NLD Deficits

In the same article I referenced yesterday, they also listed some of the challenges faced by children (adolescents, adults) with Nonverbal Learning Disorder. They experience difficulty with:

• Visual-spatial skills – sewing, anyone?

• Motor skills (poor balance and coordination, weak athletic abilities, messy handwriting) – except for the handwriting (see visual spatial above), my son was always an active, though not gifted, athlete who enjoyed sports. He played soccer, basketball and baseball with town recreation leagues and was respected by his teammates.

• Social skills (poor understanding of facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, personal space and relating) – no, this is not an innate skill for those with NLD, but yes – it can be learned. My son is probably still behind the eight ball for social maturity in some ways, but he has progressed light years. This growth has been especially striking since about midway through high school and has continued at a relative fast pace since then. I expect him to further develop this skill on his own schedule, as he has done pretty much everything.