Is It ADHD or Nonverbal Learning Disorder?

Parents and doctors frequently confuse ADHD and nonverbal learning disorder. Here’s a guide to figuring out if your child has NLD — and how to treat it if he does.

by ADDitude Editors

Many children with nonverbal learning disorder (NLD) were first diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Once considered rare, NLD is thought to be as prevalent as dyslexia, affecting girls as frequently as boys.

Facts About NLD

Nonverbal learning disorder is a constellation of brain-based difficulties. Symptoms include:

• Poor visual, spatial, and organizational skills

• Problems with fine motor skills

• Poor handwriting

• Difficulty processing nonverbal cues—body language and facial expressions, for example

• Precocious language acquisition and articulate speech

Young children with NLD are often good at compensating for their limitations. But once they hit puberty, children with NLD often experience severe anxiety. In adulthood, mood disorders—combined with trouble picking up social cues and setting priorities—make it hard for people with NLD to hold on to jobs and relationships.

Diagnosing NLD

The earlier the correct diagnosis is made and appropriate interventions begin, the better the outlook for a person with NLD. For diagnosis, a child usually undergoes:

• Neuropsychological testing

• Speech and language assessment

• Education and occupational therapy evaluations

Because children with NLD also have large vocabularies, outstanding memory and auditory retention, and average to superior intelligence, diagnosticians often administer the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children to help nail down a diagnosis. NLDers usually demonstrate a verbal IQ that’s 20 or more points higher than their performance I.Q.

Another test, the Brown ADD Scales, can help differentiate NLD from ADD.

Treating NLD

Given the complexities of NLD, children do best when they get help from a team of professionals. Unlike ADHD, nonverbal learning disorder doesn’t respond to medication. But NLD children often do well with various other kinds of intervention:

• Social skills groups can teach kids how to

greet a friend and to greet a stranger, and to recognize and respond to teasing.

• Occupational therapy builds a child’s tolerance for tactile experiences, improves balance, and enhances fine motor skills.

• Typing instruction software, like

Jump Start Typing ($19.99), can help kids compensate for poor handwriting.

• Recorded books are key for kids who learn by listening. Recording classroom lectures may also be helpful.

• Using a daily planner can help students

improve organizational skills.