What is a nonverbal learning disability? is it worse than dyslexia? are you stupid or retarded if you have it?

Question

my nephew just got diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disabiity. does this mean hes basically handicapped? can he still get married, have a good job, and a nice life?

Answer 1

First and foremost, just because a person has a disability, does not make them stupid or retarded. That is something that is not used in the Special Education field. Now, nonverbal means that a person is not able to communicate verbally for various reasons. There people who have apraxia, etc..., so it depends on the learning disability. http://www.nldontheweb.org/  On the flip side, it is good to know you would like to learn about your nephews disability. He will need people to support and encourage him.

Answer 2

Look at nldline dot com.

My son has NVLD. He has some differences that make life hard, somewhat handicapped. However, it is easy to overcome. Most people with NVLD are considered learning disabled, or a little odd (social difficulties are common). HOwever, IQ is usually extraordinarily high, my son's is 160 averaged. He's happy, at the age of 13, and is looking forward to a good future, good career, and creating a family of his own.

Answer 3

Your nephew can have a wonderful life now and in the future!  The good news is that he has a diagnosis now and can get the help he needs!  Please keep in mind what he CAN do and is good at as it will help his self esteem and research.

Answer 4

First, understand that people with no distinguishable learning disability at all can still find that success in marriage, career and social life are elusive.  A lack of learning disability certainly doesn't guarantee a lack of problems.

If your nephew has a nonverbal learning disability, there are a few things that you can expect.  You can expect his verbal skills to be at least average, and probably higher than average.  You can expect that he'll be able (perhaps with a little help) to demonstrate sufficient competence in his school career.  

He doesn't have a verbal learning disability.  He'll most likely be able to listen, speak, read and write without any significant problem.

His learning disability is non-verbal.  The kinds of things he will have problems with are the kinds of things that aren't easy to put into words.  

He might turn out to be clumsy.  Spacial relations and eye-hand coordination are non-verbal.

He might turn out to be unfashionable.  The reasons why things become "hot" or "in" or "now" (or whatever people are calling it these days) come mostly from the non-verbal side of social interaction.

Then again, he might turn out to have no obvious problems at all.  Even given this diagnosis, you can't predict exactly what he will have trouble with.  On the one hand, you don't yet know which of the many specific non-verbal learning categories he'll have trouble with.  On the other hand, you don't yet know which specific difficulties he'll quickly and easily find ways to circumvent.

Can he still get married, have a good job, enjoy his life?  Yes, he can, if he wishes.  This diagnosis doesn't prevent any of those things.  This diagnosis doesn't mean that he's stupid or retarded.  

All this diagnosis means is that there are certain things he won't be able to learn in the usual ways.  Some of those are things he'll learn in unusual ways, and others will be things he learns to do without.  That's all.

Answer 5

Most people consider Non verbal learning disablity to be on the autism spectrum but it varies.

It means the disability does not affect their speech.

He is not stupid or retarded. He just needs help in certain ways. Many consider ADHD to be a NVLD.

He can have a happy life and a good job just like anyone else with supports in place at school and at home.

There are many forms NVLD can take and it is hard to know what he will need because everyone is different. The schools will be able to help him and I am sure his parents will too.

By the way, in school the lable is important because without the lable he cannot get the services and intervention he needs. As an adult he can probably do with out it.

It is also important for your family to not make him feel ebarrassed he has it or make him feel awkward. He is who he is and the more he understands about it the better he will be.

Answer 6

If someone is diagnosed with a learning disability, they have an average or above average IQ. You would be shocked to know that there are many sucessful "normal" people out their diagnosed with some kind of learning disability!

Answer 7

A nonverbal learning disability means the person has difficulty with things done by the "right brain": having to do with physical coordination, social skills, and pattern recognition. He might be great at things like reading quickly, but not comprehend what he reads. He might not be good at map reading or math word problems.  He might have some problems understanding what other people's body actions mean.

Depending on the severity of it, he should be able to live a normal life, perhaps needing Special Education help. If he has a severe case, like High Functioning Autism, severe reading comprehension problems, or severe physical coordination problems, he may need to seek a specific job that will minimize the effect of the disability on his job, that's all.

I would never use the word "stupid" or "retarded" about him, unless a medical doctor or psychologist actually tells you he is also "Mentally Retarded." That's a different diagnosis.

Answer 8

you need to do some studying on this disability

a child with this learning disability is definitely NOT stupid nor retarded

your nephew is very much capable of getting married, having a good job and leading a nice life, provided, of course, that people around him don't 'label' him