NLD, Context of Conversations and Big Picture Perspective
Today’s episode will be about NLDers sometimes forgetting the context or point of bringing up a story. Also when they go off topic and forget to say they’re going to. Do you ever have challenges with thinking in big picture terms? Or have difficulty with noticing when someone is not tuned into the conversation you’re having with them? Do you also have some issues with staying on topic with the conversations as well? Well, these are things I want to talk about today.
I’ve gotten better in these areas because I’ve worked hard. I’ve done it by trying to pay attention to social cues and realize when someone is into the conversation anymore. I’ve also tried to be mindful of what topic is a conversation before changing it. I do try to pay attention to how often I text my friends also and if I’m changing the topic now. I remember that I would forget to provide the context of why I’m talking about something before I bring it up. It’s more about setting the context for a conversation that NVLDers forget rather than saying it.
Here’s a quote from an article that tells you what NLD is:
“Cumbersome monologues are another trait of a child with nonverbal learning disabilities. Normal conversational "give and take" seem to elude her. Teachers complain of a child who "talks incessantly" and parents resolve, "She just doesn't seem to know when to be quiet!" Owing to visual-spatial disturbances, it is difficult for this child to change from one activity to another and/or to move from one place to another. A child with NLD uses all of her concentration and attention to merely get through a room. Imagine the frustration produced when attempting to function in a complicated and/or new social situation. Owing to her inability to "handle" such informational processing demands, she will instinctively avoid any kind of novelty.”
This is a good quote because I remember talking to my NVLD friends about and I know I do it too occasionally. We monologue because we don’t know how to talk back and forth with someone. And sometimes they don’t talk back and forth with us either which doesn’t help.
Another article that talks about details versus the big picture are from the NVLD Project. It is titled “Recognizing and Helping NVLD Kids in the Classroom,” by Susan Micari, MS. Ed. Written on November 25, 2019. Susan is on the “Board Certified Educational Therapist. Susan Micari is a Board Certified Educational Therapist who, together with Dr.Annalisa Perfetto, has started practice for adults with learning disabilities called EdTherapyNYC. This practice addresses dyslexia, NVLD, ADHD, and executive function deficits in adults who are in college, graduate school, and the workforce.
Susan has practiced educational therapy with children, teens, and adults for 27 years, and has written for The Educational Therapist, an online journal of The Association of Educational Therapists, and has served on the board of directors for the organization. Her film on learning disabilities appears on YouTube and The Today Show.”
“If you looked at her writing for English class, she’d miss the point of a complex novel quite often, and in fact, found class boring. All that talk about what was going on inside the characters made less sense to her than what the character did. She was content then with finding fictional characters mysterious or inexplicable.”
I can relate to Susan’s client Vera because I’m very detailed oriented also and have challenges with grasping the big picture. but I have worked at trying to see it more because I know helpful that prospective can be to have in life. I know it’s this is true because I see my neurotypical family members and friends demonstrate often.
One thing I’ve done to see the big picture more is trying to manage my money better. By managing your money better you can see how useful it is in other areas and how important it is to save money so you can use it be able in other areas. Seeing something from someone else’s perspective so I can try to be in their shoes. This also helps because then you may wind up learning more about yourself than you had before. Or something you never knew about yourself.
I learned more about myself by researching other people’s perspectives for this podcast. For instance, I learned more about my friend NLD and how it affects me. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t the only one who had challenges with migraines, bad reflexes, or social cues. This made me feel not as alone and more included. It also helped me relate more with my potential audience because I realized that they may be in a similar situation I was in.
One thing that I realized I hadn’t grown out of by talking to one of the audience members is dyslexia. I used to flip flop letters in words when I would write them usually the i and e. When making a homemade card for a family member I would have it open the wrong way instead of opening from the right to the left, it would open from left to the right. I don’t do the card thing anymore but sometimes I still do the letter thing. I also sometimes will skip lines when I’m reading the podcast script that’s why I underline it. And you might have noticed me saying that I missed a line before when listening to the podcast. I’m bringing all this up because sometimes people think NLD is similar to dyslexia which it isn’t. But people with NLD can have other learning challenges simultaneously like ADHD, bipolar, OCD, ASD, dysgraphia or ADP, etc.
I also try to do things like watch the news because that often provides the big picture and details of topics so it helps me notice the difference between the two more easily. Watching the news not only helps with seeing the big picture and details but also building my vocabulary. Developing these three areas helps me try to use words better and learn how to use them correctly. If I know how to recognize the difference between the big picture and details then I can be better at using them for this podcast which might help you, my audience with doing the same.
As I wrap up today I would like you to know that there are people out there with NLD and other learning challenges that still struggle in these areas of staying on topic, thinking in big picture terms, and trying to remember to introduce context to conversations. I would like to hear from you my audience on how you struggle in these areas of: staying on topic, thinking in big picture terms, and trying to remember to introduce context to conversations. Please comment on this episode on my website livingwithnld.com. Or on YouTube. You can also email me at livingwithnld@gmail.com. Hope you learned something new today and talk to you next Friday.
Links for articles:
