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Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NLD)
“There is no question that most scholastic accomplishments are measured and
defined through language-based communication. Yet, it has been found that more
than 65% of all communication is actually conveyed nonverbally..”
We are all familiar with “non-verbal communication”, but educators tend to
ignore evidence of non-verbal deficiencies in student. Or worse, they classify
students with non-verbal disabilities as “behaviour problems”.
The NLD syndrome reveals itself in impaired abilities to recognise the
visual-spatial field, adapt to new or novel situations, and/or accurately read
nonverbal signals and cues.
A pupil with NLD generally presents deviations in three broad aspects of
development: (Rourke, 1989) :
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motor co-ordination, including fine graphomotor skills
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visual spatial organisation, including faulty spatial perceptions and
difficulties with spatial relations
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social, including lack of ability to comprehend non-verbal communication,
deficits in social judgement and social interaction.
Assets include:
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Early speech and vocabulary development
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Remarkable rote memory skills
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Attention to detail
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Early development of reading skills
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Good verbal ability
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Strong auditory attention
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Good phonetic analysis
NLD Academic Profile
Reading:
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Good memory for sounds, words and phrases
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Achieve satisfactory levels of reading, but
read with little intonation or punctuation
Spelling:
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Achieve satisfactory spelling level, but
95% of their mistakes will be with visually based spellings – they write as
they sound
Reading Comprehension:
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Remains a problem as considered to be a new information
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Reading between the lines to understand the full meaning is a problem
Maths:
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Difficulty visualising a problem
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Unable to create a concrete representation from numbers
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Hard to position multi-digits numbers
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Difficulty with abstract exercise
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Problems applying known rules
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Confusion with mathematical signs
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Difficulty with reading graphs, maps and charts
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Difficulty with maths based survival skills-time, money and measurements
Social Skills:
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Difficulty understanding non-verbal cues
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Difficulty reading body language
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Difficulty reading facial expressions/voice tone
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Difficulty understanding affective intonation
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Difficulty dealing with negative feedback
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Tendency for social withdrawal and isolation
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Misread social situations leads to wrong response
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Lack of adaptability – poor response to new circumstances
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Increased risk for internalising anxiety
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Low self-esteem
Treatment of NLD
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Both diagnosis and treatment are at very early stages.
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Beause of variation in levels – general advice hard to give
Focal points:
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Know what they can and cannot do
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Make most of strength and work on weaknesses
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Observe child in new situation – not make opinion on what the child says
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If diagnosed early in development – stimulate deficient areas
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If diagnosed at later stages – emphasise compensation strategies
Treatment Strategies
In class:
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Few visual stimuli
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Verbal labels
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Verbal training in planning and organising
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Permanent seating place
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Another child as a partner
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Predictability
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First talk then work
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Check that the child understands
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Training and repetition
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Avoid extensive writing
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Emphasise quality not quantity
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Allow extra time to get to places
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Give verbal signals to navigate through space
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Continually assess understanding of spatial and directional concepts
Reading:
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Teach letter identification
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Give form to text
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Use ruler
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Mark beginning of text
Spelling :
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Rhymes and songs
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Plenty of practice
Reading Comprehension :
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Ask Qs from simple to complex
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Compare with child’s experiences
Maths:
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Read numbers aloud
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Choose manageable material
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Use computer and headphones
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Verbal explanations for graphs
Writing: (hard because requires both hemispheres)
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Use wider handwriting style
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Emphasize starting point
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Do not change any mastered legible writing
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Do not ask to copy from one sheet to the other
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Tape recorder/computers
Motor co-ordination:
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Work on separately
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Brain Gym
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Mazes/lego
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Occupational and/or Physiotherapy
Socio-emotional:
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Verbal labels to all communication aspects
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Write/say/repeat social rules
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Mute TV exercise
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Prepare for new situations to avoid frustration
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Role models as examples
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Training of “seeing it from other’s point of view”
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Home is safest place to learn compensation strategies
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Base reaction on what child does not what he says
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Clearly state expectations
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Language based therapy/Cognitive Therapy
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Logical explanations for change
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