NLD, NVLD

I think that it is bad that in diagnostic manuals there are no one category for all childhood-onset conditions characterised by social inadequacy and peculiarity. Social NVLD, SCD, ASD should have one labelling. I suppose that NVLD or SCD can be worse than mild autism spectrum disorder.

I met descriptions of NVLD which present it as clearly aucorigic condition. This is one of examples (from http://www.aane.org/aspergers-disorder- … s-related/) with my emphasis:

A. NVLD can be conceptualized as an imbalance in thinking skills—intact linear, detail oriented, automatic processing with impaired appreciation of the big picture, gestalt or underlying theme.

B. It is not nearly as common as language-based learning disabilities, but this may be a phenomenon created by environmental demands (i.e. our societal demands for precision skills in reading assure that even the most subtle language-based LD cases are identified)

C. Typically social/psychiatric concerns are raised before academic problems are identified.

D. While the overlap is not complete, NVLD children may meet the criteria for Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD NOS), Aspergers Disorder, or Schizotypal Personality.

Neuropsychological Profile:
* Full range of IQ
* Visual spatial deficits are most pronounced: poor appreciation of gestalt, poor appreciation of body in space, sometimes left side inattention/neglect, may have highly developed but ritualized drawing skills that are extremely detail oriented.
* Rote linguistic skills are normal (i.e. repetition, naming, fluency, syntactic comprehension), but pragmatic use of language is impaired: weak grasp of inference, little content, disorganized narrative despite good vocabulary and grammar. Rote recall of a story may be good, but the main point missed. Rhythm, volume, and prosody of speech are often disturbed.
* Motor and sensory findings are common: usually poor fine and gross motor coordination, left side worse than right.
* Attention is usually reported to be impaired and testing supports this, but the affect is desultory as opposed to distractingly impulsive, as in ADHD. It is as if people with NVLD do not know what to attend to, but once focused, can sustain attention to detail. The distinction between figure and ground is disturbed, resulting in attention errors.

Social/emotional issues:
*Peer relations are typically the greatest area of impairment; may play with much older or younger children than with same age peers where they must manage give and take.
* They often lack basic social skills; may stand too close, stare inappropriately or not make eye contact, have marked lack of concern over appearance, be oblivious to other’s reactions, change topics idiosyncratically.
* Children with NVLD are seen as “odd” children who “just don’t get it” socially They may do better with adults, where they act dependent and immature, but may not be seen as “odd.”
* They may show poorly modulated affect, not matched to verbal content.
* Lack of empathy and social judgment may shield them from fully experiencing the hurt of peer rejection, while the same factors increase the likelihood of being rejected.
* History of unusual thinking can often be obtained: rituals, stereotypic behaviors, rigid routines, and magical/bizarre beliefs.

Socio-emotional issues mentioned here makes NVLD a pervasive developmental disorder in my opinion. Condition which may meet criteria of PDD-NOS, Asperger's, schizotypal personality is clearly aucorigic. This description of NVLD fits me more than characteristic of ASD.

What does unusual thinking make in the symptoms of a learning disability? I would redefine the term "pervasive developmental disorder" to ecompass so-called NVLD.

I think that SCD also should be in one category with developmental disorder with "NVLD" and ASD. The name "social communication disorder" suggest impairment in only one area, while in complex developmental disorders, aucorigias there tends to be some areas of which symptoms are present: social, emotional, executive functioning and activities, physcial and sensory, cognitive and motoric.

From https://www.farvardin-group.com/media/o … 26263.pdf:

NVLD is not a learning disability in the traditional sense, but rather a life learning disability. It should be considered in terms of a pervasive developmental disability (assumes a severe, chronic disability that is present before the individual reaches the age of 21), rather than a learning disability. It causes substantial functional limitation in areas such as self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, selfdirection and mobility, as well as the capacity for independent living and economic selfsufficiency. (Pamela B. Tanguay Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School, 2002)

In the book "Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School: Educating Students with NLD...", Pamela Tanguay, page 19, I found a sentence: "It is far more appriopiate to consider NLD in terms of pervasive developmental disability, rather than a learning disability.

I would name NVLD "aucorigia subtype I" and ASD "aucorigia subtype II".
Isolated cases of dyscalculia, dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder (DCD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), stereotyped movement disorder (SMD), even starting in childhood, are not aucorigic, although these conditions may be ("secondary") symptoms of aucorigia.
ASD is always aucorigic condition, SCD also (although diagnosis of SCD does not contain emotional, executive and motional, somatic and cognitive symptoms). There may be only "aucoroidal" cases of NVLD without social ineptitude. Some descriptions of NVLD present it as doubtlessly aucorigic conditions. Broader autism phenotype may consist aucorigic and aucoroidal cases. Maybe most complicated cases of ADHD are aucorigic.

I'm pretty sure that term autism will not be part of diagnostics in the future or it does not carry the same meaning.

It is kind of sad that people want give label that hardly really exists. Personality disorders for example have moved towards picking out traits in manifestation and scoring severity based on that which is much more sensible.

For example  if a diagnostician labels problem areas it will be much more to assign help than put a person in "autism" treatment. As for present scales of severity: it does handle a condition as a monolith instead of fracturing it to causes and manifestations.

I think that it could be good if the word "autism" would not be present in diagnostic manuals because I think that difference between autistic and "non-autistic" disorder is not so large.

I think that symptoms characteristic for Kanner's autism in fact are NOT representative for ALL sorts of autism, these symptoms are:
- lack of intuitive theory of mind, no imaginative play, pronoun reversal, deficient self-awareness
- serious problems with central coherence, literal and concrete thinking
- delayed or absent speech, problems with verbal IQ (especially Comprehension), VIQ often lower than PIQ,
- need of sameness and predictability, (compulsive) adherence to non-functional rituals and routines,
- non-verbal thinking (especially visual),
- sensory processing disorder, sensory overloads or indiosyncratic processing,
- prosopagnosia, difficulties with recognising people (often),
- gastrointestinal problems, recommendation of diet without gluten, sugar, caseine.

These symptoms are common among individuals who have typical ASD, may be quite atypical in NVLD (usually absent?). I have not any of them but was diagnosed with Asperger's. I think that many individuals with ASD level 1 (or maybe even subclinical autism spectrum (level 0)) have them. In addition, these traits may be often genetically based. I think that they demarcate between "classic" autism and its spectrum and similar disorders (which are be unjustly named as nonverbal learning disorder, social communication disorder, social learning disability, personality disorders with onset in childhood - they are pervasive developmental disorders too!) which have many overlapping features but are in my opinion totally unrelated to "classic" autism.

I think that "socio-emotional developmental disorders" should be in one subcategory of (neuro)developmental disorders, it would not ecompass dyslexia and even ADHD, but in it "classic" autism, "nonverbal learning disorder" or "social learning disability" have to be placed.