Learning disorders are often associated with difficulties in reading and language, with dyslexia being the most recognized. However, there’s another category of learning disorder that impacts a child’s ability to process nonverbal cues and information. This is known as Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD), sometimes referred to as Nonverbal Learning Disability. While not as widely discussed as other learning disorders, NVLD is estimated to affect a significant number of children, approximately 3 to 4 percent in North America according to recent research.
It’s important to note that NVLD is not a formal diagnosis in the same way as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In fact, many children with NVLD may also have diagnoses of ADHD or ASD. However, experts in the field argue that understanding NVLD provides a more precise lens through which to view a specific set of challenges these children face, and crucially, how to best support their learning and development. This article, developed in collaboration with educators at Winston Preparatory School, a leading institution in supporting students with NVLD, will delve into the intricacies of NVLD, exploring its characteristics, the areas it affects, and how it differs from other conditions.
Decoding the Nonverbal World: The Core of NVLD
Unlike dyslexia, where the primary struggle is with decoding language, NVLD presents challenges in understanding the nonverbal aspects of communication and learning. Scott Bezsylko, executive director of Winston Preparatory Schools, aptly describes it as “the opposite of dyslexia.” Children with NVLD typically excel in rote learning and verbal tasks. Their difficulties lie in grasping the bigger picture – understanding relationships, concepts, patterns, and abstract ideas. This encompasses a wide range of skills that are often taken for granted but are crucial for navigating the world effectively.
These skills, largely governed by the right hemisphere of the brain, are essential for various functions, including physical coordination, social interaction, problem-solving, organization, and planning. The unifying thread across these seemingly disparate areas is the ability to recognize patterns and concepts and then apply that understanding to new situations. For children with NVLD, this process is often impaired, leading to a unique set of challenges in their academic, social, and daily lives.
The Five Key Areas of NVLD Weakness
While NVLD manifests differently in each child, there are five core areas where children with NVLD commonly exhibit weaknesses. It’s important to remember that not every child will experience difficulties in all five areas, and the severity can vary considerably.
1. Visual and Spatial Awareness
A significant challenge for many children with NVLD lies in understanding and interpreting visual information. They may struggle with visual imagery and spatial relationships. For instance, when asked to replicate a simple shape like a cube, children with NVLD often produce distorted drawings. As Bezsylko explains, “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 in their environment. They may struggle to understand the relationship between objects they see and their own position in space, leading to clumsiness and difficulties with spatial orientation. Tasks that require spatial reasoning, such as puzzles or navigating maps, can be particularly challenging.
2. Higher-Order Comprehension
Higher-order comprehension is the ability to go beyond literal understanding and grasp the underlying meaning, main ideas, and relationships within information. This skill is crucial for reading comprehension, effective storytelling (both written and verbal), and extracting key information from complex material.
Children with NVLD often struggle with identifying the main idea in a text or lecture, distinguishing important details from less critical information, and understanding the connections between different pieces of information. This can significantly impact their ability to take effective notes in class. Some students might attempt to write down everything verbatim, overwhelmed by the inability to discern what’s important. Others, conversely, may miss crucial information entirely, leading to misinterpretations and the appearance of inattentiveness.
3. Social Communication
Social interaction is heavily reliant on nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Children with NVLD often have difficulty interpreting these subtle social signals, making it challenging for them to navigate social situations effectively. They may miss social cues that other children intuitively understand, leading to misunderstandings and social awkwardness. They may struggle to grasp the nuances of social interactions, understand unspoken rules, and respond appropriately in social contexts.
This difficulty in social communication can sometimes lead children with NVLD to gravitate towards technology. Online environments, such as chat rooms or video games, can feel safer because they minimize the need to interpret complex nonverbal social cues. As Bezsylko points out, “In chat rooms or in a video game they don’t have to deal with all the nonverbal stuff.”
4. Mathematical Concepts
Interestingly, many children with NVLD demonstrate strong rote memory skills, which can enable them to excel in early math by memorizing facts and formulas. However, as math becomes more conceptually demanding in later grades, they often encounter significant difficulties. Advanced mathematical problem-solving relies heavily on understanding underlying concepts, recognizing patterns, and applying logical reasoning – areas that are challenging for individuals with NVLD.
Even when faced with a problem that is similar to one they’ve encountered before, a slight variation in presentation or approach can make it difficult for them to recognize and solve. Their reliance on rote memorization becomes insufficient when conceptual understanding is required to manipulate and apply mathematical principles.
5. Executive Functions
Executive functions are a set of crucial cognitive skills that enable us to plan, organize, initiate tasks, manage time, and solve problems effectively. These skills are essential for managing daily life, academic tasks, and long-term projects. Children with NVLD frequently exhibit weaknesses in executive functioning, particularly in organization and planning.
They may struggle to break down large projects into smaller, manageable steps, sequence tasks logically, and anticipate the necessary steps to achieve a goal. The concept of “figuring something out,” which involves problem-solving and strategic thinking, can be abstract and challenging for them. As Bezsylko emphasizes, “These kids have trouble figuring things out—in fact they don’t really know what figuring something out means. We have to help them learn to do that — the step-by-step process you go through.”
Manifestations and Severity of NVLD
The combination and severity of NVLD symptoms vary significantly among individuals. The spectrum of NVLD presentation is broad. At one end, there are highly functional individuals who may appear socially awkward, slightly clumsy, or disorganized – often described as the “absentminded professor” type. These individuals may successfully navigate many aspects of life, but still experience underlying challenges related to NVLD.
At the other end of the spectrum, some children are more profoundly affected, experiencing difficulties across multiple areas of functioning. These children may struggle with a wider range of tasks that require nonverbal reasoning and understanding, impacting their learning and daily lives more significantly. As Bezsylko notes, “These kids often struggle to learn everything that isn’t rote or literal.”
A study conducted at Winston Prep, involving over 100 students with NVLD, revealed six distinct combinations of the five core deficits. While the largest group exhibited all five weaknesses, a significant portion presented with just two primary challenges: difficulties in social communication and executive functions. This highlights the diverse ways NVLD can manifest and the importance of individualized assessment and support.
When Do NVLD Challenges Become Apparent?
Many children with NVLD may perform adequately in elementary school due to their strength in rote learning and memorization, which are often emphasized in early education. However, the challenges associated with NVLD often become more pronounced around middle school. This is a critical transition point where academic demands shift from basic skills acquisition to higher-order reasoning, conceptual understanding, and independent learning.
As Bezsylko points out, “There’s a saying that in fifth grade you stop learning to read, and now you read to learn, and that’s when these kids fall apart.” The increased emphasis on abstract concepts, complex social interactions, and independent project work in middle school can expose the underlying weaknesses associated with NVLD. Historically, Winston Prep primarily served students from sixth to tenth grade, but recognizing the earlier onset of these challenges, they have begun admitting some students as young as fourth grade.
It’s also common for children with NVLD to appear inattentive and disorganized, particularly as they progress through school. This is often a secondary manifestation of their underlying difficulty in understanding and processing complex information. As schoolwork, social situations, and mathematical concepts become more intricate and less reliant on rote memorization, the challenges posed by NVLD become more evident.
NVLD: A More Comprehensive Understanding
While NVLD is not currently recognized as an official diagnostic category in standard mental health and educational classifications, understanding NVLD can provide a more nuanced and helpful perspective when working with children who present with these specific challenges. Children with NVLD are frequently diagnosed with other conditions, such as ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, these diagnoses, while descriptive of certain symptoms or behaviors, may not fully capture the underlying cognitive processes contributing to these difficulties.
For example, a child who is disorganized and inattentive might be readily diagnosed with ADHD. However, their disorganization and inattentiveness could stem from an inability to comprehend instructions, understand the material being taught, or grasp the nature of the tasks they are asked to complete – all core features of NVLD. As Bezsylko succinctly states, “You can’t pay attention if you can’t understand.”
Similarly, social communication deficits, a hallmark of Autism Spectrum Disorder, can also be a manifestation of NVLD. Difficulty recognizing patterns in facial expressions, body language, and other nonverbal cues can lead to social unresponsiveness and challenges in social interaction, which are also characteristic of NVLD.
Considering the Winston Prep study where students exhibited all five NVLD deficits, the majority had pre-existing diagnoses of ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, these diagnoses alone did not identify critical areas of struggle for these students, including higher-order comprehension, mathematical concepts, and visual-spatial reasoning. Without recognizing and addressing the underlying NVLD, these children may not receive targeted support to strengthen or compensate for these core weaknesses. Recognizing NVLD allows for a more comprehensive understanding of a child’s learning profile and enables educators and parents to tailor interventions and strategies that directly address their specific needs, fostering greater academic and social success.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nonverbal Learning Disorder
What is Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD)?
Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) is a learning disorder characterized by difficulties in understanding nonverbal information, such as concepts, patterns, and spatial relationships. Children with NVLD often struggle with visual-spatial skills, social cues, higher-order comprehension, math concepts, and executive functions. They may have challenges applying learned information to new situations, and may also experience difficulties with physical coordination and social interactions.
Is NVLD related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Yes, NVLD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) share some overlapping symptoms, particularly in the area of social communication. Both children with ASD and NVLD may have difficulties interpreting social cues, recognizing facial expressions, and understanding body language. In fact, children with NVLD are sometimes misdiagnosed with or also diagnosed with ASD due to these similarities. However, NVLD is a distinct condition with its own unique profile of strengths and weaknesses, particularly the contrast between strong verbal skills and weaker nonverbal processing abilities.
What are the five key areas of weakness in NVLD?
The five key areas of weakness commonly observed in children with Nonverbal Learning Disorder are:
- Visual and Spatial Awareness: Difficulty understanding visual information, spatial relationships, and visual imagery.
- Higher-Order Comprehension: Challenges in grasping main ideas, understanding relationships between concepts, and extracting key information from complex material.
- Social Communication: Difficulty interpreting nonverbal social cues like facial expressions and body language, leading to challenges in social interactions.
- Math Concepts: Struggles with advanced math concepts that require conceptual understanding and pattern recognition, despite often being proficient in rote memorization of math facts.
- Executive Functions: Weaknesses in planning, organization, time management, and problem-solving skills.
