Non- Verbal Learning Disabilities

1. Non- Verbal Learning Disabilities

2. About NLD • Not well defined or agreed upon by the experts. • Closely related to Asperger’s • Not formally acknowledged by the BC Ministry or the DSM as it is not well defined or accepted as a disability on its own. • It is misunderstood, because it is not a disorder that causes people to be nonverbal but instead displays a diminished ability for learning information that is presented non-verbally. Whitney, R., Nonverbal Learning Disorder: Understanding and Coping with NLD and Asperger’s- What Parents and Teachers Need to Know, Penguin, 2008 http://www.nldontario.org/articles/PuzzleNLD.html http://lifedevelopmentinstitute.org/aspergers-syndrome/dsm-v-to-exclude-aspergers-pdd-nos-wait-what/

3. Common Traits Between NLD and Aspergers • NLD and Aspergers share the following traits: • Difficulty understanding nonverbal communication • Large vocabulary • Strong verbal skills • Problems with social interaction • Interested in making friends but socially awkward • May miss social cues and gestures • Impairments in fine and gross motor skills and have difficulties learning sports or with handwriting • Prefers a routine and does not like change • Difference: A young child in Elementary does not usually present with a severe lack of social skills, but as social demands increase the lack of social skills become more evident. http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Nonverbal_Learning_Disorder_or_Aspergers

4. Deficits • So according to Dorothy M. Vacca who wrote for NLD Ontario the impairments that relate to a nonverbal learning disability as well as in Asperger’s manifest themselves in seven main categories of deficits: • Visual-spatial - difficulty with visual-spatial organization, perception, and imaging; • Cognitive processing - difficulty understanding connections between and among independent factors and relating these to the whole; difficulty understanding the "big picture"; • Language - flat tone of voice; difficulty understanding humor, multiple meanings of words, and nuances of language; • Motor - lack of coordination and small-motor skills related to handwriting; • Social - deficits in social understanding; • Behavioral - rigid behavior; difficulty with novelty and transition; and • Emotional - at high risk for anxiety disorder, panic attack, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and, in some cases, suicide. • http://www.nldontario.org/articles/PuzzleNLD.html

5. Co-morbidity • Can co-exist with: • ADD • ADHD • Tourettes • OCD • Sensory Processing • Intellectual Disabilities

6. Strengths • Excellent vocabulary and may have learned to speak at an early age. • Have an excellent rote memory, especially for what they hear. • Are very good at recognizing letters and numbers. • Are very good at reading and spelling. • Rely on spoken language to gather information and relate to others. • Learn and solve problems best by talking and listening. Children with NVLD take in (process) information verbally. Language helps them understand and remember information.

7. Activity Look at the picture that you have been handed and be prepared to share what you see with the class.

8. Visual- Spatial Indicators Demonstrating difficulties with: • making visual images • remembering and differentiating left and right • combining disconnected, vague or partially hidden visual information patterns into a meaningful whole - cow picture • manipulating simple visual patterns • mentally manipulating objects or visual patterns • estimating or comparing visual lengths and distances without measuring them • understanding mathematics concepts in geometry, calculus and other higher math • remembering letter formations and letter patterns • reading charts, maps and blueprints and extracting the needed information • arranging materials in space http://www.etfo.ca/MULTIMEDIA/WEBCASTS/SPECIALEDUCATION/Pages/Visual-Spatial%20Processing.aspx

9. Perception

10. Visual-Spatial Activities A few ideas: • Patterns • Visual Discrimination activities • Hidden pictures • Tangrams • Puzzles Websites: • http://pinterest.com/pediastaff/visual-perception-vision-puzzles-visual-discrimina/ • http://www.pediastaff.com/pedia-home

11. ACTIVITY • In groups of 2 try each of the tasks. You have one minute to complete each task before moving on to the next task. • Scissors • Use your non-dominant hand try to cut on the lines. • 2. Buttons • Wearing gloves button and unbutton the baby clothes • 3. Chopsticks • Use the chopsticks to locate and separate the square button with two holes. • 4. Hopscotch • On your non-dominant foot, hop through the course • 5. A Bit Dicey • You must stack six dice on a popsicle stick held in your mouth and balance them for three seconds.  • 6. Back Flip • The contestant must flip and catch a set of pencils from the back of their hand, starting with two for level 2, four for level 4 and six for level 7 and adding two more after each successful catch until they reached the specified number of pencils • 7. By a Thread • The contestant must use one hand to run a piece of thread through the eye of ten needles, each one with a smaller eye than the previous • 8. Card Ninja • The contestant must throw a playing card into a basket from 6 feet  • 9. Chop Stack • Using a pair of chopsticks, the contestant must stack four lip balm containers on top of each other. The tower must stay standing for three seconds in order to count

12. Motoric - Indicators Demonstrating difficulties with: • Awkward and clumsy actions (For example: dropping, spilling, bumping, or knocking things over.) • With buttons, zippers, snaps, and learning to tie her shoes. • Using small objects (such as Lego blocks and puzzle pieces) and objects that require precision (such as scissors). • Holding pencils and markers with an awkward grasp, resulting in poor handwriting and artwork that is immature for her age. • Difficulty coloring or writing “on the paper” or “within the lines.” • http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-learning-childhood-basics/early-childhood/understanding-physical-development-in-preschoolers

13. MotoricActivities A few ideas: • Pompom hockey • Hula Hooping • Limbo • Hopscotch • Ball Play • Pick up sticks • Button tasks • Braiding

14. Social Indicators Demonstrating difficulties with: • interacting with others • communicating in a group • beginning a conversation • conforming to group norms required in school • showing empathy for others • resolving conflicts • showing varying levels of disregard for acceptable school behavior, for example, active listening and paying attention to following directions • http://www.creducation.org/resources/nonverbal_communication/nvc_impairments.html

15. Social Activities A few ideas: • Modeling • Role Playing • Games • Books • Videos

17. Adaptations for the Classroom • Project an attitude of acceptance, respect, and warmth. • Highlight the student's strengths • Provide frequent feedback • Give specific directions for every group activity • Provide verbal explanations • Break tasks down into smaller components. • Simplify all visual materials. • Provide simple graphic organizers • Use lined paper for math lessons, folding it into smaller squares to help contain the work. • Use experiential activities to develop measurement and spatial concepts. • Teach social concepts directly. • Teach generalization. • Adapted from http://www.nldontario.org/articles/PuzzleNLD.html