How Can NLD Go Misdiagnosed ? How Can It Be Under-diagnosed? Or Mistaken for ADHD?
Today we’ll discuss How NLD can go misdiagnosed? How can NLD be Under-diagnosed or mistaken for ADHD? Here is an article from the NVLD Project titled Speaking for the Silent Majority, by Vivian who is currently “a four-year college as a BSN student enrolled in a dual degree program for my BA in pre-law/history and a minor in philosophy. Upon graduation from college, I will be able to apply to law school to be a nurse attorney. At the age of 17-years-old, I was finally diagnosed with NVLD after many misdiagnoses. I’m currently fighting for equal education opportunities for NVLD students and raising awareness for NVLD.”
“Through the years I was grossly misdiagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, and an autism spectrum disorder. My family decided at the age of 17-years-old when I refused to go to school, to be tested by a private neuropsychologist. Three days of testing that each lasted eight hours and anxiously awaiting the results for five weeks; we finally found out I had NVLD with generalized anxiety disorder. It felt that then the future started to look brighter and I was on the road to a better path.
It took quite a long time to fight to be put in the proper schooling situation, but it finally happened. At times I became quite angry and irritated at the fact I had NVLD because not much is known about it and many don’t understand what it is or how to help someone with NVLD properly. Many teachers in previous schools said I wasn’t smart and that I would be lucky if I attended a four-year college and even luckier if I got accepted to community college, that felt like a huge punch in my gut. I knew I was capable of so much more and I couldn’t understand why educators who took the extra step in their education to help special education students would discourage them from the exact thing they were trained to help us do. Instead, they have a perception of special education students as being limited and not being able to do much. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
I think I’ve used part of this article before but I’m not exactly sure for what episode it was. It might have been the one about the History of Autism, ADHD, and NLD. But I’m using it again because I want to and can. I can relate to Vivan, since I used to think I had dyslexia which was true because I used to flip flop letters when I wrote words but I don’t do it anymore, but it didn’t happen when I read them. Sometimes it happened when I talked, like I would say one thing when I was thinking something else.
The reason NLD is misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed is that there is no agreed-upon definition of it and it can be mistaken for other learning challenges like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or Asperger’s but it is different from all those and it’s not the same as them. It does have things in common with them. Like one with NLD does have challenges in the social area like one with autism and Asperger’s does. It’s not easy for us to comprehend facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, or other things that are non-verbal in conversations.
One of the main differences between ADHD and NLD is that it takes us longer to process information, not that we aren’t paying attention or having a hard time doing that. We’re simply slower at processing information and it takes longer to absorb it, so sometimes if you see us giving you a blank look it may be because we’re trying to process what you just said. Like if you were telling us a joke we may still be repeating it to ourselves and trying to figure out what the punchline is. But one can have ADHD and NLD simultaneously. I've interviewed a couple of people for this podcast that fit into this category.
Another article from the NVLD project that explains why ADHD is similar to NVLD is titled “Is It NVLD or ADHD? Why the Confusion?” by Elizabeth Shoiry who is “an accredited neuropsychologist (OPQ), speaker and author who has over 25 years of experience working in the Canadian health and educational sectors, as well as with Canada’s First Nation communities.”
“Wrongful pharmaceutical treatment is another risk that improper identification can cause. Although ADHD can and does commonly coexist with NVLD, ADHD intervention and pharmacological treatment is usually ineffective for the management of NVLD symptoms. Increasing the dosage of the ADHD medication or changing the medication will have little or no impact on the challenges that NVLD presents and can lead to adverse effects.
Part of the reason for the confusion is because these two conditions share many of the same symptomatology, even though the underlying foundation of the symptoms differ. Since ADHD symptoms are more commonly recognized and understood, it is not surprising that at first glance individuals with NVLD can be misidentified as having ADHD. Some of the shared observable symptoms include:
Excessive talking
Interrupting people/Impulsivity
Poor interpersonal skills
Difficulty with peers
Difficulty with problem-solving
Poor organization skills
Poor time management skills
Inattentive, forgetful, and easily distracted
Requires extra time to complete tasks
Does not follow through or complete tasks
Trouble with transitions
Inflexible and rigid
Extreme behavioral issues/emotional dysregulation
Argumentative and oppositional
Academic performance inconsistent
So what can be done to ensure an accurate diagnosis of NVLD? The first step is to consult with a neuropsychologist who has expertise in ADHD, NVLD, and other learning disabilities and who can differentiate between possible disorders. A detailed history of the individual’s development, socio-emotional well-being, and academic performances must be taken. Just as important, specific information regarding the individual’s fine and gross motor abilities, interpersonal and visual-spatial skills should also be collected.”
This article is really good because it tells you how they are similar. What would make it better is if it explained more how they differ, but that may be hard to do. It would be easier if there was a clear definition of NLD, more information, and research about it because then we would have more material to read and give people to read. But we’re working on all those things.
If NLD doesn’t go misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed then people who have it and the families they belong to will be able to get what they need sooner. I remember when I was getting tested how eager I was to see the results of the tests because I wanted to learn more about myself. I also wanted to know if my personal hunch about being different from everyone else in my family was true or correct. Turns out I was right. I’m so glad that I told my parents about wanting to get tested and convinced them to have it done for me. Because it has made a world of difference in my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that diagnosis. Thanks, mom, dad, and Wright Institute.
So whether it’s trying to figure out if it is NLD, ADHD, or something else, I and others who have NLD are trying to speak for the ones that might be afraid to speak for themselves, “the silent majority,” as Vivian called them. Please share with me what challenges you have when trying to describe NLD, how it’s different from ADHD and Autism? You can do this by emailing me at livingwithnld@gmail.com or leaving a review at Apple Podcast. Also, leave a comment on this episode with the answer to the question livingwithnld.com, please. Or on Youtube as well. Hope you learned something new today and enjoyed the episode talk to you next Friday.
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