| There is no question that most scholastic
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| | disabilities "are more debilitating than
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| accomplishments are measured and defined
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| | verbal disabilities." The specific
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| through language-based communication.
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| | central processing abilities and deficits
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| Yet, it has been found that more than 65%
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| | that characterize this syndrome are now
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| of all communication is actually conveyed
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| | well defined. Still, nonverbal learning
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| nonverbally. We are all familiar with
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| | disorders remain predominantly
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| "non-verbal communication," but few
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| | misunderstood and largely go
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| professionals have been specifically
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| | unrecognized.
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| trained to look for deficits in this
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| | A child's earliest mode of communication
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| area. Although intelligence measures are
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| | should be nonverbal. Both parents and
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| designed to evaluate both the verbal and
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| | teachers will often suspect that
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| nonverbal aspects of intelligence,
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| | "something is amiss" early on, but they
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| educators tend to ignore evidence of
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| | can't quite "put a finger on it." Three
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| nonverbal deficiencies in students. Or
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| | categories of dysfunction present
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| worse, they brand students with nonverbal
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| | themselves: (1) motoric (lack of
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| learning disabilities as "problem"
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| | coordination, severe balance problems and
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| children.
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| | or difficulties with fine graphomotor
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| We are all aware of the important role
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| | skills), (2)
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| language plays in human learning. The
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| | visual-spatial-organizational (lack of
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| competence of an individual, in our
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| | image, poor visual recall, faulty spatial
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| present-day society, is most often judged
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| | perceptions, and/or difficulties with
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| by their verbal proficiencies. A person
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| | spatial relations), and (3) social (lack
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| who speaks eloquently and has a
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| | of ability to comprehend nonverbal
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| well-developed vocabulary tends to be
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| | communication, difficulties adjusting to
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| accorded more credibility than an
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| | transitions and novel situations, and/or
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| individual who makes constant grammatical
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| | significant deficits in social judgment
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| errors and demonstrates a limited
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| | and social interaction).
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| vocabulary. A student who has innate
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| | Early consultation with a school
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| difficulties reading, spelling, and/or
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| | psychologist or family physician
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| expressing herself stands out in most
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| | typically only serves to dismiss or
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| classroom situations. And likewise, a
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| | minimize a teacher's or parent's worries
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| student who is a top reader, achieves
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| | about this child. More often than not,
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| excellent spelling scores, and expresses
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| | parents are assured that everything is
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| herself articulately usually does not
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| | fine; perhaps their child is "just a
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| prompt her teacher to consider a learning
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| | perfectionist" or "immature" or "bored
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| disorder. But, this is often exactly the
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| | with the way things are normally done" or
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| presentation a child with nonverbal
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| | "a bit clumsy." Rarely are a parent's or
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| learning disabilities (NLD) syndrome
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| | teacher's concerns given any credence
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| manifests in the early elementary grades.
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| | until the child reaches a point in school
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| Nonverbal learning disorders (also called
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| | where he is no longer able to function
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| "right-hemisphere learning disorders")
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| | given the limitations of his disability
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| often go unrecognized and unaided by
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| | and/or, in some cases, the child suffers
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| teachers and other professionals for a
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| | a "nervous breakdown" (or worse).
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| large part of a child's schooling.
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| | The child with nonverbal learning
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| Overall, there has been an inadequate
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| | disorders commonly appears awkward and
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| awareness of the underlying causes for
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| | is, in fact, inadequately coordinated in
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| the difficulties these students encounter
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| | both fine and gross motor skills. She may
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| in school. There are currently few
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| | have had extreme difficulty learning to
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| resources available for the child with
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| | ride a bike or to kick a soccer ball.
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| NLD syndrome through schools or private
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| | Fine motor skills, such as cutting with
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| agencies. It is still difficult to find a
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| | scissors or tying shoe laces, seem to be
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| professional who understands nonverbal
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| | impossible for this child to master. She
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| learning disabilities. These children are
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| | "talks her way through" even simple motor
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| often labeled "behavior problems" or
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| | activities. A young child with NLD is
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| "emotionally disturbed" because of their
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| | less likely to explore her environment
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| frequent inappropriate and unexpected
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| | motorically because she cannot rely upon
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| conduct, but NLD is known to have a
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| | her kinesthetic processing and spatial
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| neurological rather than a deliberate and
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| | perceptions. This child learns little
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| or an emotional origin.
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| | from experience or repetition and is
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| The NLD syndrome reveals itself in
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| | unable to generalize information.
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| impaired abilities to organize the
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| | In the early years, such a child may
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| visual-spatial field, adapt to new or
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| | appear "confused" much of the time (he is
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| novel situations, and/or accurately read
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| | confused) despite a high intelligence and
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| nonverbal signals and cues. It appears to
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| | high scores on receptive and expressive
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| be the reverse syndrome of dyslexia.
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| | language measures. Closer observation
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| Although academic progress is made, such
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| | will reveal a social ineptness brought
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| a student will have difficulty
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| | about by misinterpretations of body
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| "producing" in situations where speed and
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| | language and/or tone of voice. This child
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| adaptability are required. Whereas
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| | is unable to "look and learn." He does
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| language-based learning disorders have
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| | not perceive subtle cues in his
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| been shown to be genetic in origin,
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| | environment such as: when something has
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| heredity has not, as yet, been linked to
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| | gone far enough; the idea of personal
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| NLD. It is known that nonverbal learning
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| | "space"; the facial expressions of
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| disabilities involve the performance
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| | others; or when another person is
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| processes (generally thought of
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| | registering pleasure (or displeasure) in
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| neurologically as originating in the
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| | a nonverbal mode.
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| right cerebral hemisphere of the brain,
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| | These are all social "skills" that are
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| which specializes in nonverbal
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| | normally grasped intuitively through
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| processing).
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| | observation, not directly taught. If a
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| Brain scans of individuals with NLD often
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| | child is constantly admonished with the
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| confirm mild abnormalities of the right
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| | words, "I shouldn't have to tell you
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| cerebral hemisphere. Developmental
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| | this!," this should alert everyone that
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| histories have revealed that a number of
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| | something is awry because you do have to
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| the children suffering from nonverbal
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| | tell them (everything). The child's
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| learning disorders who have come to
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| | verbal processing may be proficient, but
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| clinical attention have at some time
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| | it can be impossible for her to receive
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| early in their development: (1) sustained
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| | and comprehend nonverbal information.
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| a moderate to severe head injury, (2)
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| | Such a child will cope by relying upon
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| received repeated radiation treatments on
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| | language as her principal means of social
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| or near their heads over a prolonged
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| | relating, information gathering, and
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| period of time, (3) congenital absence of
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| | relief from anxiety. As a result, she is
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| the corpus callosum, (4) been treated for
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| | constantly being told, "You talk too
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| hydrocephalus, or (5) actually had brain
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| | much!"
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| tissue removed from their right
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| | The child with NLD often develops an
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| hemisphere.
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| | exceptional memory for rote material; a
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| All of these neurological insults involve
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| | coping skill he has had to hone in order
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| significant destruction of white matter
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| | to survive. Since the nonverbal
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| (long myelinated fibers in the brain)
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| | processing area of his brain is not
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| connections in the right hemisphere,
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| | giving him the needed automatic feedback,
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| which are important for intermodal
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| | he relies solely upon his memory of past
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| integration. Hence, current evidence and
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| | experiences, each of which he has labeled
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| theories suggest that early damage
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| | verbally, to guide him in future
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| (disease, disorder, or dysfunction) of
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| | situations. This, of course, is less
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| the right cerebral hemisphere and/or
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| | effective and less reliable than being
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| diffuse white matter disease, which
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| | able to sense and interpret another
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| leaves the left hemisphere (unimodal)
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| | person's social cues (because of the vast
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| system to function on its own, is the
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| | array of differences in human nature).
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| contributing cause of the NLD syndrome
| |
| | Cumbersome monologues are another trait
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| (definitely not dysfunctional home
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| | of a child with nonverbal learning
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| lives). Clinically, this learning
| |
| | disabilities. Normal conversational "give
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| disorder classification resembles an
| |
| | and take" seems to elude her. Teachers
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| adult patient with a severe head injury
| |
| | complain of a child who "talks
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| to the right cerebral hemisphere, both
| |
| | incessantly" and parents resolve, "She
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| symptomatically and behaviorally.
| |
| | just doesn't seem to know when to be
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| Nonverbal learning disorders appear much
| |
| | quiet!" Owing to visual-spatial
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| less frequently than language-based
| |
| | disturbances, it is difficult for this
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| learning disorders. Whereas it is
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| | child to change from one activity to
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| approximated that about 10% of the
| |
| | another and/or to move from one place to
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| general population could be found to have
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| | another. A child with NLD uses all of her
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| identifiable learning disabilities, it is
| |
| | concentration and attention to merely get
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| thought that only 1 to 10% of those
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| | through a room. Imagine the frustration
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| individuals would be found to have NLD
| |
| | produced when attempting to function in a
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| (or between 1.0 to 0.1% of the general
| |
| | complicated and/or new social situation.
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| population). Unlike language-based
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| | Owing to her inability to "handle" such
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| learning disabilities, the NLD syndrome
| |
| | informational processing demands, she
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| affects females as often as males
| |
| | will instinctively avoid any kind of
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| (approximately 1:1 sex ratio) and
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| | novelty.
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| incidence of left-handedness is uncommon.
| |
| | The importance of identifying and
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| Even though NLD is, by definition, a "low
| |
| | servicing children with nonverbal
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| incidence disability," there are
| |
| | learning disorders is especially acute.
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| indications that, as school assessment
| |
| | Overestimates of the child's abilities
|
| intervention procedures improve, a higher
| |
| | and unrealistic demands made by parents
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| proportion of children will be identified
| |
| | and teachers can lead to ongoing
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| with the NLD syndrome. The low rate of
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| | emotional problems. A favorable prognosis
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| occurrence (as low as 1 out of 1,000), is
| |
| | seems to depend upon early identification
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| no excuse for the lack of identification
| |
| | and accommodation. The child with NLD is
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| and services victims of this devastating
| |
| | particularly inclined toward seriously
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| impairment currently receive. The
| |
| | debilitating forms of internalizing
|
| symptoms are distinct and display
| |
| | psychopathology, such as depression,
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| themselves early in a child's
| |
| | withdrawal, anxiety, and in some cases,
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| development.
| |
| | suicide.
|
| The discovery of the NLD syndrome began
| |
| | Dr. Byron P. Rourke of the University of
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| in the early 1970s, with research
| |
| | Windsor and his associates have found
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| involving groups of children with
| |
| | that nonverbal learning disabilities
|
| learning disabilities identified by
| |
| | "predispose those afflicted to adolescent
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| discrepancies between their verbal and
| |
| | and adult depression and suicide risk."
|
| performance IQs. It is unfortunate that
| |
| | The child with NLD is regularly punished
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| 25 years later, even professionals in the
| |
| | and picked on for circumstances he cannot
|
| field of education are largely uninformed
| |
| | help, without ever really understanding
|
| about and/or unfamiliar with nonverbal
| |
| | why, and he is in turn often left with
|
| learning disorders as these disabilities
| |
| | little hope that his situation will ever
|
| can be much more devastating to a child
| |
| | improve. After amassing years of
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| than language-based learning disorders in
| |
| | embarrassing and misconceived
|
| the long run.
| |
| | unintentional social blunders, it is not
|
| Since diminished access to and/or
| |
| | too difficult to comprehend how a person
|
| disordered functioning of the
| |
| | with nonverbal learning disorders could
|
| right-hemisphere systems impedes all
| |
| | come to the conclusion that his
|
| understanding and adaptive learning, it
| |
| | environment is not structured to
|
| is fair to say (as Helmer R. Myklebust
| |
| | accommodate him.
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| did in 1975) that nonverbal learning
| |
| |
|
