbalize but other times i can barely talk. i am poorly coordinated and still can't tie my shoes well because it's physically difficult. i've always loved reading but reading comprehension is difficult and that sucks because people love to make fun of that. all of this has made me feel inadequate everyday, leading to anxiety, depression, and perfectionism. if only others who didn't have it would understand what it can do to your mental health to have a disability that's rarely acknowledged or accommodated. it can obviously hurt people. i hope those with this know that they aren't alone in this. i can get annoyed at that phrase but just know that you can get through it. there are others like you, even though it doesn't seem like it. i've never met another nvlder in real life. i wish resources on adults with nvld weren't so hard to find, though...

I was looking for resources after recently being diagnosed and I found this informative and helpful for someone that does not know about this other than the personal experience. Thanks so much, lovely job.

I recently just got diagnosed and honestly I’ve never heard of it until now, I’m glad I found this video so I can better inform myself about what I got diagnosed with.

I just recently heard about NVLD and I'm quite certain I have it. This video and other NVLD descriptions is like watching someone narrating my childhood. However I don't relate to all of it - it's mainly the academical part. I was great at basic math until I stumbled upon advanced math in high school. Rote learning seems to be the only way I can learn. But this becomes an enormous issue in environments where the problems aren't always similar. I don't have issues with sarcasm detection. If it's a familiar setting then I tend to be able to read others expressions better than most. I guess I've really practiced on this part? I also didn't find it particularly difficult learning how to ride a bike or swimming. I'm pretty fast. I was the best at table tennis at my school. However I suck at stuff that requires precision, steady hands, spatial intelligence, planning in advance. I suck at driving in unfamiliar roads, or following driving instructions. I have a hard time following instructions period.

I have NLD its a pain in the ass but with a LOT of work a good chunk of these things can be "fixed" facial recognition. I taught myself to pick up social cues things like hand eye coordination. In young kids it can be hell the social cues are just like being color blind I feel for kids who have to live with this

OMG I literally have this. I sucked at math (word problems) but was good at algebra and up which just involved equations. But theoretical physics sucked for me cause I could never picture what was happening. I suck at all things coordination - choreographed dance, riding a bike, was horrible at gym. I find that writing and verbal expression helps me process my thoughts. I recently realized that I'm terrible when it comes to spatial awareness/judgement which affects cooking, driving, and sometimes routine things. Wow. THANK YOU!

Did this used to be classified under Cognitive Learning Disability? All of what you are saying so far in the beginning of this video is so very true. I was diagnosed back in the 1980's under Cognitive Learning Disability.

I am with you here my friend, the concreteness is not a part of the self in me! It is a song that I am, the thinking of my brain is a song neverending!

I’ve never met another person with NVLD and it’s the hardest thing to deal with

As a note to it all I want to clear out and say that I dont mean it is not okay to change your voice at certain times! There is always need to make sense and be together with others but it should never be of the expense of the self, it should be in the knowing of the change in the present time it happens!

My brother is non-verbal. He has been diagnosed with it since he was born. He has to communicate with me and my mom with his body language and also has to use a communication device. I suggest anyone who has children that are non-verbal and uses a communication device, you should download the app "LAMP". It is a very helpful app and it really helps children to communicate with their peers at school or at home.

My grandson was recently diagnosed with speech aphasia, and I am searching for information.

this has gotten worse over the years for me :/ i even have less friends than i did when i was a CHILD. i'd say critical and abstract skills aren't bad, sure. that's never been the main issue for me, except in math. that still gives me lots of trouble. as well as social skills and executive dysfunction. this sucks, to say the least.

Just shared a video to my channel about growing up with this disorder and then RU-vid suggested this video to me! Thank you for putting this information out there. It would be an honor if you reacted to my video.

I have a nonverbal learning disability, so this explained a lot. thanks :)

I thankfully was into metaphors and poetry so I am good at reading the great jobs of the world!!

This really helped me understand my condition

I have this but I can form sentences and paragraphs just fine it's just the format of essays I can't understand. I can ride bikes, skip, jump, catch, and hop. I don't have trouble making friends, and sometimes I have self-esteem issues but usually I'm pretty happy. I have anxiety but I can protect myself just fine, and facial expression I'm pretty good with. Middle school, I loved it. It's really only the math that I'm terrible at and some perception stuff.

I just wish NVLD was diagnosed back in the 1960s, it would have helped my brother lead a happier and more successful life than he currently has. 😢

I've also read that sensory processing weakness is common with NVLD and that Rourke, who provided us the label, would give talks and then step aside for an OT to speak to that aspect though not everyone includes in often adds math weakness instead. So maybe SPD is the same with NVLD as ASD, more comorbid than characteristic.

I was tested for ADHD when I was a senior in high school, but this is the diagnosis I ended up getting, due to my hydrocephalus.

Hey there mister from the LD video site! have you ever spoken with an NLD who sing his song like the brain does? Who does not alter conform and stretch the words like the others, to make them understand their way? I just recently learned to sing my inner song in my writing instead of altering it for others, I dont know if non NLD:ers undertstand the truth and all of it but I will never stop again to be me. Just wondering tondering and asking pasking to see if you've seen or heard before?

Very good information. Thank you.

The expert on NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY is the person with the disorder. You no longer have to think of yourself as disable when you compare and contrast yourself to people with INTENTIONAL BEHAVIORS. From this day moving FORWARD people who have been stigmatized will be viewed as people with extraordinary minds, unique abilities, and multi-level learning styles. GOOGLE NLD RECOGNITION. NLD MOM/cancer survivor

Thank you for this video, sir.

Thanks for making this video.

I never wanted to be diagnosed with what I have but I have learned a lot from my disease. It would be very difficult for you to tell me I am not the expert when it is my life and my days that have been shorten. The same goes for your life even though you were diagnosed at a later date. I understand why you don't understand. I am only comparing behaviors of what is the norm vs what is not. NLD MOM/cancer survivor

Can this be overlap with dispraxia? And is NVLD can be diagnosed in Sensory Processing Disorder? I need to find out what ny daughter is facing now.. Because she is on diagnosis of dispraxia and SPD but she talks all the time.. I am still unsure with the dispraxia diagnosis on her.

well done! thank you!

I would really appreciate a comparison between NVLD and SPCD.

Thanks for the break down💞💞

I was diagnosed as 'Developmentally Delayed' before I started kindergarten. I was nonverbal with everyone, except my mom. I would make gibberish sounds and push or pull her to get what I needed/wanted. Our family doctor told my mom to make eye contact with me and put my hand on her face and throat. Then say the words she wanted to teach me and make me repeat after her. I had a very hard time grssping what she was trying to do. So, our doctor her to make a game out it. For example, if I wanted a doll to play with, I had to say "doll". Then she gave it to me. I understood most of what was said, but I wasn't speaking English. I have just started watching videos on 'Asperger Syndrome'. I identity with NVLD from my childhood through my young adult life. Now, I identify more with Aspergers. Is it possible to have both at the same time or one transition into the other? I would really appreciate a reply.

My daughter who is 7 has Language Disorder and now her school thinks she has a learning issue as well. Her reading level jumped up to '17' in the grade 2(BC reading guidelines) home reading class program. Her math and Spelling/plus other mental based subjects are weak. She doesn't know how to ride a bike as well. I taught her but she didn't enjoy it when the wheels came off. We don't get letter grades till 4th grade at her school. I'm concerned about HS and what will happen to her confidence if she fail a course. She wouldn't want to go. The HS here got rid of Letter grades for Gr.8-10. They require students to learn independence and use lockers. 😂

as an addition on a note to that is that it gets concrete when I turn my song to stone and make it into the ways of other non-audial people. It is a sad thing indeed...

I was diagnosed at 5 years old.

I was diagnosed with nld as a kid though I haven't been rediagnosed with it as an adult. I've always been a little confused about it because I can't find much information on it.

Visual directions in space???

I came here because Asperger's In Girls didn't seem quite right, despite my diagnosis.

They also make for wonderful friends!

Outstanding vedio series I liked it allot but plz the writing on white board is not seen clearly plz improve that thanks

When I want to learn some topics then after allot of struggling I can learn that what should I do plz help me thanks on coordination.

"Great Job" ;) as experts don't always get it right. those with NLD *rarely* have concrete thinking & lack of street smarts. it's those with Asperger's who do. AS and NLD symptoms can overlap; but these two don't. in fact, people with NLD often have superior abilities in these areas. if you or a loved one have such symptoms, get evaluated for AS. then please come back and report your Dr's findings. btw, i'm an adult with NLD and have been a member of a forum for adults with NLD for years.

From anyone's experience- what kinds of jobs are a good for for people with NLD?

I am 15 and was just diagnosed with a nonverbal processing disorder.

Great video!!!!👍👍👍☺️☺️☺️💜💚💙💝💛💗

I have this condition. What causes Non Verbal Learning Disability? Also what kind of jobs can people get with this type of disability?

Why would someone say "great job" if they meant the opposite; that makes no sense. That said, these videos are most interesting; I had no idea I've anon verbal learning disorder. It took until his 11th year in school for anyone to catch on that my very intelligent son struggled much in school because of a learning (processing) disorder. Just like me, he too struggled with pretty much all described herein...who knew...

The spacial stuff's a real problem, and I have ocd which also affects it, it's a wonder I can drive at all.

Yes this is me I am 28 years old!!!

My auditory memory is terrible. In fact, it's getting worse as I've gotten older. Also I'm great at handwriting - Writing and English were my strong suit in school as a kid. So I guess I don't have NLD? A Psychiatrist diagnosed me with it when I was 11. Confusing.

Um, I hit almost 100% of these things. My Handwriting is nice but it took me a lot of overtime practice. I am Ocd about learning, mostly because I wanted to keep up in certain areas. I would spend hours longer on learning certain things. The teachers always had to give me extra time taking tests because comprehending word problems was a rough task. I played tennis, I worked on my coordination and distance extra as well.

I have Adhd and was Diagnosed NVL last year my whole life I couldn't pick up math and I never can understand it

So my physiatrist said that this is what I am but I think most of it is not me. I only have few of these traits. What?

my 12 year old daughter has been diagnosed with NVLD. I need help in making sure that she grows up strong, confident and happy. any suggestions on how I can help her.

To everyone who is in the field of how everyone who knows how to make encouragement words forward to make sure that anyone is allowed to understand each disability rights to make everything well-known. Katherine Kailing

Thanks for this video❣ I wrote a children's book about Nonverbal Learning Disability that I would love to send to you.

Good reading comprehension? I thought reading comprehension was poor with NVLD.

Dr. Said I had this

thanx for ur video it helped me

Any good resources for adults with this diagnosis?

Who else is here because of Chris Rock?

Ig i should add this to my "what i might have" list

I think my child may have this disability, but the only difference is that he is excellent at math. Its his strongest area even with word problems.?

do poeple still use NVLD in the medical world? it's not widely talked about where im from, that i know of at least.

OK I have nonverbal learning disorder this does not apply to everybody I can be very streetsmart I’ve learned to read between the lines sometimes yes it’s hard but it’s not impossible and I’m good at solving word probleams But I’m 24 and I learned that stuff but I was always Emotionaly smart but I believe a lot of people with this disability have bigger emotions than most people and math is Definetly hard

Everybody has the questions , No one has the answer .

I want to send a special SHOUT OUT to JESPER MARTENSSON for visiting NLD RECOGNITION. I hope this turns your life around. So what if I am DEMOCRAT. You may be a REPUBLICAN or LIBERTARIAN. The people on the FLIP SIDE OF THE CHART do not wish to fail. I have taken it to a new level and have shown how our highest government officials FOCKED UP INTENTIONALLY. Who are the ones that get a jail cell, an unproductive program, and medicated to death? YOU GUESS IT! NLD MOM/cancer survivor

Man ever since I we to public school they put me into smaller classes and kids with learning disabilities. All I know is that I have a learning disability but never asked what it was, so I don't know what mine is. I'm assuming I'm the Emotional one?

"here are all the things wrong with an individual who has nvld" lol

Does anyone know why this is 'sometimes controversial' ?

To chamakh: did you know that people with learning disabilities have above average intelligence? We are actually very smart, depending on where our talents lie. For example, I'm an amazing speller. I could spell executive when I was only 6. Focus on your talents and skills and take comfort in what you can do.

I have NonVerbal Learning

This sounds a lot like mild autism. Is there some overlap?

It might seem psychotic or dumb from the outside but it is the truth of the me, and i am in control and not making up. We truly are audial in our forms of self and brain, we sing our all and world, truthfulness is us and this is me and we! Bless you too and thank you, kisses hugs bugs and tugs!

I have never heard of this till Chris Rock said he suffers from it..... It's quite confusing how he's so well expressed

I was diagnosed with this how can I fix it? Just practice?