Learning disabilities often bring to mind challenges with reading and language, such as dyslexia. However, there’s a less recognized learning disorder that doesn’t involve verbal communication: Non-verbal Learning Disability (NVLD). Affecting an estimated 3 to 4 percent of children in North America, NVLD isn’t always a formal diagnosis like ADHD or autism, and many children with NVLD may also have these diagnoses. Yet, experts suggest that focusing on NVLD provides a more precise understanding of these children’s learning styles and how to best support them.
What is Non-Verbal Learning Disability? Recognizing Patterns and Concepts
Children with Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) excel in areas like decoding language, reading, and rote memorization. As Scott Bezsylko, executive director of Winston Preparatory Schools, explains, NVLD is “almost the opposite of dyslexia.” The core difficulties for these children lie in understanding non-verbal information – “all the stuff that involves understanding information — relationships, concepts, ideas, patterns.”
These challenges, primarily linked to the right hemisphere of the brain, can impact various abilities. From physical coordination and social interaction to problem-solving, organizing thoughts, and planning, NVLD can present a wide range of difficulties. The common thread is a struggle to recognize patterns, grasp abstract concepts, and apply them effectively in new situations.
Alt text: Pensive young boy gazing out of a window, illustrating the internal processing often associated with non-verbal learning disability.
Key Areas Affected by NVLD
There are five core areas where children with NVLD often demonstrate weaknesses. It’s important to note that not every child will experience difficulties in all of these areas.
1. Visual and Spatial Awareness
Many children with NVLD struggle with interpreting visual information and spatial relationships. For instance, when asked to replicate a cube, they may produce significantly distorted drawings. Bezsylko notes, “These kids can’t accurately perceive the cube, the forms that make up the cube, and the relationships between them. Hence they can’t copy it.”
This difficulty extends to evaluating visual-spatial information, impacting their understanding of spatial relationships and their sense of physical orientation. This can manifest as physical clumsiness and challenges with spatial tasks.
2. Higher-Order Comprehension
Higher-order comprehension is crucial for grasping main ideas, identifying supporting details, and understanding the connections between pieces of information. This ability is vital for reading comprehension, effective storytelling (both written and oral), and note-taking.
Bezsylko observed varied note-taking challenges among students with NVLD. Some students attempt to transcribe everything verbatim, unable to discern essential information. Others, failing to identify key points, write down nothing or only irrelevant details, often mistakenly perceived as inattentiveness.
Alt text: Supportive teacher assisting a student at their desk, highlighting the personalized attention needed for students with non-verbal learning disabilities.
3. Social Communication Skills
A hallmark of NVLD is difficulty interpreting non-verbal social cues. Children with NVLD often struggle to read emotions conveyed through facial expressions and body language. This makes navigating social interactions challenging as they miss the subtle social signals that others instinctively understand. Consequently, they may struggle to grasp appropriate behavior in social contexts.
The preference for technology often seen in children with NVLD may stem from these social communication challenges. Bezsylko points out, “In chat rooms or in a video game they don’t have to deal with all the nonverbal stuff,” offering a less ambiguous and more predictable environment.
4. Mathematical Concepts
While many children with NVLD excel at rote learning and can initially perform well in math through memorization, they often encounter difficulties as math becomes more conceptual. Advanced mathematical problem-solving relies heavily on understanding concepts and recognizing patterns. Even familiar problems, if presented in a slightly different way, can become challenging due to their difficulty in generalizing concepts.
5. Executive Functions
Executive functions encompass essential skills for organizing thoughts, planning actions, and problem-solving. Children with NVLD commonly exhibit weaknesses in these areas, particularly in organization and planning. They may struggle to break down large tasks into smaller, manageable steps or to conceptualize the necessary steps to complete a project.
Bezsylko emphasizes, “These kids have trouble figuring things out—in fact they don’t really know what figuring something out means.” They require explicit instruction and support in developing step-by-step problem-solving strategies.
Alt text: Confused student contemplating a math problem, illustrating the challenges with abstract reasoning and problem-solving in non-verbal learning disability.
Manifestations and Severity of NVLD
The presentation of NVLD varies significantly among individuals. Beyond the different combinations of weaknesses, the severity of NVLD symptoms also exists on a spectrum.
At one end, there are high-functioning individuals who may appear socially awkward, slightly clumsy, or disorganized – described by Bezsylko as “the absentminded professor type.” On the other end, some individuals are more profoundly affected, experiencing significant challenges across multiple areas, struggling with “everything that isn’t rote or literal.”
A study at Winston Prep, involving over 100 students with NVLD, identified six distinct combinations of the five core deficits. While the largest group exhibited all five deficits, the second largest group presented with only two: social communication and executive functions.
When Do NVLD Deficits Become Apparent?
Many children with NVLD can thrive in elementary school due to their strong rote learning abilities. Difficulties often emerge around middle school when academic demands shift towards higher-order reasoning. As Bezsylko notes, “There’s a saying that in fifth grade you stop learning to read, and now you read to learn,” marking a critical point where challenges for children with NVLD often become more pronounced. Winston Prep, initially serving students from sixth to tenth grade, has since expanded to include some students as young as fourth grade, recognizing the earlier onset of these challenges for some children.
Bezsylko adds, “Almost all of these kids look inattentive and disorganized,” especially as academic and social expectations become more complex. As learning progresses beyond rote memorization to complex concepts and social nuances, the difficulties associated with NVLD become increasingly evident.
NVLD: A More Comprehensive Understanding
NVLD is not currently recognized as an official diagnostic category in mental health or educational classifications. Children with NVLD are frequently diagnosed with other conditions, such as autism or ADHD. However, Bezsylko argues that while these diagnoses describe symptoms or behaviors, they often fail to fully explain the underlying challenges.
For example, a child exhibiting disorganization and inattentiveness might be diagnosed with ADHD. However, these behaviors could stem from an inability to comprehend instructions, written material, or problem-solving tasks – core NVLD challenges. Bezsylko emphasizes, “You can’t pay attention if you can’t understand,” highlighting NVLD as a potential root cause.
Similarly, social and communication deficits, key features of autism spectrum disorder, can also be manifestations of NVLD. The inability to interpret non-verbal cues like facial expressions and body language can lead to social unresponsiveness, often associated with autism.
In the Winston Prep study, children with all five NVLD deficits were often diagnosed with ADHD or autism. Bezsylko points out that these diagnoses overlook critical areas of struggle: “higher-order comprehension, math concepts, and visual and spatial relations.” Without recognizing NVLD, these children may not receive targeted interventions to strengthen or compensate for these core weaknesses. Recognizing NVLD allows for more tailored support and educational strategies to address the specific learning needs of these children.
Frequently Asked Questions about Non-Verbal Learning Disability
What is Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD)?
Non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) is a learning disorder characterized by difficulties in understanding concepts, recognizing patterns, and organizing information. Individuals with NVLD also struggle with applying learned patterns and concepts to new situations. Challenges in physical coordination and social interactions are also common.
Is NVLD related to Autism?
NVLD shares some overlapping symptoms with autism spectrum disorder, particularly in social skills and communication. Both individuals with autism and NVLD may have difficulties recognizing facial expressions and body language. It is common for children with NVLD to also be diagnosed with autism.
What are the five key areas of weakness in NVLD?
The five areas where children with non-verbal learning disorder often show weaknesses include:
- Visual and Spatial Awareness: Difficulty understanding visual information and spatial relationships.
- Higher-Order Comprehension: Challenges in grasping main ideas, details, and relationships in information.
- Social Communication: Difficulty interpreting non-verbal social cues like facial expressions and body language.
- Math Concepts: Struggles with advanced math concepts that require pattern recognition and conceptual understanding.
- Executive Functions: Weaknesses in organizing thoughts, planning, and problem-solving.
