Nonverbal Language Disorder (NLD)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Nonverbal Language Disorder (NLD)
3
Tue, 11-22-2005 - 12:44pm

Do you know anything about Nonverbal Language Disorder (NLD)? When I told therapist we were going to quit therapy and try a developmental pediatrician, she finally started communicating a bit better and let me know some of her thoughts. She suspects NLD for at least one of my kids. I've looked up some info, and one site said Asperger's and NLD exhibit very similarly. Do any of you have experience with NLD? I'm starting to feel a bit happier with the therapist and her approach, but I'd love to hear feedback from anyone with experience with NLD.

Also, someone told me that insurance often won't pay for any autism-related type diagnosis. In that case, might be better for us to have the NLD diagnosis, then. Is this true?

Thanks, and especially thanks for the support I've received while navigating this frustrating process!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Tue, 11-22-2005 - 2:10pm

I am by no means an expert, but from what I understand NLD and ASD are not mutually exclusive. My DD was dx'd PDD-NOS, and NLD is *part* of that diagnosis. I think that actually quite a few kids on the spectrum have NLD as part of their diagnosis.

OK, I just looked this up in a book ("Quirky Kids" by Perri Klass and Eileen Costello). Here is what it says.

NLD is a "descriptive diagnosis" as opposed to a "medical diagnosis." According to this book, "Descriptive diagnoses generally pinpoint areas of weakness or difficulty, which almost intrinsically suggest particular therapies. You may be more likely to hear these terms from therapists or educators, people who evaluate your child with the idea of matching her up to the most useful therapy." On the other hand, PDD, AS, and autism are "medical diagnoses," which the book defines as terms "that you're more likely to hear from a medically trained person, such as a pediatrician or a psychiatrist, a developmentalist, or a neurologist." In the book's description of AS, it reads, "Some people have suggested that NLD and Asperger's are the same, whereas others feel that it is possible to have one and not the other."

I hope all that isn't confusing! I think that basically what it means is that our kids often exhibit characteristics of many overlapping dx's, and that often a dx of AS or PDD-NOS means that the child has a cluster of disorders. My DD *definitely* has NLD; she's extraordinarily literal, can't pick up on social cues or nonverbal behavior, has a very difficult time understanding or reading emotions, etc. (When I point to a picture of a smiling girl and say, "Is this girl happy or sad?", 50% of the time she'll guess happy and 50% of the time she'll guess sad -- she really has no idea.) Social skills classes are crucial for kids like this as they get older. As our dev ped told us, at age 4 having an NLD isn't a huge deal; at age 12 it's REALLY a problem -- because as kids get older so much of their social world becomes dominated by nonverbal social cues. But basically, having NLD doesn't mean that your child doesn't have AS, and vice versa.

I think that the dx that will be most helpful will be the one that enables you to get the help you need for your child. If you can get the therapy you need with a dx of NLD, that's great, but you might need the AS dx in order to get everything you need... Definitely look into your insurance; mine covered our appt. with the dev ped to get a diagnosis -- I didn't even have to get a referral. So it really depends on what kind of insurance you have.

I hope that's at least a little helpful!!!

Jennifer :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 11-22-2005 - 5:58pm

When Mike was being diagnosed I was looking into NLD. I asked the neuro and she basically thought it was Asperger's lite. From what I have read some folks think the main difference is obsessions, that people with AS have obsessions. Others have thought it was the level of impairment and autistic behavior, etc. Hard to say for sure.

It would explain why she was doing an IQ test. That is part of how they diagnose NLD. With NLD the verbal IQ is higher than performance. They typically have trouble with visual skills. Actually in some ways my Emily is kind of NLD but I don't think she reaches the level of being impaired, but she does have the poor fine motor and visual skills, etc. The reading I had done on it about thier infancy and early childhood matched her alot but she is in no need of any diagnosis at this time.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Fri, 11-25-2005 - 10:59pm

Try to find the book "bridging the gap" (I think that's what it is called) -I can't remember the author's name, but she is an OT whose son had NLD and the book is his story.

-Paula

-Paula

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