Resources for hs'ing kid w/ NVLD & ADHD

[Soror]

A friend's child was just diagnosed, they are middle school age and plan to keep hs'ing. Can you point me to some info on ways to help a kid like this learn? It seems a lot of the ADHD rec's are the opposite of the NVLD recs, how do you reconcile that? 

[Storygirl]

My son has ADHD plus NVLD. I have never thought the accommodations suggested for him conflict with each other.

 

Your friend can google IEP accommodations for nonverbal learning disorders and get a good list of ideas to consider. Because some kids have mild symptoms, and some are more severe, she won't be able to just make a big list and follow it; she will need to figure out what her child's specific needs are.

 

Of primary importance is getting social skills help, because social skills impact employability as well as personal relationships. A private speech therapist may offer social skills therapy and/or group sessions.

 

Here is a list our psych just gave us to describe issues these kids may have: 1) Difficulty solving novel problems. 2) Difficulty making connections between ideas. This makes it harder to apply learned skills. 3) Behavior can be affected, because the kids can't adapt to situational requirements.

 

These are pragmatic language issues and can be worked on with a SLP.

 

Kids with NVLD commonly have a math disability and issues with reading comprehension (again, due to pragmatic issues), as well as visual spatial disability and trouble with social skills. Writing can be a problem, because of the difficulties with organizing thoughts, getting them on paper, and connecting one idea to another. People with NVLD tend to focus on details, not the big picture, and so have trouble recognizing the main idea of a text or spoken presentation.

 

Handwriting can be an issue, so a common accommodation is typing, getting copies of class notes, etc. Using simple graphic organizers to plan out writing.

 

One of the things to be aware of is that the problems associated with NVLD tend to worsen with age, because the person does not gain skills the way their peers do as they mature.

 

NVLD is very close to the spectrum, so understanding Asperger's is helpful. Many related resources also help with NVLD.

 

Although it is very kind of you to want to help her, I'm not sure it's very helpful for me to spend time writing out information that she is not going to read herself but will only get second hand. If she would like to post her own questions to the board, I'd be happy to engage with her.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Storygirl

[Storygirl]

By the way, I don't mean to sound grudging about offering advice. But three years after DS's diagnosis, I am still constantly learning more about NVLD and how to help him specifically. It's going to take a lot of time, effort, and research for this mom to get a handle on it, and seeking some outside therapy to supplement what they do at home will likely be important.Typing out everything I have learned would be a book of information, but it would be very specific to my own son, and her journey of discovery may be different.

 

There is a lot that she can read about NVLD online, so that is a place to start.

[Storygirl]

Also, if the child has the related learning disabilities in math, reading comprehension, and writing, she will need to carefully research and select curricula that addresses the child's needs in those areas. An all-in-one program will likely not work. Depending on the severity of issues, some academics may need intense intervention. Or the learning issues may be mild, in which case careful modification and adaptation of standard programs might work. It all depends on the specific child.

 

My curriculum suggestions would not help her, as we are no longer homeschooling.

[Soror]

Thank you for your thoughts Storygirl. She is reading all she can and looking for local people and resources for help but isn't having much luck yet. So, I told her I would try and see what I could find out to help her and was going to pass the info onto her and see if I could find any people. She knows it is going to be a lot to learn and she is trying to get a handle on it. I would love to put her into contact with people she could talk to personally, do you know of any groups she could join?

[Storygirl]

It's a good question, but I don't have an answer. I haven't found anything locally. Although looking back, I'm pretty sure that I knew two people with NVLD traits in high school and college, I doubt they knew that about themselves (or at least did not reveal knowledge of any disabilities to me, even though I was tutoring them). I have never met anyone else in real life with the diagnosis or who has a child with this diagnosis, unfortunately.

 

NVLD is a controversial diagnosis, in that it is not in the DSM. We are starting to work with a new psychologist, and my heart sank a little when he mentioned that he didn't believe in the NVLD diagnosis, but then he proceeded to show that he completely understood the learning profile anyway, better than any other professional that we have met. So we have hope he will understand how to work with DS.

 

Anyway, since it is both little known and a disputed diagnosis, finding a support group is tricky. Connecting with an autism support group may help her, since many of the interventions and needs overlap or are the same as those with Asperger's or HFA.

 

She might call her local public school to see if they have a parent support group that is open to the community. The members would likely have kids with various learning differences, but she might find someone to connect with there. I'm currently trying to figure out how to connect with our local public school district's parent group, even though our kids are enrolled in private school.

 

She may be able to find an online support group. I have not done so, because I tend to not be a joiner in general. But I probably should look into it too!

Edited April 26, 2017 by Storygirl