nld

NONVERBAL LEARNING DISORDER

NLD. 1. A frequently misdiagnosed state of anxiety, confusion, and social withdrawal caused by inabilities to send and receive common gestures, facial expressions, and body-language cues. 2. NLD persons may a. misread everyday nonverbal signals, b. display awkward body movements, and c. have difficulty associating visual signs in space and time.

Usage: NLD children rely on the concreteness of verbal speech and written words, and may be unable to process the subtleties of nonverbal expression.

E-Commentary: "My learning disabled son's biggest problem, now that he is pushing 16, is lack of good social skills. He just isn't responding appropriately to cues. I am unsure whether it's a lack of perception or a lack of ability to properly respond that is the difficulty." --R.M., USA (4/11/00 11:19:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time)

Neuro-notes. "A 120-base pair duplication polymorphism in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) shows preferential transmission with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) . . ." Anonymous (2000C).

See also AUTISM, BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER, NONVERBAL LEARNING. Principal web link: NLD on the Web!