History of NLD, Autism, ADHD, and Aspergers

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Written By Butterfly Changing

Today, we’re going to discuss the history of Autism, Aspergers, and NLD. I read an article, “Who Was the First Person to be Diagnosed with Autism” about the history of autism to discover when the first person was diagnosed with it. It started in 1933 when Donald Triplet was sent to an institution to be 50 miles away from his family in Mississippi. After being there for a year his parents removed him even though the people in the institution told them not to do that. 

They wanted to find answers and help for Donald. They did find help for him from Dr. Kanner “who was one of the nation’s top psychiatrists.” He was able to tell his parents why he was behaving the way he was. I have worked with children and adults on ASD. They were clients who had high and low functioning, nonverbal and verbal, aggressive, and not aggressive at all. 

One of the ways to set NLD and ASD apart from each other is by this quote “Both disorders are associated with problems with motor skills, but it is explained in NVLD by visual-spatial organization while in autism, it is associated with sensory processing difficulties. While teens with autism tend to be visual learners, teens with NVLD learn better by hearing information.” (end quote)  This quote is from an article titled “Nonverbal Learning Disorder vs Autism Spectrum Disorder” by  Dr. Gordon Day

This quote offers good distinctions between NLD and ASD because it says why one with NLD would have challenges with motor skills vs. one with ASD which might be confusing for someone who may know much about the two and how they’re different. It also shows how NVLDers and people with ASD learn differently which makes sense to me now that I think and reflect on all the different clients I had on the ASD most of them learned better with visual cues than auditory ones. But someone with NLD would be the opposite in most cases unless their visual memory is stronger but that’s not what I've seen in who I’ve met so far. 

I had one client who has Autism and ADHD. He is 7. He would have tantrums that would last about 3 hrs. He would be aggressive towards me and my coworker so we would have to defend ourselves in order not to get hurt. One time I didn’t block because I wasn’t expecting it and he kicked me in my private part. This made me learn to block my body any time he had a tantrum. 

This one of my hardest clients because I would feel empathetic for him because I felt like I could relate since I have NLD. I’m not saying NLD is the same thing as Autism because they are different from each other. But I can relate because I know what it’s like to have a challenging life. One of the differences between ADHD and NLD is that (quote) “often those with ADHD are good at more gross-motor activities and sports, whereas those with NVLD struggle initially with most motor activities, including sports.” (end quote) (https://www.ldatschool.ca/ate-nvld-and-adhd/#:~:text=The%20difference%20is%20that%20often,Handwriting%20and%20 Improve%20 Literacy%20Skills.) 

This quote is from the article “What are the differences and similarities between Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (NVLD) and ADHD?” by Dr. Allyson Harrison, Associate Professor of Psychology and Clinical Director of the Regional Assessment & Resource Centre, Queen’s University 

Another difference is that with math (quote) “As such, someone with NVLD will struggle in math every day, in every class, with every teacher. By contrast, individuals with ADHD are often “unavailable” for learning...Typically, students with ADHD have difficulty in math because of what are often called “careless” errors. “ (end quote)  

I can relate to both of these quotes because I am better at both fine and gross motor skills only because I’ve worked at improving them. I also did this with math. I try to do these things with everything that I find challenging because of having NLD but some things are easier to tackle than others. My gross motor, along with math skills are easier to change than my driving skills have been but that won’t let me give up or get discouraged because I want to become more independent and adult. 

Aspergers was discovered in the 1940s. But wasn’t added to the ASD until 1994. I got this info from an article titled, “Asperger’s Syndrome” (quote) “Asperger's syndrome (also known as Asperger's Disorder) was first described in the 1940s by Viennese pediatrician Hans Asperger, who observed autism-like behaviors and difficulties with social and communication skills in boys who had normal intelligence and language development.” (end quote) 

Temple Grandin is one of the most widely known people with Asperger’s. I have watched a movie about her that was made in 2010. It was very well done. I learned a lot about her and Asperger’s from it. I learned that she is very gifted in math and has helped cows and people in many ways. I was able to understand what Asperger’s is and how it can affect a person’s life better. I don’t want to spoil it too much if you haven’t seen it. 

In an article titled “Estimated Prevalence of Nonverbal Learning Disability Among North American Children and Adolescents”, they say that 2.2 to 2.9 million people have NVLD! It was first described in 1967. I think there are more than that many who have NLD because they have probably gone either misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. This has to do with NLD being hard to understand by scientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. I also think that because there isn’t as much research out there about NLD it’s harder for people who have it and their loved ones to know where to go to look for it. 

Whenever I do research for my podcast topics I try to use reliable resources because I want my audience to be able to trust what they’re listening to and the information I provide them. I also provide them with the link to the articles so they can read them if they desire. This lets them decide how credible they are. I think the book “NLD from the Inside Out” is the third edition by Michael Brian Murphy. The author has NLD and defines, gives a history of it, and provides some good information about it. 

Following is a summary of the book from amazon. 

(quote)  “NLD From The Inside Out fully explains Nonverbal Learning Disability to anyone who has that diagnosis or who wants to understand it better. Michael Brian Murphy offers practical advice and strategies for school, relationships, and life after graduation. He writes with an authentic voice about a diagnosis that he shares with many other teens and adults. This inside look at NLD contains wisdom, clarity, and humor that will inspire those with NLD, as well as parents, teachers, and therapists. Author: Judith Canty Graves and Carson Graves, co-authors of Parents Have The Power To Make Special Education Work.

This book will be an eye-opener for teachers, parents, and other interested readers. No doubt many will realize, "Ahhh, now I understand..." and, hopefully, that understanding will contribute to the success of children and adults with NLD. It's also a valuable resource for young people with NLD: real-life voices, experiences, and common sense. As the parent of an adult child with disabilities, I've learned that the true experts in the field are people with disabilities; Mr. Murphy's book ably demonstrates that fact. Bravo! Author: Kathie Snow, Author of Disability is Natural: Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising Successful Children with Disabilities (www.disability natural.com)” (end quote)

I would recommend reading this book with someone who is neurotypical because some of it may be hard to understand depending on your reading level or the knowledge you have of NLD. If you do read it with someone else then you can talk to them about it and be able to bounce ideas off them about the book and NLD. 

Whether you have NLD, ASD, or Asperger’s your life will be challenging to varying degrees. But your life can also have positive aspects in it from the areas that you’re gifted. 

Butterfly Changing
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