Our 10 yr old son also has had a history of non-vocal tics. We find that they are transient, thank goodness. I name them (LOL) so I can keep track of them. For example, the bird tic means he bobs his head like a bird; bug eyes means literally that--he bugs his eyes out; the gollum tic (think Lord of the Rings) means he is doing this weird throat noise thing. He also has displayed shoulder shrugging, sniffing and a bizzare grimace. Stress is def a factor and he is unaware that he is doing it. My biggest fear is that he will be teased at school when the kids start to pick up on them. I too, would love to hear from other parent about how you deal with it.

Can anyone recommend some parenting books that outline what to expect throughout adolescence? I had plenty of books to guide me when my children were younger but now that they are approaching puberty (ages 10 and 12), I find myself floundering with unrealistic expectations and trying to navigate hormone-influenced behavior that has me at my wits end. I would appreciate any suggestions--books or websites.

I'm a elem reading teacher and I teach remedial reading to grades 1-3 using Wilson's Fundations curriculum--which has been adapted from the Wilson's Reading System (I use regular Wilson's for grades 4-5). We do 30 minutes 4 times a week and we've had great success--supported by both formal and informal assessments. My 1-3 graders love Fundations--come running into the class each day ready to get to work. Each level of the curriculum comes with a DVD that demonstrates the learning targets of each unit so you can view each lesson before teaching it. You can view samples of the Fundations curriculum at their website here: http://www.fundations.com/sample.asp Also, the regular Wilson's curriculum has a DVD series that teaches instruction for the 12 Wilson Steps. However, you have to purchase it separately. Just my 2 cents--I don't have any experience with the other curriculum.

My 9-yr old daughter has mixed E/R language disorder, along with NLD, ADHD and "non-specific" coginitive processing issues. Needless to say, having a meaningful dialogue is a challenge most days. I've found resources to address the ADHD and NLD, but not much yet about the language disorder. We did a month at Lindamood Bell last summer in the Visualizing/Verbalizing program and it seemed to help, but we live overseas, so we don't currently have access to that resource. Does anyone have any experience with this or can you recommend any books, websites? Thanks, Tracy

This series was recommended to us by my daughter's pediatrican when I took a ADHD parenting course. I highly recommend any of them to parents/teachers of an LD child. All are by Rick Lavoie and can be purchased either on his website or via PBS. It's So Much Work to be Your Friend (Helping the Child with Learning Disabilites find Social Success) Last One Picked/First One Picked on (Learning Disabilities and Social Skills) When the Chips are Down.... (Strategies for Improving Children's Behavior) How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop This unique program allows viewers to experience the same frustration, anxiety and tension that children with learning disabilities face in their daily lives. Teachers, social workers, psychologists, parents and friends who have participated in Richard Lavoie's workshop reflect upon their experience and the way it changed their approach to L.D. children.

Hi Cynthia, I cross-posted here after responding to your diagnosis post. I'm so relieved to be "here", where people understand what I'm talking about. It's been 2 years since our diagnosis and I feel as though I'm just now beginning to understand the ramifications of how NLD will impact my daughter's life. It's so complicated and overwhelming at times. Those days when I have to answer for the nth time, "Mommy, why does your face look like that?" and I have to explain that this is my concentrating face because traffic is heavy and I"m trying to be a safe driver, and no, I"m not angry, etc.... Our school has not been helpful at all regarding her social skills training, even though it's in her IEP--so I've given up on the counselor and started doing it myself. We are having REALLY good results with a curriculum I started about a month ago. I recommend "Social Skills Training" by Jed E. Baker. This book, in conjunction with social stories that I learned how to compose from Carol Gray's "The New Social Story Book", really seem to be working and my daughter's relationships and behavior at school have noticably improved. I also do a "social autopsy" at the end of each day--an idea I got from one of my LD advocate heros, Rick Lavoie. We have a chart we fill out with "significant" social interactions from each day and we classify them as negative, positive, or confusing. We celebrate the positive interactions and deconstruct the negative ones to help my daughter understand what happened and how she might handle/interpret the situation differently next time. The confusing interactions are also important because so much happens around her that she can't process and if we let it all go, she won't progress as effectively socially. I find that filling out this chart also gives my daughter the opportunity to validate her feelings about these interactions and come away feeling better about herself--that's it not always her fault when things don't go well, and that sometimes, kids are just mean--for various reasons. When I'm ready to run away and hide from all this, I try to remember something I read in ADDitude Magazine (one of my favs): "When your child is driving you crazy and you are ready to give up, remember that he/she didn't ask to have [fill in the blank]." Another friend continually reminds me that even though I often don't agree with the good Lord's judgement call on this particular point, He chose my husband and I to parent this child. Sometimes, these two statements are the only things that get me through the day.

Non-verbal learning Disorder I'm new to the forum, and I"m cross-posting my info here as NLD isn't something I come across very often in forums. My 9yr old daughter has NLD or NVLD as it's sometimes called. It seems to be one of those LDs you've never heard of until your child or someone you know is diagnosed with it. Fortunately, there is more and more information available in the 2 yrs since we received our diagnosis. Here are some that I've found to be most useful: In addition to the website already mentioned, I use: www.nlda.org www.nldline.com www.nldontheweb.org www.schwablearning.org Asperger’s Disorder and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: How Are These Two Disorders Related to Each Other? http://www.nldontheweb.org/Dinklage_1.htm Raising NLD Superstars by Marcia Brown Rubinstien Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School by Pamela B. Tanguay (she also wrote one for NLD at Home) The Source Book for Non Verbal Learning Disorder by Sue Thompson DD is now in 3rd grade and I'm finding that the older she gets, the more challenging this condition. Our biggest problem right now is social skills--or her lack of them. I read scores of books on social skills training to try and teach her how to navigate her world. In addition to this challenge, DD also has mixed expressive-receptive language disorder, ADHD and other non-specific cognitive processing issues. Amazingly enough, she is a positive, cheerful kid, but generally clueless to the world around her. We have to explicitly and directly teach her everything as she is able to extract very little meaning from most of her interactions. Although she's not autistic, sometimes I feel like she is as our level of communication is pretty basic. We have to explicitly and directly teach her almost everything as it's so difficult for her to extract meaning from her enviroment. Telling people she doesn't communicate well because of of a language disorder or NLD, I just get this blank "huh?" look. If I tell them her condition is similar to asperger's, they ususally "get it." I'd like to hear from others out there who are dealing with NLD and would appreciate any suggestions you might have. Tracy

Hi Cynthian, I"m mom to 9yr old Carmen with NLD or NVLD as it's sometimes called. It seems to be one of those LDs you've never heard of until your child or someone you know is diagnosed with it. Fortunately, there is more and more information available in the 2 yrs since we received our diagnosis. Here are some that I've found to be most useful: In addition to the website already mentioned, I use: www.nlda.org www.nldonline.com www.nldontheweb.org www.schwablearning.org Raising NLD Superstars by Marcia Brown Rubinstien Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School by Pamela B. Tanguay (she also wrote one for NLD at Home) The Source Book for Non Verbal Learning Disorder by Sue Thompson Carmen is now in 3rd grade and I'm finding that the older she gets, the more challenging this condition. Our biggest problem right now is social skills--or her lack of them. I read scores of books on social skills training to try and teach her how to navigate her world. Good luck with helping your son. I looked up the Professor B math curriculum and am interested in pursuing it as Carmen also struggles with the abstract concepts in math. Tracy