Our Life with NLD

I am learning so much about Nonverbal Learning Disorder every day. I thought using my blog as a vehicle for this information would be helpful to pass along information that I'm learning. I've been reading "Bridging the Gap: Raising a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder" and it has been very eye opening. I thought I'd share a few snippets from there in today's post. I am learning a lot about what implied context is and how much it is just a part of everyday communication. I have to retrain myself to not use implied context and it is hard. This paragraph gives a glimpse--

"When you are teaching your rules to your child, it's important to say what to do, not just what not to do. If you say, "Don't throw the Frisbee in the house," you're actually implying a lot of nonverbal information that your child may not infer. You've told your child not to throw a Frisbee indoors, but he may still think it's okay to throw a basketball in the living room. "Please throw things only when you're outside, " is a much clearer communication. As children with NLD must learn to take the perspective of others, we have to take their perspective, too, to understand what our words mean to them." Never assume your child knows something just because he "should" or because "everyone knows that." There are no "shoulds for children with NLD."

-Those that have been around Madeline a lot know that she can not be over prepared for new situations. I have to explain and explain what is going to happen, what possible outcomes are, etc. I now understand a lot more about why that is the case. She doesn't have the ability to "preview"--another neurological skill we naturally develop that she can't. This part of the book was enlightening--

"Children with NLD have difficulty with novel situations. Previewing upcoming events with them can make a big difference in how they handle a new situation and how anxious about it they will be. Part of previewing requires keeping in mind the next thing coming up and getting ready for it. Most people do it automatically, creating a mental picture of how a situation will play out. But kids with NLD don't Ave the ability to make mental pictures about future events, they need to use words to get them prepared. If you ask your child to talk through a scenario with you, you're helping him learn to preview a process through language."

--This section of the book also touches on an important future goal for Madeline. We don't expect her to be able to preview events like other kids can, but we are going to work on giving her adaptive skills to process in her own way and feel more prepared for new things. It has been an important distinction for me to recognize this process is not about her "becoming normal" or "catching up". It is about working with the neurological deficits she has and creating adaptive skills for her so she can process things in a more predictable way.

Well, I think that is enough for today. I have so much information coming in that at least this is a way for me to get some out. Thanks for reading.