Estimating Distances With NLD

Another challenge that NVLDers have is estimating distances between two objects. We have this issue because our visual-spatial perception is off and different neurotypicals’. Have you ever had challenges with approximating distance because you don’t have a good sense of how much space is between two objects? I’ve had this experience countless times in my life. 

Consequently, I hate when my dad asks me a question about distance. He’s good at doing that because he used to be a carpenter before working for my mom. He taught himself how to approximate the size of a room by counting ceiling tiles or how big the slabs of plywood were on the floor. He has helped me with learning how to estimate distances better so that I don’t run into so many things when I’m driving or carrying something. 

I always have to be aware of what is around me when I try to move something from one place to another so I don’t break or damage something.  It’s not easy to do this for me because I always feel like the object I’m carrying or moving is separate from my body, not an extension of it. This also makes driving difficult because of having to judge space between yourself and another vehicle. 

I’ve done several things to help me improve my visual-spatial perception. I play darts and try to aim better for the board. I count how many steps it takes for me to get from one place to the other. I also try to break sooner than I think I need to when driving so I don’t run into the vehicle in front of me. I also try to practice measuring distances so I can help myself visualize them better. For example when I’m using a knitting pattern I often measure my work to see how close I am to the next step. I also try to imagine a football field often to help me remember when I need to turn on my signal to turn when driving. Additionally, I try to imagine how big something is compared to the room I’m currently in. 

One time when I was parallel parking I used my shoe to make sure I wasn’t too far away from the curb. It’s okay if you can laugh at what I did too. I didn’t have a tape measure with me so I used what I had access to at the moment. And it worked, because I knew I was okay if I was 18 inches away from the curb. And not parked by a fire higdirent. There have been many times when I’ve tried to parallel park that I was too far from the curb. One time I got a ticket and another time I didn’t. It’s hard for me to judge if I did it right unless another car is close to mine so I can judge it based on theirs. Hopefully they did a better job than I would have so I have a good estimate of how I did. 

I also have tried to visualize how much a cup of something is when I am cooking because that helps with estimating things too. It’s hard for me to know how much cheese to grade for a handful. But if you tell me how much to cut off the block by showing me with a knife where to cut then that makes it easier for me. I often measure how much water can fit in my water bottle so I know how much I’m drinking. But also so I know how much it holds and can visualize what that looks in the bottle and feels like when I left it.

 I hope that I’m making sense to you when I’m describing this issue. This challenge is harder for me to describe what it’s like to have a visual-spatial deficit to a neurotypical because I don’t know what it’s like for them. All I know is what it’s like for me. This is true with any issue that a neurodiverse individual experiences. Please be patient with us when we are trying to describe our challenges. You can try to help us but don’t put words in our mouths. Rather than doing that, try to suggest words so we can describe it better and more easily if that’s possible. 

For me it’s difficult to describe my challenges because I only know what it feels like and sometimes I don’t know the right words to use. This is true for me not only in the visual-spatial area but also in trying to describe my emotions and why I’m crying, frustrated, mad, feeling hopeless/helpless, or scared etc., if that’s the case at the moment. My family, especially my mom and brother, has been able to help me find the right words to express myself when I don’t know or can’t find them on my own.

Whether it’s trying to estimate distances between two objects, find words to express ourselves or approximate the size of something, I and others with NVLD still experience these challenges today. I would like for you to think about the challenges you have in these areas visually-spatial, expressing your emotions and describing why something is difficult for you to do.