r/NVLD

I know most of us are underemployed and have mutliple diagnoses I do not have any other diagnoses although it is suggested for me to get a test for autism with that background I graduated platinum performer in 2019 with a culinary arts certification and do not think I can work in a kitchen for executive functioning reasons and processing speed. In 2024 I graduated with a double bachelors degree in nutrition and economics and many jobs are not conducive for our struggles with multitasking taking longer to learn things and organizational issues I think this rules out many of the main stream options available for my degrees. I also have a data analytics certificate I obtained yet I know I am super slow at doing this and believe it would be difficult for me to do long term and the visual spatial deficits made this hard for me find all the data to compile I am okay with small datasets and great at making the dashboards and graphs because it hard for me to understand them and so I make them so I can understand and if I can understand it is perfect for nuerotypicals yet many of those jobs are more than that and I do not believe I have the skill set for that. I have stayed working at a fast food place I started at in december of 2018 and worked at 4 different locations 3 with the same company one with a franchise owner as opposed to a corporation. With the education and lack of good work experience I have what jobs and careers do people suggest I try to pursue as this job market is difficult and feels impossible with DVSD/NVLD? Note: As I have no other diagnosis and DVSD/NVLD as all of you know is not in the DSM vocational rehab and many other support services refuse to help me so these are not options for me like they are for some.

I (25F) have been diagnosed with NVLD for 17 years, so I got diagnosed pretty young. But the sad part is I haven't met a single person irl with my gap as wide as mine. Anyone else have verbal intelligence on the last IQ as 95th percentile and verbal at 3rd? I've met a few ppl with this disorder but never one with a nearly 3 SD gap. Please tell me there's more this extreme. It's so frustrating bc I know nobody will fully get it irl. I've accepted my diagnosis but I often feel lonely in the bottom few percent and the top few percent in one human being! It's so hard to explain to people how severe my spatial issues are and that I learn almost entirely verbally. This includes written text too.

Besides NVLD, I have AuDHD, GAD, MDD, dysgraphia, aphantasia (complete), PMDD, EDNOS, insomnia, and PTSD. Which is complex in of itself. I wish I weren't so complex sometimes.

Anyone else heard of taking amantadine for executive function dysfunction And emotional regulation? Just took my first dose today and I noticed a difference immediately. I got into an argument with my dad and instead of it lasting 10+ minutes like normal I was able to compose myself in 3 minutes.

Does anybody ever feel that they don’t have NVLD or convinced themselves that it’s not real? And does anyone ever tell anybody or not? If they do does it feel like it backfires?

Hi, as the title says, let me know of any books you guys like, any genre is welcome!

The reason I’m asking is because, although not essential, strong verbal skills are common for nvld and if you’re like me you could say you enjoy reading, since we’re pretty good at it haha

Some of my favourites include:

- the great pretender (inspired the movie ‘brain on fire’), was a great read and insight into neurology and mental health
- Dan Browns Angels & Demons
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (Beautiful instructional cookbook if you suck at cooking like me 😅)
- Limitless by Jim Qwik (found this especially helpful for nvld traits and was enthralled with the audible)

Let me know of any you love please! 🤗

I was asked this question at the beginning of a visit with a clinical practitioner the other day. Once it was asked I felt myself tense up immediately and found myself wondering afterwards about why this particular question always seems to cause me a negative internal reaction. I don’t say this to be mean or rude. After all, people ask this question of each other every day - it’s intended to engage someone in conversation and find out how they’re doing, right? For me, not so much. When I am asked “How are you?” my brain starts to scan for what kind of reaction or response the person asking it is actually looking for. Do they really want to know how I am? Do I give a short, normal ‘fine’ answer? Or do I tell them how I ‘really’ am. My experience is that most people don’t want to hear it. Society has gotten used to these types of questions and the majority seem to want the quick ‘canned’ answers. So when someone asks me “How are you?” I dread it because I know I’m either going to have to choose them (i.e. give them the typical socially acceptable response OR share something I don’t want to share but they want to know about). Or I’m going to have to choose me and say what I really feel like saying: “I’m actually having a shit day” or “I’m really struggling with my nervous system right now and feel super un-regulated” or “I was reading this cool book about the meaning of life the other day and…..”. <insert neurotypical eye roll here>. Either way, I lose. The norm for me when I’m asked “How are you” is to simply say ‘okay’. Because it’s pretty basically much how I feel. I know the one-word response makes me seem distant or reserved. But honestly, this one word answer is the only amount of energy I have to give to this question. And, I am just so fucking exhausted from trying to conform.

Hi everyone, I made 24-year-old female and I have NVLD. From the time I was about two years old my family knew I was different, but it wasn’t until I was 19 that I was diagnosed with NVLD. It was one of the hardest moments of my life because it brought back every memory of losing friendships or relationships but at the same time it all clicked it made sense why none of the relationships were working out. Now fast-forward almost 5 years and I’m still struggling with making friends having relationship relationships and having a job. I’m very lucky to have a boss who wants to work with me, but I know that my coworkers get very frustrated with me because I am different and make a lot of jokes, but don’t get social cues. It’s really hard to find friends in the society where everything is online and I’ve been looking for a group of people who understand what I’m going through. I keep reminding myself there is no normal and at times I view this as a superpower but other times I viewed it as something that’s really difficult to live with. This is my intro and part of my story and I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you and getting to know you on this platform.

Hello, I am a newcomer. I wanted to introduce myself and state that I only found out about this in my late 20s. So, I never knew I was diagnosed until then. It seems to impact me with self-advocacy, the most.

I (M31) was diagnosed with Nonverbal Learning Disability at age 26 and it explained so much. I’ve also collected a dozen other labels over the years and have had a complex history of mental health treatment. I guess it would be easiest to just call myself “neurodivergent.” I am also diagnosed with Dyscalculia, Sensory processing disorder, Bipolar 2, OCD, general anxiety, social anxiety, Complex PTSD, ADHD, eating disorder, substance use (remission/sober), and Borderline/Dependent personality disorders. I was also born 10 weeks premature which I sometimes wonder if that contributed to my learning disabilities / anxiety issues. ADHD and OCD also run in my family.

I just started a new job like a month ago at this mini fulfillment center for a food delivery company (not gonna say the name). And I got to say, I don’t really care for it. It’s very fast paced. it involves lots of quick movements with a shopping cart while looking for items in several different aisles. You have to go to each individual aisle and look for a certain rack with a certain shelf. Everything is labeled like “A15 R2 S3”. It’s not easy for me. It’s not a complex job but the scoring system they have in place is ridiculous. My thoughts on it are mixed. It’s a part time job that has high turnover so it’s not a very good place to work at to begin with. I’m not very fast at it and the job is kinda overwhelming. I don’t know if it’s an NVLD issue or a processing speed issue but I’m not finding items fast enough. It’s hard to remember where all the labels are located. They also have this weird scoring system in place that’s kinda hard to understand. I’m suppose to be getting a 70 or better everyday and I’m only reaching like a 65-72 on average. Most of my coworkers have scores in the 80’s except for a few who are in the 60’s on average. It’s super depressing when you’re having problems in a shitty high turnover part time job.. I’m scared that I will be terminated soon if I don’t pick up the pace. I don’t really know how to improve except just move faster.

Hi everyone. The title says most of what I'm about to say but let me get into this because I knew this would happen to me at some point.

I have not been posting much on this sub because honestly my life has been going so great lately that I haven't needed to vent like this in over a year (I do still check out posts and offer support when I can though).

Anyways I'm a 26 year old male from Canada who in June of last year got a job working as an investment banker and administrator in private capital and arms length mortgages at a big financial trust company where we hold these investments in both registered and non-registered accounts.

Honestly getting this job has been a major accomplishment for me as my whole adult life I have been very concerned about getting and keeping long term employment due to my NVLD condition. I really do love this job as I spend most of my day behind a desk either processing transactions doing potential fraud audits and reporting taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency and occasionally dealing with clients. This was literally the perfect job for me as it is not that physically demanding and I was able to learn so much about the private market and building wealth. I truly enjoy this job and I really don't want to lose it because I really honestly thought that I was doing super well and many of my colleagues and members from other departments always complement my work ethic and drive to get things done in a timely manner. Some of my colleagues have been encouraging me to apply to more advanced roles like team lead and relationship manager and honestly hearing that from my colleagues has been a fantastic boost in my confidence and motivation to bring my best self to work everyday. You see my NVLD is not too socially imparing ( I do miss the occasional non verbal social cue from time to time), but I would say I am very well liked and a lot of my team is relying on me for help with their jobs as well which I love.

The thing is, the company has made some major internal changes and we ended up combining teams together and unfortunately I ended up getting a new manager who is VERY strict compared to my last one who was very bubbly and sweet and would provide good constructive feedback to improve her team. My new manager is a lot worse and is much more micromanaging and less understanding and overall way harder to deal with. They are kind of the best at unspoken rules and has been making major changes (negative ones) to the companies policies and procedures that I relied on. I can also never get a straight answer from her about how to do things their new way.

Anyways I had 3 meetings with her today regarding my job performance. This is my worst fear and this was a major reason why I have been so worried about getting out there in the working world. Apparently there were some transactions that never got processed as they were supposed to be going to other teams and I guess I had forgot to send it to them when I opened a clients account (RRSP TFSA etc.). My new manager has been watching me and my other colleagues like a hawk and is constantly pulling people aside for these meetings.

She has overall not been impressed with my performance and I'm honestly not even sure of all the details as she doesn't go into detail about what I can do to improve. She told me today that if improvements are not noticed that potential disciplinary action may occur.

I am truly at a loss for words as this is all happening so suddenly and I honestly thought I was doing so well at this role. My confidence has never been higher since I was in high school. I don't know what to do with myself right now this is like a living nightmare as I think this could be from my minor delays in processing speed and attention to detail or executive dysfunction if you will.

I have thought long and hard about this and I can't think of any other reason why I would be going through this other then NVLD. I don't usually engage with office politics and just focus on my work and I truly am trying my best and I have been feeling very down today. I am honestly thinking of leaving now as the turnover rate at this company is high enough and I feel like I'm on thin ice.

I have made so much progress in my life overall like I am almost 2 years sober. I feel like if I get let go from a job like this I may relapse and I will go back to who I was years ago. A sad and lonely person with no purpose. Getting and keeping a regular adult job is all I ever wanted and I feel like my worst NVLD fears are coming to life.

Please help 😥

This is going to be quite a long post since I will be talking about my experiences about my way of life and my way of processing new information and concepts. I am in the US, 23M.

I was always quite different, said my teacher from the first grade, and in her opinion not in a good way. Other kids noticed that I was different too, so I kept to myself most of the time. At a very young age, I was processing information a lot differently as opposed to others. I didn't quite "get it", especially when we were learning about basic world concepts.

For my first two grades, I didn't have a hard time in school since things were mostly easy. That changed in the third grade when grades started. When my mother was talking to my then teacher about me and how I am doing in school, she said something that my mother had been thinking about a long time but just couldn't put it into words. She said that my brains worked differently than of all other students. I wasn't really quick at understanding concepts like the other students, but when I finally after a long time understood it, I understood it better than anyone else.

Moving on, as you might imagine, I had quite a lot of trouble during my school years. I wasn't able to hold on to new knowledge easily and spent a lot of my days studying in my room, just trying to understand what was taught in the class. The school system wasn't designed for me and my way of thinking and there were too many exams. Don't worry, my grades were good and nobody said that I was having trouble in school, but I was working more than all the others.

That lasted for about ten years until I got out of school. Every day after school, I would come home and study everything that others already understood. Whenever the teacher asked something during the class, I never knew what to answer. And that wasn't just in school ,but also in other activities. I was slow to pick up the rules of a sport or a card game, or in any case, any social activity game.

I got called retarded and stupid many times and some teachers even said that I might have a learning or personal desiability. I just couldn't grasp concepts as quickly as others could. In higher grades, when I had to study more, I was struggling a lot since I had to learn everything about what we talked in class and than other subjects which were going to be on the test.

And here is the thing I noticed by remembering what that teacher said all those years ago. I am slow to pick up things, but once I understand them, I do them and excell at them better than anyone else.

I was just sitting in my room, thinking about all of this. And here is what I noticed. Let's say that the subject in the math class was multiplication (I also needed a long time to understand that). Everyone of course picks up on it easily, except me. So, as usual, I get home and start studying. I don't even look at the title, I instantly look for small details. Let's say specific numbers or the multiplication sign, but never understanding what am I am even learning, just picking up those small little precious details. And weeks pass, everyone knows how to multiply, except me, I only know those details, which I learn every day. And one day, my brain starts something. I don't have control when it happens or why. It starts connecting those details, one by one, they all fall into their rightful place inside my brain. And after that, finally, the whole picture starts to make sense. I understand. And the wave of excitement I feel at that moment is immeasurable, I cherisch the moment. And suddenly, I can multiply better than the whole class. I can do hard exercises better than anyone else.

And this is what that teacher meant. I don't initally see the whole picture, I just look at the details of the subject. After a thousand of these details start connecting, I get the whole picture and that is why I understand it is well. Details + whole picture, while others first understand the whole picture and than the details.

I wish that I could say this is a good thing. And it may be a good thing, but I just haven't noticed it yet.

My first 20 years of my life were really hard because of this. I was a lot different. I didn't know anybody else who saw the world the same way as me. I was isolated most of the time in the books. I think because of the fact that I sometimes understood concepts better than anyone else, other kids got jealous of me. I was bullied for almost ten years. I wish I had a group with like-minded individualy.

I am thankfully out of school now, but things are not that much better. While you are reading this, you might ask yourself, how I am even functioning in the world? Answer? Not great, because it isn't built for me, it is built for the majority, which is a good thing. I have had 30 driving lessons with my isntructor and he has said that I am one of the worst candidates he has ever had and make mistakes that he has seen nobody ever do before. Because I am only picking up the details. But I think that eventually, with time, I will gather enough of these details to maybe become a better driver than most.

The same goes for maps, orientation and public transport . I got lost all the time and my parents were thinking I am insane, but after a while, my orientation and my understanding of public transport is so good that I am pretty much the guide now in major cities.

As you might imagine, the job search is brutal. I got fired about four times just in one summer when I tried to have a summer job, even from Mcdonald's. And believe me, I tried my best. Due to my learning differences, I was once again really slow at doing the job, even while in training because I wasn't getting the whole concept, only those details. I got told that I was incompetent and stupid, that hurt a lot. And I kept seeing others who could drive and have work experience on their resumes, while I couldn't.

For example, if you were watching me in the store trying to grab an item, I would move so weird that you would think I was an autistic robot with bad pathfinding abilities. I would see a product, go to that product, grab it, go to the other side of the store, grab another product, forget where you are and go back to the entrance of the store.

I am trying to better myself really day, but I think to properly function in the world, I have to change my way of thinking, at least to get some sort of balance. So first: understand the whole concept, and then pick up the details. I have been going to galleries lately and I try to literally see the whole painting instead of the details of the painting.

I am trying really hard. I pretty much have no friends here now, except for those from my home town, i think that people dislike me because I am so different. I try to mask it, but it often times doesn't work. I am trying my hardest. I just wish I could be normal, have a normal childhood and a normal life.

In my 23 years of life have I been searching for someone who thinks at least similar to me, but so far no success.

The executive function required to plan out gardening makes my skin crawl but everyone loves it so much and friends of mine with ADHD obsess over it.

As usual with the NVLD, I feel like I’m in a bubble. Now don’t get me wrong, I love plants and if I could care for them I think they make beautiful additions to a house, yard, office, etc.

But I tell my landscaper to give us the lowest maintenance plants and call it a day.

Curious if anyone else has this reaction to plants and gardening??

Hey so I was recently diagnosed with NVLD and I’m still trying to figure out what to do for a living. One option I’m considering is teaching middle school science, starting first with trying out being a substitute teacher. Does anyone know if this is a terrible idea? I turned 40 in January.

Also, what careers does everyone have? Or what are you planning to go into?