The study, the first to estimate the prevalence of NVLD in the general population, was published online today in JAMA Network Open.
“NVLD is a huge and hidden public health burden,” said Jeffrey Lieberman, Chair of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
The name of this neurodevelopmental disorder may be part of the problem: children with NVLD are not nonverbal, as the name suggests, and have no difficulty reading. Instead, children with NVLD have difficulty processing visual-spatial sensory information, which can cause problems with math, executive function, and fine motor and social skills. “Children with this disorder might shy away from doing jigsaw puzzles or playing with Legos,” says lead author Amy E. Margolis, PhD, assistant professor of medical psychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “They may have trouble tying their shoes, using scissors, or learning routes or schedules.”
Article continues below...
.
Overcoming Learning Challenges: 100 Short Testimonials and Reviews
Testimonials and reviews, covering Edublox clients of all age groups from all over the world, at various stages of implementation and for various needs — from improving the cognitive skills of children without learning difficulties to overcoming dyslexia, dysgraphia, math problems, et cetera. Continue Reading
March 21, 2020
Amazing Improvement in Reading and Spelling
Now, after working with Susan and the Edublox program for the last 5 months, Carsten is reading 6 and 7 letter words and the most amazing part is he is spelling them as well! AMAZING! I never would have thought he would be spelling words that large so quickly. I asked his school teacher about what she has seen and she told me she’s seen a big difference... Continue Reading
March 12, 2020
Video Gallery: Overcoming Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities
Watch videos and listen to interviews, covering Edublox clients of all age groups and from all over the world, at various stages of implementation and for various needs: from overcoming reading difficulties to severe dyslexia, dyscalculia, low IQ, et cetera. Continue Reading
December 22, 2019
Overcoming Severe Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Low IQ: A Case Study
Meet Maddie, a 10-year-old who had been diagnosed with severe dyslexia, moderate dyscalculia, ADHD and low IQ (low 80s). People who had evaluated her said that they had never seen dyslexia as severe as this before. Her parents had been told by more than one professional that Maddie would probably never read... Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Reading and Learning Has Become a Pleasure
For me, as a homeschool mom, it’s amazing to see how my children’s confidence has “exploded”. Since we started Edublox, they pick up every little book and magazine because they WANT TO READ. They WANT to go to the library. Fights about reading is a far-fetched memory... reading and learning has now become a pleasure in our house. Continue Reading
Christelle de Villiers, Homeschool Mom
May 10, 2017
Now Reading with Ease and Confidence
Reading used to be so much work for him that he didn’t enjoy it and only read when he had to. Now he reads with ease and confidence. As a matter of fact, he enjoys reading so much that it isn’t unusual to see him reading for pleasure now. The first time I heard him say he was “going to bed a little early so he could read before going to sleep” was music to my ears!! Continue Reading
Sheri Browning, USA
December 19, 2016
Overcoming a Spelling Problem
I feel as if part of my daughter's mind was trapped, and Edublox set her free... She is now almost an intuitive speller. Really, it's a miracle. Six months ago, her spelling tested at a Kindergarten level, and is now at a 6th grade level. This is just still so amazing to all of us who have struggled with her. Continue Reading
The Adams household, New Mexico, USA
December 15, 2016
Reading and Spelling Greatly Improved
Phonics just did not work. Last year they did not improve in their reading level all year. We started Edublox in June and already in the first 9 weeks of school they have increased over 2 1/2 years.... Their spelling has greatly improved and learning new words has become a game, not the dreaded chore it once was. Continue Reading
Nita Brist, Washington State, US
December 11, 2016
Reading Up by 2 Years in Less than 6 Months
He finished the school year on a real high, his reading age went up by 2 years in less than 6 months and he is now making far fewer mistakes and is also self correcting himself when it doesn’t make sense, his spelling age improved as well and he also did really well in the end of year exams with his best results in most subjects. Continue Reading
Jenny & Greg, UK
December 6, 2016
Sean’s Reading Really Leaped
Sean’s reading really leaped between the 7th and 8th month of Edublox.... I have been able to get out books that I have always wanted to read together with him, but used to look at them and knew they were above his reading level and had to put them away. But now I have been able to get out those books and he can read them. Continue Reading
Cindy B, Michigan, US
December 1, 2016
.
NVLD was first described in 1967, but compared with other learning disorders it has received little attention. There’s little consensus among physicians on how to diagnose the disorder, and it is not included in the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Few parents have heard of NVLD. “Most parents recognize that a child who isn’t talking by age two should be evaluated for a learning disorder. But no one thinks twice about kids who have problems with visual-spatial tasks,” says Margolis.
To see how common the disorder is, the researchers analyzed three independent samples of children (ages 6 to 19) in the U.S. and Canada, including a total of 2,596 individuals. Any child with a deficit in spatial reasoning and impairment in two of four domains (fine motor skills, math calculation, visual executive functioning, and social skills) was considered to have NLVD.
The researchers found that 3 to 4 percent of children in each sample met the criteria for NLVD. “When applied to the U.S. population under 18, this translates to approximately 2.2 to 2.9 million children having NVLD,” says co-author Katherine Keyes, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.
Many of the children in the study who were identified as having NVLD had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety disorder. “While there is some overlap in symptoms between the two disorders, it’s important to distinguish between them so we can begin to develop interventions for NVLD,” says Margolis.
The researchers plan to submit an application to the American Psychiatric Association to include the disorder in the next (sixth) edition of the DSM. They also plan to propose a new name — developmental visual spatial disorder — to improve understanding and recognition of the disorder.
.
Edublox Online Tutor offers multisensory cognitive training that enables learners to overcome reading problems and learning challenges and reach their full potential. Over the last 30+ years, the company behind the Online Tutor e-learning platform, Edublox, has helped thousands of children to read, learn and achieve through home kits and learning clinics internationally. Our programs are founded on pedagogical research and more than three decades of experience demonstrating that weak underlying cognitive skills account for the majority of learning difficulties. Specific cognitive exercises can strengthen these weaknesses leading to increased performance in reading, spelling, writing, math and learning.
Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD), a poorly understood and often-overlooked disorder that causes problems with visual-spatial processing, may affect nearly 3 million children in the United States, making it one of the most common learning disorders, according to a new study by led by Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
