Non-verbal Learning Disability (NLD or NVLD)

Written and compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N. Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan

What is non-verbal learning disability (NLD or NVLD)?
Kids with NLD are very verbal, and may not have academic problems until they get into the upper grades in school. Often their biggest problem is with social skills.
NLD is very like Asperger Syndrome. It may be that the diagnoses of Asperger syndrome (AS) and NLD simply “provide different perspectives on a heterogeneous, yet overlapping, group of individuals sharing at least some common aspects [1].” AS and NLD are generally thought to describe pretty much the same kind of disorder, but to differ in severity—with AS describing more severe symptoms. 

• For further discussion of Asperger syndrome vs. nonverbal learning disability, read the article Asperger’s Disorder and Non Verbal Learning Disabilities: How are These Two Disorders Related to Each Other?

What are the signs of NLD?

• Great vocabulary and verbal expression
• Excellent memory skills
• Attention to detail, but misses the big picture
• Trouble understanding reading
• Difficulty with math, especially word problems
• Poor abstract reasoning
• Physically awkward; poor coordination
• Messy and laborious handwriting
• Concrete thinking; taking things very literally
• Trouble with nonverbal communication, like body language, facial expression and tone of voice
• Poor social skills; difficulty making and keeping friends
• Fear of new situations
• Trouble adjusting to changes
• May be very naïve and lack common sense
• Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem
• May withdraw, becoming agoraphobic (abnormal fear of open spaces)

Read more HERE.

Social Thinking Conference in South San Francisco Jan 30-Feb 1

South San Francisco Social Thinking Conference

January 30th - February 1st, 2013

South San Francisco Conference Center
255 South Airport Blvd,
San Francisco, CA 94080

See more information HERE.

Help for Schools: Understanding ASD

By Judy Endow, MSW Special Education Articles  From Special Education Advisor

Due to the media speculation that Adam Lanza, the suspect in the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, may have been affected with Asperger Syndrome, concern has developed on several fronts. Of immediate  concern is fear that students returning to school who have been previously identified with having an Autism Spectrum Disorder may now be stigmatized, especially those who may exhibit meltdown behaviors in the educational setting.

The politically incorrect question on everybody’s mind is, “Are students with ASD dangerous when they have meltdowns and might this behavior lead to another Sandy Hook kind of incident at our school?”

Read more HERE.

Boy With Asperger’s Lands ‘Jeopardy!’ Tryout

A Colorado boy with Asperger’s syndrome may soon go head-to-head with Alex Trebek on national television as a contestant on “Jeopardy!”

Gabriel Harris, 11, passed a first-round online test to participate in the game show’s 2013 Kids Week and has been invited to Los Angeles for a second-round assessment.

A regular viewer of the show, Harris rarely gets a question wrong. The fifth-grader is an avid reader with a keen memory for facts.

Despite Harris’s aptitude, however, continuing his quest to appear on “Jeopardy!” was not a sure bet until recently. Harris’s family could not afford the trip for him and a parent from their Greeley, Colo.-area home to California. But after the the boy’s story appeared in the local newspaper, donations poured in.

Now, Harris is packing his bags and prepping for the second-round test this Saturday, reports The Greeley (Colo.) Tribune. 

Read more of Shaun Heasley's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Will make eye contact - How to write social skills IEP goals that work.

By Valle Dwight from greatschools.org

Ben Greene, 9, was at recess when a classmate asked him to play. “I would, but you smell really bad,” he replied. The girl walked away hurt. Ben, who has Asperger’s syndrome, had no idea why his remark bothered the little girl (“It’s a fact,” he said with a shrug). The next day, at the insistence of his aide, he apologized to her. “I’m sorry I made a personal remark, but you really do smell bad,” he said.

Anyone with a child on the autism spectrum probably recognizes that scenario and, in part, it’s just such situations that led Massachusetts to pass a law requiring that IEP teams consider and address the social skills needs of children on the spectrum. Advocates hailed the law, which recognizes that social skills are a critical part of a child’s education and development.

Read more HERE.

Miss Montana overcame many challenges on her way to the crown

When Alexis Wineman, Miss Montana 2012, discusses her desire to help people with autism, she’s not speaking in flowery beauty pageant platitudes about trying to make the world a better place.

She’s speaking from experience.

Wineman, of Cut Bank, was diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder, including borderline Aspergers Syndrome, when she was 11 years old. The diagnosis followed a two-year process that included counseling, an exhaustive battery of tests and at least one misdiagnosis.

Wineman was often teased and bullied at school and said she usually avoided interaction with others when she was younger.

“I felt so alone growing up, and I still do at times,” she said Thursday during a conference on autism at the Montana State University Billings downtown campus. “Nobody understood what I was going through. I separated myself from my classmates and spent most of my time alone. I stayed quiet to hide my speech problems. Due to these overwhelming and daily struggles, I looked at myself as a punching bag for others, and a burden to my family.”

Wineman said the diagnosis helped her understand why she was different from other kids. And with support from her mother, teachers, counselors and her three siblings, she matured into the poised, confident 18-year-old, whose stand-up comedy routine left the audience rolling in the aisles at the Miss Montana pageant.

Read more of  By Tom Howard/Billings Gazette article at the Missoulian HERE.

If You Care About Innovation, Hire People Who Think Differently

Companies who really care about innovation should consider hiring people who see things differently.

Some experts even say hiring someone with Aspergers syndrome or high-functioning Autism is a good strategy for promoting innovation.

"Innovation is all about looking at things in a new way," says innovation consultant Phil McKinney and founder of Hacking Autism. High functioning Autistic people are "hard wired" to look at things in an unconventional way, he says. (Hacking Autism is a non-profit that creates new tech for people with Autism.)

People on the spectrum are particularly suited to the tech industry with their attention to detail, precision, affinity for repetitive tasks and natural ability with tech skills. Many of them have college degrees and IQs that are off the charts.

"They can see your product or software differently. They can figure out how something works, break down the product, find the problems and rebuild it -- and they can do all that in their heads," says Tara Roehl, McKinney's daughter and a speech pathologist specializing in Autism.

Sadly, some 85 percent of these tech geniuses are unemployed mostly because they are considered weird, she says. Many of them don't get past a recruiter who can't recognize their superior tech skills. Or they get hired, then fired, because they don't fit in.

"If a company broke it down, what do they really want? Do they want someone who can take their product to the next level? Or do they want someone who can chitchat around water cooler? Many people on the spectrum end up losing their jobs because they can't chitchat," says Roehl.

Read more of Julie Borts Business Insider article HERE.

Going to College With Autism Aging out of supports, kids on the spectrum struggle

Vassar junior Zoe Gross knows her strengths and weaknesses all too well. So while she gets good grades, the 21-year-old is aware that she does things more slowly than most people, including getting dressed in the morning, transitioning between activities, and writing papers. It makes college an even greater challenge. "When you take into account that when I'm living on my own it is difficult for me just to keep myself washed, fed and in clean clothes," she says, "it means that I can't do the schoolwork as fast as the professors can assign it."

Gross is on the autism spectrum, and her struggles with life skills and executive function—the mental processes that involve things like planning, time management and multitasking—leave her feeling depressed and anxious. "I get sick a lot because my immune system is shot," she says. "I got strep and mono in one semester." Of course, this adds to her anxiety and trouble getting things done. "Every semester I am absolutely miserable by finals." After finally hitting a serious "rocky patch," as she puts it, Gross decided to take a break this semester.

Gross represents a wave of young people on the less affected end of the autism spectrum who are headed off to college after high school. Because these bright if socially awkward children have been doing well academically, it's a natural assumption they will do fine in college and beyond. Many parents of children with diagnoses including PDD-NOS and Asperger's do not anticipate the struggles their kids, without the family structure and the supports they were provided in school, will face.

Conventional wisdom holds that the biggest problems for those on the less severe end of the spectrum are social and communication issues. They might miss social cues and misunderstand what's expected of them. But disrupted executive function, usually associated with ADHD, is also common in people on the spectrum, says Dr. Ron J. Steingard, senior pediatric psychopharmacologist at the Child Mind Institute. "I think the burden is increased in autism," he says.

Which makes college, often the first foray into independent living, especially challenging. While Gross sees many students reveling in their freedom, she says the responsibility of staying organized and on track that goes with freedom is her most formidable obstacle. "I've talked to people who want to frame the issues I have as social because they see autism only as a social disability," she says. "But any social issues I might have at college pale in comparison."

Read more of Beth Arky's Child Mind Institute article HERE.

Asperger's Are Us comedy troupe plays off their disability

Jack Hanke, 18, arrived at rehearsal wearing a giant sombrero and green kimono. Noah Britton, 29, took off his pants mid-practice, explaining that they still stank from last night's concert. He ran through the rest of his comedy troupe's practice wearing boxers, and the group's signature T-shirt, which reads: "I don't want your pity."

Britton, Hanke and the other two members of Asperger's Are Us don't care who thinks they're weird. Or even funny. They think they're hilarious. And if others don't, who's the one with the disability?

Many traits the public has long found engaging or amusing have their roots — perhaps surprisingly — in Asperger's. The absurdity of Monty Python, the flat demeanor of Star Trek's Mr. Spock and the awkwardness of Andy Kaufman, are all common Aspergian traits. Dr. Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang Theory gets laughs for those characteristics, too.

"In the last few years, Asperger's has become recognized as a foundation for some elements of comedy," said John Elder Robison, a nationally renowned Asperger's advocate, and author of Be Different. "All of a sudden there is a broad public awareness that the reason for behavioral differences in those characters would probably be called Asperger's."

Common traits of Asperger’s and their consequences:
Intense focus – can limit ability to multitask, as well as enable expertise.

Hypersensitivity to sensory input, change and human interactions – can lead to being overwhelmed by sights, sounds and stresses, as well new observations, insights

Inwardly directed – often fail to notice the impact of their behavior on others; capable of being extremely insightful.

Don’t conform to social norms , often because they can’t understand them – can lead to social isolation, as well as creativity, originality

Linear, literal thinking – can lead to confusion about metaphors and sarcasm, and difficulty learning without ordered instruction, as well as bluntness, an inability to lie, and desire for fairness.

That growing recognition helps groups such as the Boston-based Asperger's Are Us, which is getting gigs right now because it's Autism Awareness Month. They're grateful for that, but as their shirts suggest, the men aren't seeking compassion.

We'd much rather (the audience) appreciate us as comedians than as people who've overcome adversity," said Britton, the group's informal leader since he was the others' camp counselor seven summers ago.

Asperger's, which is defined by social awkwardness and repetitive behaviors, is part of the broader "Autism Spectrum," of related disorders.

Members of Asperger's Are Us revel in absurdist humor, like Kaufman's and Monty Python's. Some of their own jokes get laughs because their delivery is so dead-pan, some because they offer insights into male adolescence, and some because they're just plain wacky, like a skit in which one member says another has gotten him pregnant and the other replies, "You can't be pregnant, I'm bubble-wrap."

Read more of Karen Weintraub's USA Today article HERE.

April-Autism Awareness Month Event at Valle Verde

As part of Autism Awareness Month, Valle Verde will be hosting a special presentation on Thursday, April 26 at 6:30pm in the Multi-Use Room. Dr. Kathryn Stewart, a clinical psychologist and author based in Walnut Creek, will share information on students with Asperger’s Disorder, its effect on social and academic functioning, and implications for intervention. Dr. Stewart, founder of the Orion Academy in Moraga, published a book in 2002 entitled Helping Children with NLD or Asperger’s Syndrome: A Parent’s Guide and is an adjunct professor at The Wright Institute in Berkley. All interested parties are welcome to attend. Valle Verde information HERE.

BBC video - My Autism and Me

The Man Who Learned to Talk From Howard, Reeg and Dave

Did you hear the one about the guy who learned how to make friends and influence people with the help of Howard Stern and David Letterman?

David Finch, a former marketing exec who has been dealing with the socially crippling aspects of Asperger’s syndrome, says he overcame his awkwardness by studying the top talk-show hosts.

Each star did one thing exceptionally well, Finch discovered. And by copying what they did, he began — for the first time in his life — to piece together a public personality for himself.

He’s just written a book — “The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband” — about his experience.

Read more of Matt Abraham's New York Post article HERE.

Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Once he read the book and script for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, it was “very simple” for Academy-Award nominated director Stephen Daldry to immediately say yes to directing the film for producer Scott Rudin, who he had worked with on The Hours. The first decision scriptwise was to see the story primarily through the boy Oskar’s point of view, a character with a form of high functioning autism that makes those with the condition experience the world in unusual ways. “We did a lot of work with different folk involved in Asperger’s and how those kids do see the world,” explains Daldry. “It’s about the nature of touch and smell. What they would be wearing; what they would not be wearing – different fabrics. And things they would hear, the audio world of it. The depth of field, the whole idea of what is in focus and what’s not in focus. All those notions that are in the film came from our work – and not just my research, but the research of Chris Menges, Ann Roth and Claire Simpson? – rooted in the world of an autistic child.”

Read more of Mary Ann Skweres' Below the Line article HERE.

Navigating Love and Autism

GREENFIELD, Mass. — The first night they slept entwined on his futon, Jack Robison, 19, who had since childhood thought of himself as “not like the other humans,” regarded Kirsten Lindsmith with undisguised tenderness.


She was the only girl to have ever asked questions about his obsessive interests — chemistry, libertarian politics, the small drone aircraft he was building in his kitchen — as though she actually cared to hear his answer. To Jack, who has a form of autism called Asperger syndrome, her mind was uncannily like his. She was also, he thought, beautiful.

So far they had only cuddled; Jack, who had dropped out of high school but was acing organic chemistry in continuing education classes, had hopes for something more. Yet when she smiled at him the next morning, her lips seeking his, he turned away.

“I don’t really like kissing,” he said.

Kirsten, 18, a college freshman, drew back. If he knew she was disappointed, he showed no sign.

On that fall day in 2009, Kirsten did not know that someone as intelligent and articulate as Jack might be unable to read the feelings of others, or gauge the impact of his words. And only later would she recognize that her own lifelong troubles — bullying by students, anger from teachers and emotional meltdowns that she felt unable to control — were clues that she, too, occupied a spot on what is known as the autism spectrum.

Read more of Amy Harmon's New York Times article HERE.

Springstone School Open House, December 3, 2011

Springstone School Open House
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
The Springstone School is an independent school for grades 6 through 12 that serves students with Asperger's Syndrome,Non-verbal Learning Disability and other executive function challenges.
More information HERE.

Testing, No Testing, Too Much Testing

Gretchen Herrera expected it would just be her and her son, who has Asperger syndrome and Type 1 diabetes, on the steps of the capitol building in Columbia, S.C., this Saturday, protesting standardized testing.

The reasons for her protest began building last May. She had tried several times to have Anthony, 12, exempted from South Carolina's annual tests in reading, math, and other subjects when he was in 6th grade last school year. But no reason would do—not even a doctor's note that explained Anthony's blood sugar could spike because of his Asperger-related anxiety.

And on the first day of testing, that's just what happened, Ms. Herrera said. Her son zipped through the test—his mother later learned he scored well—and his blood sugar zoomed to more than 300, the danger zone for diabetics. So Anthony stayed home during the rest of the testing dates.

"I don't want this," Ms. Herrera said. "I don't want my son exposed to this."

While some parents and advocates for students with disabilities worry that their children are being left out of testing and, in turn, their schools left unaccountable for their children's progress, Herrera predicts that her initial prediction of a lonely protest against testing Saturday will be wrong.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

Bullying Prevention a Special Concern for Students With Disabilities

Tyler and Teagen Comeau, who have Asperger's syndrome, can recall being bullied a number of times at school or on the bus.

But the 13-year-old twins, who live in Mansfield, Conn., can't always tell someone about it. The way they react is governed by their condition, a form of autism.

The day a bully kicked Tyler in the face, for example, he went to the only adult on the bus, the driver, but was unable to form words. The bus driver told him she was going to write him up for crying, according to this story in the Connecticut Post.

The month of October is bullying prevention month, and some organizations are putting a special emphasis on preventing bullying of students with disabilities.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

Nine Myths about Aspergers

By Steve Emfield - Special Education Articles from the Special Education Advisor

Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition of the brain and nerves, usually in place by birth, that affects how a person sees the world, processes information, and interacts with other people. Because those with AS act differently and since society has mechanisms for maintaining social norms, those with Aspergers are misunderstood, labeled, and rejected by society. If society would instead embrace our different brain types and variety of nervous systems, both those with AS and society at-large would benefit. In fact, Thom Hartmann points out that it is precisely those who are wired differently that have saved some civilizations in the past and it is those same types who will save our own civilization in the future – if we strive to accept them and understand what they see.

Myths of Science. Science is the great purveyor of truth. It is science that has brought us machines, electronics, and modern medicine. However, in every era, science proclaims its theories as infallible. At one point scientists declared the earth the center of our solar system, encouraged the bleeding of evil spirits from George Washington, dropped a planet from the official list, and every decade or so reclassified human disabilities. If science was always accurate and less dogmatic, it would not change its positions under duress.

Myths of Culture. Like science, the aggregate of humanity that we call civilization or society imposes its expectations on us in the form of culture. Like science, society measures what appears to be the average in all areas and declares it to be desirable. Unfortunately, the norm for a small group is not normal for the world. What is average today may merely be a fad gone tomorrow. Science and society have promoted oft-repeated myths about autism and Asperger’s syndrome to the point that these myths have become broadly accepted. The following is a small sample.

Myth 1: Autism and Aspergers are two names for the same thing.

Myth 2: We do not know what causes autism.

Myth 3: Autism and Aspergers can and should be cured.

Myth 4: Those with autism and Aspergers have normal nerves.

Myth 5: Autism is five disorders.

Myth 6: It is unclear if those with autism or Aspergers are biologically different.

Myth 7: Autism and Aspergers occur during early childhood.

Myth 8: Those “on the spectrum” are inferior and defective human beings.

Myth 9: Those who have not been diagnosed with autism do not have it.

Read complete article HERE.

Asperger's Syndrome: High-Functioning Autism to Lose Its Name

The American Psychiatric Association formalized the diagnosis of Asperger's in 1994, 50 years after it was first described by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger. But the association plans to remove the term "Asperger's" from its new diagnostic manual, set for release in 2013 -- a decision that has sparked criticism from advocacy groups.

"When the term 'Asperger's' started to get used, it was a tremendous relief for families of children and adults with the syndrome. They finally had a name for what was going on; they could finally understand what the struggle in their lives was about," said Dania Jekel, executive director of the Asperger's Association of New England. "My worry is that we'll go back 16 years to a time when folks with Asperger's syndrome will not be recognized."

But members of the American Psychiatric Association's Neurodevelopment Disorders Workgroup, the group spearheading the change, said removing the term "Asperger's" from its manual and instead referring to it as an autism spectrum disorder will help focus the diagnosis on an individual's special skills and needs at that moment in time.

Read Katie Moisse's ABC News Health article HERE.

Autism Diagnosis: Who has what, and why?

By John Elder Robison from My Life With Asperger's - Psychology Today

Are Asperger's, Autism, and PDD-NOS all the same?

I listened to a very interesting talk today from Catherine Lord, one of the creators of the ADOS test. ADOS is kind of the "gold standard" diagnostic test for autism, and she's a well-respected figure in the world of autism diagnosis, so I jumped at the chance to hear her thoughts on where we're headed in that regard.

In the autism world, people who are given a diagnosis are told they have one of three conditions: Autism, Asperger's, or PDD-NOS. The big question is, who should be diagnosed with what? Is there a coherent sense of classification, or is it merely arbitrary or random? She reviewed the diagnostic data for several thousand spectrumites in an effort to determine what caused a person to end up in one of those three categories.

To her surprise, after analyzing the data, she found the principal predictive factor had nothing to do with the individual. Looking at records from a number of good university hospitals, she found places who called almost everyone Asperger, and other places where everyone was PDD-NOS. There was no discernible pattern of variation between individuals; they seemed to simply get different diagnoses in different places.

Read complete article HERE.