Some Misconceptions About My Chronic Migraine Condition and NLD
Good morning. Happy Friday to everybody. Sorry I didn't record last week. I tried to, but it wouldn't record for me. I think I had the microphone in the wrong port in my computer, so apologies for that. So Today's episode is about some misconceptions about NLD and my chronic migraine condition. Nonverbal learning disability is a learning challenge that makes it more difficult for individuals to process nonverbal information. This includes understanding things like body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, social cues, hand signals, and other behaviors that make up the bulk of social interaction. NLD or NVLD also has physical challenges such as impaired fine motor skills and lower visual spatial awareness, people with NLD can also process information more slowly, which makes it difficult to do things like mental math, retain information, and think abstractly. In spite of this, people with NLD can live rich lives with unique gifts like memorizing song lyrics, lines from movies, and names of friends. I am someone with the Invisible Learning Challenge nonverbal learning disability or difference of NLD or NVLD for short.
I created the Living with Invisible Learning Challenge podcast to educate people about NLD and what it's like to have it. Through this podcast, I hope to raise awareness and build community so fellow and mild ears and neurodivergence no longer feel as alone. I'm also the project social ambassador for the NVLD project. I have also helped neurotypicals and neurodivergent people with creating their own podcasts and websites to promote themselves. Please let me know if anyone you no needs help in this area.
So let's jump right into some misconceptions for NLD and for chronic migraines as well. And feel free to try to apply this to your own situation or to somebody you know if it is applicable. My pain and challenges aren't visible, so they aren't real. This is far from true. I didn't know why my pain and challenges were real until I got diagnosed with nonverbal learning difference. I like that word better than disability in college, the age of 19. I also started to have chronic migraines around that time. I didn't know what either of them were until I had graduated from college and waited a year to see if the migraines would stop. I knew NLD wouldn't stop because I was born with it.
I thought the migraines were from the stress, homesickness, and depression I was experiencing in college, which felt like a 4 year nightmare for me. Yes, I had some positive experiences in college, but the bad seemed to outweigh the good. Before I was diagnosed with NLD And had my accommodations. I was barely passing my classes with C's.
But after I got the accommodations and took more advantage of the tutoring center, I got a's and b's. That was a huge difference, And I began to enjoy some aspects of my life more because I knew why it was so challenging. Another misconception. But you can talk, drive, ride a bike, do mental math, plan a budget, and graduate from UC Berkeley in 4 years. So you're not disabled.
Yes, I can do all of those things, but I do have challenges doing them. Sometimes I can't talk well because it takes me a while to form my thoughts because of the pain from the migraine. Other times, I talk well, but my tone doesn't sound right because of the pain in my head, or I don't know how something sounds until I say it, and it's too late because of mentally. I did learn how to ride a bike and drive, but not until much later than most people do.
I learned to ride a bike when I was 15. I learned to drive when I was 22. I have challenges with fine motor skills, balance, feeling my body in space, and objects as extensions of my body. I have fallen off my bike before, but I get right back and keep going. I have been in 4 minor car accidents. Only 2 of them totaled my cars. I might give it up, though, because I want to ensure my and other safety. I'm still considering this after a few months from my last car accident. And, actually, I've been thinking about that more recently. I don't think I'll be giving up driving, but I'm definitely gonna give myself some restrictions, cautious goals, tools and skills to use when driving.
So for me, I know I don't drive well at night. So if I need to go somewhere at night, it'd be better if somebody else drove me, because my vision isn't very good at night, and I tend to be more tired, and I tend not to be as alert. So that's not very good for driving. And, my visual spatial isn't as good at night as it is in the morning or during the day. So, that would be one example.
Another example would be I don't usually trust myself to drive very well when I have a migraine that's really bad and I'm nauseous. So there have been a couple times where I have done it because I don't really have much other choice, but that's only been when I know where I'm going. I've done it many times, and I take it slow and easy, and I'm not going on the freeway. So those are some things I'm gonna put into place. And I've used those things before, but I need to use them more now than I did before.
Hopefully, I can, you know, have a partner or some friends who are willing to drive me places if I can't drive myself or family members. Also, I do have family members that can do that for me. I'm not dating currently, and I do have friends that are willing to drive me as well, but it's just a different lifestyle that I'm gonna need to get used to.
I can do mental math and plan a budget, but I do have challenges with doing them. I have to use paper for more difficult additions and for simple ones sometimes because it's easier for me to imagine or solve it with paper and pen. I have to use a very detailed list of steps to plan and manage my budget so I don't lose track of money and which step I'm on. Sometimes I need help from my mom who created the list for me because I can't figure out why things don't balance. Yes. I did graduate from UC Berkeley in four years, but not without an extreme amount of help from my mom, professors, and my accommodations.
Before that, I struggled, as I stated before, in this episode. I thought about quitting many times, but I didn't. What kept me going was imagining myself in the stadium on graduation day and believing that my family believed I could do it when it was difficult for me to believe in myself. So the first article I want to reference is titled Defying Misconceptions of My Learning Disability by Erin. And if you hear me use the word difference instead of disability, that's just the way I like to phrase it. Or sometimes I'll say learning challenge. So Erin is a member of the young adult leadership council for the National Center for learning disabilities. Actually, I'm on that too. Erin is passionate about c and the implementation of universal design and higher education. She is a student affairs professional And received her master's of arts and education and human development focusing on higher education administration concentrating in policy, finance from George Washington University.
"You don't look like you have a learning disability or difference. I would never have guessed that you have a learning difference. The 1 in 5 individuals who have learning or attention issues like my peers and I who serve on the young adult leadership council Of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Excuse me. Here are these comments all too often.
It's frustrating evidence that some in society have an image in quotes of what individuals with learning differences should look like or what they should be able to accomplish. Neurodiversity is 1 type of diversity, a category that doesn't occur to most people when they think of the definition of diversity, unquote. But disability or different learning differences impact each person in different ways. I have defied other people's ideas of what a learning challenge looks like. With hard work, determination, and support.
I graduated magna cum laude from my undergrad program, interned for Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and earned my master's degree. Now I have my eyes set on starting doctoral coursework ."
So I wanna applaud Erin for all that she's done for, helping be an advocate for the learning difference community and to be able to, like she said, give more awareness to what you can actually accomplish when you have a learning difference. You can accomplish more than most people think you can unless those people Have had somebody else in their life with special needs or they have special needs themselves.
So another misconception generated from chat GPT. "One of the biggest misconceptions of nonverbal learning differences is that individuals with this challenge are not intelligent or capable of achieving success. However, this is not true. Individuals with nonverbal learning differences often have strong verbal skills and may excel academically, but may struggle with tasks that involve nonverbal skills such as social interaction, spatial awareness, and motor coordination. It is important to remember that every individual with a nonverbal learning disability or difference is unique and may have different strengths and challenges." I wanted to see what chat GPT would come up with because I know it's AI, but I was curious if they would come up with something accurate, and that actually is pretty accurate. They are able to, you know, give a definition of NLD and describe what a misconception of it is and be able to, help you see that and explain it for you a little bit. Well, that was kinda cool.
So the next article is titled Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NVLD): A Misunderstood Childhood Learning Disorder” by By Lisa Chau, Contributor. It was published over a hundred times in Forbes, US News, and world report as well as Huffington Post. And , she was a TED Ed lesson creator as well in 20 18.
"What are misconceptions about the NLD? NVLD is often misunderstood, and NVLD is categorized both. Sorry. NDLD is categorized by social difficulty and, therefore, is often placed on the autism spectrum. However, we think there are important behavioral distinctions between the diagnoses, such as repetitive behaviors required for autism that are not typically part of NVLD.
Also, the cognitive profiles are different between the disorders. For example, children with autism tend to have better spatial than verbal abilities, whereas those with NVLD have better verbal than spatial abilities. Flip flop. Our prior research indicates that in healthy individuals, these distinct cognitive profiles are associated with distinct patterns of brain structure and function. Our current research aims to examine these patterns of brain structure and function in children with and without the NVLD project is focused on raising awareness, obtaining an official diagnosis for NVLD and providing educational workshops. To achieve our diagnostic goal, we are supporting research at Columbia University Medical Center and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Columbia with lead scientist, doctor Amy Margolis is collecting MRI brain scans of children and adolescents who have NVLD as well as engaged in etymological and mother infant interaction. We are looking to extend the MRI study to include other comparison groups along with normal controls, namely high functioning autistic spectrum disorder individuals. This body of work will make for a very robust and groundbreaking study."
I think that study is actually really cool, and I wish they were doing it on adults with MBLD too because maybe I could be part of it. But it still sounds pretty cool, and I think that they're definitely doing it in the right areas and that it's good to compare it to autism because there are overlaps reaching, I would say, and we all do autism, ADHD, and maybe Asperger's. There are some similarities that we have and some differences where it can be confusing, and sometimes you're misdiagnosed with the wrong thing or wrong disorders. Sorry.
So the last article that I wanna quote from for misconceptions of NVLD is titled " Five Misconceptions About Learning Disabilities" by Ziggy Klassie. Sorry if I pronounced that. "misconception 1. The term learning disabilities or learning differences is interchangeable with other disorders. Learning differences are not 1 thing, but rather the name for a category that encompasses a variety of specific disorders that create real obstacles for success in school, on the job, and in life.
It's an umbrella term that points to weaknesses in such areas as reading, writing, spelling, math, and other kinds of skills, and is presumed to result from faulty or inefficient ways that information is processed in the brain. By definition, individuals with a learning difference do not struggle because of low intelligence, poor teaching, lack of motivation or other such factors. Their underachievement is unexpected and unexplained, which is why the term is often misunderstood. Excuse me.
Misconception 2. Learning differences are easily diagnosed. There is no quick and easy way to know whether a child has a learning difference. Yeah. I would say this goes for adults too. There's no blood test or X-ray that can be done as part of a child's or adult's annual physical. And even our most sophisticated brand scanning technologies and genetic studies can't yet predict a learning difference. What we do know is that learning differences run-in families and that a family history of academic difficulties could be an identification of risk. Determining whether a child or an adult has learning difference is a process that unfolds over time and must include information from multiple sources. Parents need to provide their impressions and family history information. If you can get those, sometimes that's tricky. Educators need to offer detailed information about the child's progress and how well they respond to instruction.
I would say that's true for adults also. Specialists need to document performance on assessments designed to tap academic skill and the way the child or adult processes information. Other factors such as attention, behavior, and medical history need to be considered.
Misconception 3. Learning disabilities usually correspond with a low IQ. If a person's intellectual capacity is below normal, their problems learning are not said to stem from a learning disability.
Again, these are processing disorders that occur for reasons other than diminished cognitive ability. They're not due to poor vision, poor hearing. They're not caused by environmental or cultural factors. They aren't caused by dyspecheia or a lack of opportunity to learn and are not a result of a less than optimal home environment. Children with learning differences have the mental machinery to do well.
But because of the unique ways that their brains are organized to receive, process, store, retrieve, and communicate information, they struggle to accomplish tasks that are necessary to success in school and in life.
Misconception 4. More students seem to be diagnosed with learning differences in today's society. If you look at all the nation's schools who receive special education services in the 13 different educationally handicapping conditions listed in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Almost half, 41 percent, have a learning difference.
The numbers of school age students in each category have changed over time, with some categories growing, others shrinking in number. But most experts agree that somewhere between 4 and 6 percent of the population have a learning disability. Within the learning difference category, the vast majority of children with the vast majority of children will have significant difficulties in the area of reading. But remember, not everyone in society who struggles in these areas reading, writing, spelling, and math will have learning disabilities.
Misconception 5, the last 1. Learning disabilities fade with time. Oh, boy. Learning disabilities do not go away. They are with you for life. Learning disabilities or differences do not go away. They're with you for life. That doesn't mean someone with a learning disability or difference in our learning challenge can't achieve or even be widely successful. They just need to find ways to circumvent or accommodate for the areas in which they don't do well. The more individuals know about themselves and how to get the help they need, the more they'll be able to succeed.
A person who is diabetic can still be a world class athlete, but they need to figure out how to balance the management of their medical condition with their training and completion needs. People who have learning disabilities can be and are Pulitzer Prize winning poets, state governors, and members of congress, actors, economists, engineers, physicians, anything at all. They just need to understand their specific learning difference related challenges, find ways to work around these pockets of weaknesses, and follow their dreams."
A lot of times, I was saying child or adult when they were listing misconceptions because, some people with learning differences are diagnosed later in life because They don't always have the resources or access to resources to be diagnosed early in life. And on top of that, you may not know that you have a learning difference or need testing for it until you're an adult. That was true for me, and I kinda had a hunch in high school about it, but I just thought I was different from everybody else in my family, and I didn't think it was a learning difference. I don't think I even knew what those were in high school. But I kinda knew a little bit about them because I used to help in Sunday school up my spiritual community. And we had a few children there that were neurodivergent. And I could tell because when I was diagnosed in college, It gave me a better understanding of who I was.
And then when I came back home on the breaks and helped in the Sunday school, I could kinda tell when another child was neurodivergent. I wasn't really sure whether it was ADHD or autism. But that made it easier for me to empathize with them because I know what it's like to have challenges in your life and not have everything come so easily to you. I hope this episode was helpful in terms of giving you an idea to miss some misconceptions. I've actually done one of these before. I wanted to do it again.
And The other one I did was missing facts of NVLD, so pretty similar. As usual, I will give you the links to the articles in the description so you can read more on your own if you would like to. Please pass this episode on to anybody who you feel like could benefit from it. Thank you, and have a nice weekend.
Links for articles:
