Friday, January 22, 2010
Aspergers VS. Nonverbal Learning Disorder
When my son received his diagnosis of Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) he also scored as "high likely" for Asperger's Syndrome (AS). I found this very confusing for a long time and sometimes felt like the correct diagnosis should have been AS. Other times I felt that NLD was in fact the correct diagnosis. Still other times I . . . read more
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My now 10 yo son was given a PDD-NOS diagnosis at 5. At age 7 we went for a reevaluation and the "subtest scatter" showed that he fit more closely with NLD than with AS or autism in general.
ReplyDeleteWe know several kids with Asperger's and autism. And I never felt that that diagnosis fit completely. My son's ability to connect socially isn't impaired enough to merit an autism diagnosis, IMO. But he has always had a tendency to misinterpret nonverbal communication--especially with other kids. And his learning strengths and challenges are more in line with NLD too.
I think the line between the two can be blurry--and the professionals are still trying to figure it out. There will be some revisions in this area in the next edition of the DSM. But NLD makes the most sense to us.
I hadn't even heard of NLD until our doctors mentioned it! Thanks for writing about this.