 Common or Uncommon?
The answer is: Uncommon. Not many people know about it so when they get diagnosed, there could be shock knowing how accurate it is. Similar Disorders Autism and other related disorders are a possibility. Click here to learn about the differences. Even though these disorders have similarities, children and teens perceive the world differently. What might be hard for one teen with any disorder might be different than another person with the same disorder. When I got diagnosed, I was lucky enough to get diagnosed properly. No matter what diagnosis you get, your journey will be different than someone else with the same disorder. This is a very unique situation. People with the same disorder sees the world differently and have different ambitions later down the line. If you have other things that make up who you are on top of NVLD like anxiety, introversion, and other things that also makes you different, that's what makes you unique and sets you apart from everyone else. If we were all the same, the world wouldn't be interesting. I thank a reader who came up with this idea. I haven't been able to come up with an idea even close to this, so I don't take the credit. Comment down below your thoughts on the subject matter. I would love to hear from you! :)
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 What is this? How does it affect everyday life? Does it limit you? All of these questions will soon be answered. Introversion and social anxiety are not the same thing, but I think they go hand in hand. Social anxiety makes you scared to be in social situations, whereas introversion makes recharging very important after a social outing. You don't need outward sources of stimulation because being aware of knowing who you are, what keeps you going when the going gets tough, and understanding your own feelings is more important. Being by yourself and doing your own thing is very beneficial and keeps you motivated.
Introversion means that having lots of time alone is essential. You still like being social and going out with friends, but afterwards it can feel draining, so you need the time to be alone to process and reflect on what was happening. Overstimulation leads to feelings of distraction and not being able to focus, so knowing your limit and when you need alone time is helpful. Solitary hobbies and interests like reading, writing, journaling, researching, and watching your favorite movie and show are the best hobbies for the introverted side of your personality. Instead of having a big group of friends with different personalities, that could be conflicting, you prefer a close-knit group of friends that you're close to and goes past all the surface questions. Meeting new people can be hard for this personality because being shy and quiet can make it hard to get to know you, and you might seem guarded. Learning through watching rather than doing is better because jumping in right away can be overwhelming. By watching people do different things, they will learn they can do it by themselves. Practicing in private helps them build their skills and abilities without feeling judged by an audience. When it comes to your career, independent jobs where you don't have to deal with a boss may be more appealing to you. It doesn't affect your life drastically, but it's not invisible. Social events can be harder on this personality type because you may want to leave after a certain amount of time to avoid overstimulation. The flip side is that you will make a great friend, sibling, child, grandchild, and colleague. It may get hard to be in social situations for long periods of time so you may need alone time often, but this is the reason why I think understanding feelings and emotions make you more relatable. Finding hobbies and interests that you can do all by yourself is best. Preferring deep talks over surface conversations and being close to your friends is very important. It does not limit you at all. It will make it hard to socialize, but not limiting. In fact, introverts make better employees than extroverts in some careers. Being a writer, artist, influencer, and related positions are for introverts, whereas extroverts do better in big companies, photography, and counseling. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Comment down below what your experience with introversion is.  I know how hard, frustrating, and trying it can be at times. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is you can't stop dreaming just because things are hard. There are many ways that work for different people. Everybody's journey is different.
When I first got diagnosed at 12, I wasn't in a great place and had to get out of it. I have found that dreaming and thinking about what my future could be like keeps me going through the hard times. I just kept coming up with elaborate, crazy business ventures! I'm in a better place now, but everyday is still a learning process. I'm still learning what triggers me and what I need to do to cope. Also being in a better place, I have seriously looked into and researched thoroughly to figure out which ideas were profitable, and the blog won over all the other ideas. It's also the most attainable option because I can make small goals to achieve a few at a time. I'm still learning about the ins and outs of a blog. Besides writing, finding other interests I love keeps me on the right path and stops me from giving up. This kind of journey is not always easy as a teenager, especially in this day and age when there are what seems to be a lot of expectations from society. There are definitely ups and downs. The point is, no matter where you are in your journey, don't forget that what might seem impossible is still possible. You just might need more help and tools along the way. Depending on your personality, you'll want to try to do everything yourself and not ask for help. Spoiler alert! It doesn't always work out. Sometimes you just need to ask for help no matter how hard it may seem. Comment down below what has helped you get through the tough times.  Ever wondered what is really involved with Nonverbal- Learning Disorder? Wondered if there are certain things you'll be able to do, whether right now or later in life? I have been in that position before. There was a time I didn't want anyone knowing I had it or to talk about it. This particular disability could be misunderstood in the way that it may sound like you can't talk (non-verbal). It actually means not being able to understand and interpret social cues.
Nonverbal learning disorder includes "rote memory", attention to detail, vocabulary and verbal ability, auditory retention, having to do with words and sentences, early reading, spelling skills, and gross motor skills being strengths, whereas social awareness, abstract math, nonverbal communication, social judgement, organization, transitions, and coordination are a few of the weaknesses. Part of this disability also includes anxiety, trouble with social situations, math in particular being harder, to the point where it can sometimes suck. Language is a strength, whereas your coordination is probably not as good as other people's. Figuring out how to organize something might require some help because it can get overwhelming and can be hard to see what it looks like before it happens, due to the visual-spatial aspect. Routine is very important so processing change is hard because familiarity is security. On the flipside, some of the strengths going with this particular disability are noticing details, vocabulary, speech, spelling, and aside from comprehending what the heck you're reading, literature is easy and enjoyable. Comprehension is hard because it's a lot to keep track of which relates to the aspect of your brain holding so much information and processing at once. Being an example, while in public school, math was one of the harder subjects because it's hard to keep all the steps in your head at once. Psychologically, it has been proven that information can literally fall out of your head. Your brain can only process so much at once. History is hard because maps, and latitude and longitude were hard because I couldn't see things in space. No matter how many times I went over it, I still didn't get it. Along with academics, social situations were very hard because social judgement is a weakness. Not being able to read nonverbal cues like facial expressions didn't help. Emotions like happiness, sadness, surprise, and anger, for example, all look the same to me. Like facial expressions, gestures are also hard to read and understand. Side note: Charades is a nightmare of a game since it's pure nonverbal cues...don't do it. Moving on to question two, even though there aren't a lot of resources out there right now, there are steps to take and tools to use to overcome anything in the present moment or future. More on the specifics in future blog posts. Finding work-arounds that work for you as an individual makes things so much easier and not so bleak. Stay tuned for future posts where I share what resources have helped me. If you have any questions, want to learn more, or talk about experiences, go to the contact page and drop me an email or comment down below.  I'm making this blog to create a safe space where everyone in this community can find resources to live with this learning disability. I know how hard, frustrating, and trying it can be at times. I was diagnosed, by a psychologist, with NVLD when I was 12. Academics and social situations were always hard, but by middle school enough was enough so the mystery needed to be solved. Since then, I have been pulled out of public school to be homeschooled from the end of middle school all the way through high school. My mom has worked really hard to find tools to help me, but there's not a ton out there. Right now finding resources and tools to live independently is the latest we're working on together.
Finding out I have this disability and learning about it has really shaped me into who I am today. There are times I wish situations were different, but then I remember that would alter who I am. Not having public school as an everyday social outlet, I now have horseback riding lessons and horse ownership. I have also found at-home interests like astrology and the enneagram. More on these subjects in near-future posts. If you would like to share your experiences, tips and hacks, hobbies and interests, post ideas or anything else, I would love to hear from you! Comment below or visit the Contact page to drop me an email! |