Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home

Do you know a child who is bright, charming and articulate, but has no friends? A child who showed early signs of intelligence, but is now floundering, academically and emotionally? Children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) are an enigma. This text explores the variety of daily life problems children with NLD may face and provides practical strategies for parents to help them cope and grow, from preschool age through to adolescent years. The author, herself the parent of a child with NLD, provides solutions to the everday challenges of the disorder, from early warning signs and self-care issues to social skills and personal safety.

“'As a record of the personal experiences of one child with NLD, this book is comprehensive and detailed, with many examples that will undoubtedly be of interest and of use to parents/teachers of children with NLD and /or other disorders. The content provides an interesting and informative insight into one mother's devoted work on her child's disorder.'- British Journal of Educational Psychology'This book presents the problems NLD Children will face in their everyday life, as well as suggesting strategies doe helping them to cope and grow. It addresses NLD Children from pre-school to adolescence. Older teens and young adults may also benefit from much of the content.'- ACE Bulletin'An essential volume for parents that incorporates a wide variety of issues, from managing buttons and zippers to using deodorant and shaving cream. Having a daughter that was diagnosed with the the disability has helped Tanguay to include helpful hints and expert opinions in the book. This volume is a surefire way to help tackle the puzzling world of NLD.'- Georgia Family Magazine'Pamela Tanguay's daughter was diagnosed at the age of nine as having Nonverbal Learning disability (NLD). Since, she has become active in advocating for people with this condition, she wrote this book in order to help parents and adults caring for children with NLD. The author's advice is sensible and straightforward. In addition to helping parents cope it will also help enlighten teachers and other professionals working with such children. The book emphasises the extraordinary gifts children with NLD often possess and rewards to those who work with them. Diagnosis of NLD is becoming more common so this, the first accessible work on the subject to be written by someone active in this area, is doubly welcome.'- Disability Times'Parent and advocate extraordinaire, Pamela Tanguay has contributed immensely to the presently limited literature on NLD Her advice is straightforward, sensible, cohesive and easily understood. This guide will not only serve as a welcome blueprint to the overwhelmed and under-supported parents of children with NLD, but also as an eye-opener to educators and other professionals working with individuals with NLD in helping them to recognize just how much effort it actually takes to parent a child with NLD.'- Sue Thompson, MA, CET, Learning and Behavior Specialist. Author of The Source for Nonverbal Learning Disorders (formerly I Shouldn't Have To Tell You)'The author has provided a book that is essential reading for caregivers of children and adolescents with NLD. It should not only be read but kept on hand for easy reference as the youngster develops. It should be valued as a rich source of helpful suggestions, and as a springboard for the creativity of the concerned caregiver. Pamela Tanguay has done all of us involved with the syndrome of NLD a great favor by providing this book.'- From the Foreword by Byron P. Rourke, FRSC'During my search to understand Asperger's Syndrome (AS) I was fortunate enough to discover Pamela Tanguay and the world she knows best - the world of Nonverbal Learning Disorders (NLD). Though there might be subtle differences between these two syndromes, there is very little doubt in my mind that one echoes the other in terms of what works to help those diagnosed with either AS or NLD. Pamela Tanguay's book, Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home, is a must-have for anyone wanting to know more about either of these developmental delays. It is absolutely stuffed full with astutely sound reasoning and incredibly perceptive advice based on the research of the top names in the NLD field. I cannot imagine my library without it. Go get it. Now!'- Liane Holliday Willey, EdD., author of Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome in the Family: Redefining Normal”

'Parent and advocate extraordinaire, Pamela Tanguay has contributed immensely to the presently limited literature on NLD... Her advice is straightforward, sensible, cohesive and easily understood. This guide will not only serve as a welcome blueprint to the overwhelmed and under-supported parents of children with NLD, but also as an eye-opener to educators and other professionals working with individuals with NLD in helping them to recognize just how much effort it actually takes to parent a child with NLD...' -Sue Thompson, MA, CET, Learning and Behavior Specialist. Author of The Source for Nonverbal Learning Disorders (formerly I Shouldn't Have To Tell You) 'The author has provided a book that is essential reading for caregivers of children and adolescents with NLD. It should not only be read but kept on hand for easy reference as the youngster develops. It should be valued as a rich source of helpful suggestions, and as a springboard for the creativity of the concerned caregiver. Pamela Tanguay has done all of us involved with the syndrome of NLD a great favor by providing this book.' - from the foreword by Byron P. Rourke, FRSC 'During my search to understand Asperger's Syndrome (AS) I was fortunate enough to discover Pamela Tanguay and the world she knows best - the world of Nonverbal Learning Disorders (NLD). Though there might be subtle differences between these two syndromes, there is very little doubt in my mind that one echoes the other in terms of what works to help those diagnosed with either AS or NLD. Pamela Tanquay's book, Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home, is a must-have for anyone wanting to know more about either of these developmental delays. It is absolutely stuffed full with astutely sound reasoning and incredibly perceptive advice based on the research of the top names in the NLD field. I cannot imagine my library without it. Go get it. Now!' -Liane Holliday Willey, EdD., author of Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger's Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome in the Family: Redefining Normal

Pamela B. Tanguay is the mother of a teen daughter who was diagnosed with NLD at the age of nine. Since that time she has become an active advocate for individuals with NLD and related conditions. She is the owner and co-developer of the widely-acclaimed website NLD on the web/ Pam was a founding board member of ASC-US Inc., which is a national non-profit advocacy organization supporting neurologically-based communication disorders. She currently sits on their Advisory Board, and serves as Senior Editor of their newsletter, The Source. Pam, along with her husband and daughter, make their home in Tolland, CT, USA.

''The author has provided a book that is essential reading for caregivers of children and adolescents with NLD. It should not only be read but kept on hand for easy reference as the youngster develops. It should be valued as a rich source of helpful suggestions, and as a springboard for the creativity of the concerned caregiver. Pamela Tanguay has done all of us involved with the syndrome of NLD a great favor by providing this book.''- from the foreword by Byron P. Rourke, FRSCDo you know a child who is bright, charming and articulate, but has no friends? A child who showed early signs of intelligence, but is now floundering, academically and emotionally? Children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) are an enigma. They''re children with extraordinary gifts and heartbreaking challenges that go far beyond the classroom. Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home explores the variety of daily life problems children with NLD may face, and provides practical strategies for parents to help them cope and grow, from preschool age through their challenging adolescent years. The author, herself the parent of a child with NLD, provides solutions to the everyday challenges of the disorder, from early warning signs and self-care issues to social skills and personal safety. User-friendly and highly practical, this book is an essential guide for parents in understanding and living with NLD, and professionals working with these very special children.EXTRACTThinking SkillsWhen the NLD child is young, her deficits in critical thinking may not be apparent. This level of thinking is not generally expected until the child is at least eight years old, and probably a bit older than that. However, if she is to reach her full potential, and grow to be an independent adult, she needs to be engaged in active learning and critical thinking from the earliest possible age.DECISIONS AND CHOICESDecisions and choices are basic thinking skills which start at a very tender age. If you ask your toddler what she wants to eat, she tells you. Although it may not be what you will allow, she has an idea of what she likes and wants. When you ask an NLD child what she wants, she may not have an answer. The child may look at you with a blank expression, so you end up making the decision for her. However, if you ask her to choose between apple juice and grape juice, she will be more apt to respond. Making even a simple decision requires that you have a lot of information.Even very young children have nonverbal information that allows them to make decisions that NLD children are unable to make. The neurologically typical child knows the food Mom generally has on hand, or has actually seen it in the refrigerator or cupboard. The NLD child doesn''t realize that Mom expects her to intuit what the choices are. In addition, since visual processing is an area of deficit, these youngsters do not rely on that modality to store information. The deficit is even more pronounced when the visual field is cluttered, like a refrigerator or cupboard. So, since the child is unaware that she is supposed to intuit, and couldn''t in any event since she didn''t process what was in the refrigerator or cupboard, she doesn''t have all of the information that she needs in order to make even a simple decision. Yes, it''s often easier for us to make decisions on the child''s behalf - just hand her a drink - but she needs to learn how to think, and we need to understand her deficits so that we can teach her how to think.ACTIVE LEARNINGNLD youngsters don''t have the learning advantages of their age mates, who process through visual and tactile modalities, through the exploration of their environment and through language. The NLD child''s learning modality is limited primarily to language, which puts her at a huge disadvantage. Allowing the child to be cognitively passive further compromises her learning process. Use every opportunity to involve the child in the process of choice, as well as decision-making and active thinking, or she will become passive, and highly dependent.No matter how old your child is, if you notice that she tends to be passive and allows you to make decisions for her, begin now to involve her in the thinking process. Start simple - instead of making all of the child''s decisions, allow her to make choices whenever there is an opportunity to do so. However, it would be best to limit the choices that you provide or she may become confused, and you will be back to seeing the child''s blank facial expression.BASIC THINKING SKILLSThere are skills that can be developed even in young children in order to improve their visual processing and thinking skills, which include the ability to:categorize (group like or related information together); compare and contrast (how are things different, and how are they alike); observe (watch carefully, study); identify patterns (a sequence in which things occur); look for cause and effect (does something specific happen as a result of a particular act or activity?); generalize (apply what is learned to a new or different situation); problem solve (determine appropriate method to overcome a difficulty). Basic skill developmentThese basic thinking skills can be fostered through everyday activities. However, an adult needs to facilitate the learning process with the NLD child, and make the connections that the child may not make on her own.A classic example of teaching a skill, where generalizing the learned information comes very slowly, is crossing the street and/or watching for cars. You teach the child over and over and over again that she is not to cross the road in front of traffic. This seems to be an almost universal problem with NLD kids. If you teach the youngster about traffic lights - what the red and green lights mean (stop and go for cars) and the walk light (which means that people can cross the street) - she may learn this routine fairly readily, especially if you constantly point out the rules whether you''re walking or in a car. Unfortunately, there are many, many situations where there aren''t lights. These youngsters continually dart out in front of oncoming traffic, and it may take many years for the child to learn to stop, look, and listen before crossing a street, when the ''cue'' of a traffic light isn''t present. The child will not generalize the learning to a situation where there are no lights. She does not understand that the light takes the place of thought, and if there isn''t a light, there is a series of connections that you must make on your own. Therefore, it can be quite dangerous for the child when crossing streets where there is no intersection with traffic lights, or worse yet, when she is in parking lots.Parking lots are even more difficult for these youngsters to navigate. The visual field is very cluttered (lots of cars and people), she has to watch for cars moving down the aisles or backing out of parking spaces, there are sounds coming from many directions, and there is danger in walking between parked cars because someone might open a door and hurt her. It''s imperative that you teach the child that she is not to move unless you are holding her hand. Maybe the embarrassment of having her hand held as she gets older will help her to remember the rules.Thinking, making connections, and generalizing information to a new or different situation are skills which must be specifically taught to the child. The following are some ideas that you may find helpful. At the end of each suggestion, in parentheses, are the skill sets that are reinforced by the activity.Go for a walk with your child. Point out things and talk to her about what you see. Point out the clouds, and note the differences between the big puffy clouds and the thin wispy clouds. Note dark clouds, and talk about what that represents - when the clouds get big and puffy and very dark, it might rain - that''s how the sky looks when it rains. If the clouds are big, puffy, and dark, and it''s very cold, then it might mean snow. Rain comes when it is warm outside, and snow comes when it is cold - it''s frozen rain. Make connections for her. (Observe, patterns, compare and contrast, cause and effect.) Talk about the seasons, especially if you live in an area where the four seasons are distinct. Explain to the child what happens during each season, and when the seasons change, point out what is happening - the leaves are changing color, what does that mean? They are going to fall off, and soon it will be cold and may snow. To the NLD child, the environment is probably a mystery, so you must make sense of it for her. (Observe, patterns.) Point out the implications of a certain situation. As you are walking after a rainstorm, show the child that you are walking on firm ground. Show her the muddy areas that aren''t good to walk on. Explain what happens - you will get lots of mud on your shoes, and it is very slippery, you could fall and get hurt, and you''ll be all muddy. The child probably won''t make these connections on her own. That doesn''t mean that she isn''t smart, it just means that her brain doesn''t function by automatically making connections, so you need to train her brain to look for connections. (Observe, cause and effect.) During one of your walks, if the child sees a big toad or turtle which she wants to take home, humor her. Let her take it home, and then discuss all of the details related to keeping it as a pet. Where will it live? What would we keep it in? What would we feed it? Even if you know all of the answers, talk it through until the child can answer the questions. Help her look the information up in a book, introducing her to research skills. If you''re using an encyclopedia, explain what it is, and what it''s used for. If you decide to keep a toad, for instance, and you have to get it crickets for food, work with the child to figure out where to get them. Yes, she can catch crickets outside, but that might be a l

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