Nonverbal learning disorder: what is it and what are its symptoms?

We explain the causes and manifestations of this childhood disorder.

Developmental disorders particularly affect school-age children. There is no doubt that they can be really detrimental to their academic training, as well as affecting psychological aspects such as their self-esteem and self-concept.

Among the developmental disorders that have been described, the best known have been those that affect the school curriculum in a more striking way, as well as the social sphere, such as adhd and ASD.

However, there is also a disorder in which, apparently, children do not present any kind of developmental problem, and simply appear to be clumsy or even lazy.

One of these is nonverbal learning disorder.This article discusses the characteristics and warning signs of nonverbal learning disorder.

What is nonverbal learning disorder?

It is a developmental disorder whose cause is due to neurological problems, specifically a malfunction in the right hemisphere.specifically a malfunction in the right hemisphere. Since it was first described in 1971 it has been called by other names: motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia, procedural learning disorder, among others.

People suffering from nonverbal learning disorder have problems in different aspects, especially those related to motor coordination, visuospatial perception and understanding of the social context. All of them are related to difficulties in interpreting nonverbal signals..

In the academic environment, the abilities that are affected in this disorder are usually put into practice in subjects such as music, physical education or art. For this reason, and given the usual lack of importance given to these subjects, it is common that children with this disorder are not seen as having a developmental problem, but rather an attitudinal problem. It may be thought that they are clumsy or lazy children, and that they do not give their best.

It should also be noted that it is not common for intellectual problems to occur in children diagnosed with this disorder, so it may seem that in reality, when the problems manifest themselves, it is not because they have a neurological or psychological problem.

Given its characteristics, nonverbal learning disorder presents high comorbidity with other developmental disorders. Some 40% of people diagnosed with this disorder may have some language problem. In addition, in other disorders, such as SLD (Specific Language Disorder), visuospatial problems may be present, making differential diagnosis difficult.

Characteristics of the disorder

These children have problems especially in areas related to nonverbal language, motor coordination and visuospatial perception..

They have problems in acquiring motor routines, which is why they are often considered clumsy and arrhythmic. In addition, they have a slow learning pace in games that require several movements. This manifests itself in difficulties when learning to ride a bicycle, swim, play musical instruments...

As a consequence of the motor problems, it is common for children with this disorder to have problems in writing, making the handwriting not very neat and clear, as well as disorganized.

The visuospatial perception is affected, showing up in the form of difficulties inThis is shown in the form of difficulties in interpreting a clue from an incomplete visual stimulus. In addition, they may have problems in indicating the distance to an object and its size, in addition to problems of visuospatial organization. This problem may not be so important in the early stages of learning, but by the time they reach secondary school it may become more prominent.

In addition, there may be problems in tactile perception, especially on the left side of the body. This is related to the fact that the dysfunction is in the right hemisphere, given that its contralateral part is the left hemisphere.

One of the characteristics that cause this disorder to be misinterpreted as ASD is the fact that there are problems adapting to changes or coping with very new situations. They may also have problems with spatial-temporal orientation, getting lost in the street and doing tasks more slowly than other children their age.

The major difficulty that gives this disorder its name is related to nonverbal language. Children with nonverbal learning disorder find it difficult to interpret signals that, despite not being explicitly formulated, acquire great importance in communication.

This is another reason why they may be confused with high-functioning autistics (traditionally referred to as Asperger syndrome). They may have problems with pragmatic aspects of language such as prosody and non-literal meanings. This has as a consequence an affectation in their social relationships, since they cannot understand playful behaviors such as jokes or irony and sarcasm.

Despite all these difficulties it is important to emphasize that children with nonverbal learning disorder have normal intelligence and, in particular, normal verbal abilities. and, in particular, verbal abilities within the average. This means that aspects such as vocabulary, reading and spelling remain preserved and, therefore, they do not usually have serious problems in subjects such as mathematics and language.

Symptoms and warning signs

• Early language onset.
• Slow onset of walking.
• Difficulty in plastic arts.
• Poor in sports.
• Fine motor difficulties: buttoning a bib, putting on a jacket, playing an instrument...
• Clumsiness.
• Difficulty orienting himself.
• Dislikes new things.
• Particularly ugly and untidy handwriting.
• Difficulty in interpreting the analog clock.

Emotional impairment

In the school environment, children with nonverbal learning disorder suffer problems in subjects where motor and visuospatial skills are put into practice.. By suffering problems in these skills, but not in others such as reading, more related to subjects such as language or mathematics, they are often categorized as clumsy or even ill-mannered children.

This type of labeling can generate a lot of emotional discomfort in the child, since he does not understand how he is like this, nor does he do it on purpose. This, along with having trouble relating to others due to not understanding all the social signals that are sent nonverbally, these children are seen as odd and lonely.

Therapy

If the problem is not detected in time, these labels will generate more and more discomfort, affecting their self-esteem and self-concept, and can be very limiting for the future.

It is because of facts like this that a correct and deep evaluation is necessary. Thus, in the case of a child with a nonverbal learning disorder, an intervention plan can be developed, in addition to providing teachers and families with strategies to facilitate learning. In addition, it will be possible to educate both teachers and it will be possible to educate both teachers and family members to avoid using negative terms such as 'clumsy' or 'lazy' and to protect the student's self-esteem..