Welcome! I’m so glad that you’re here! I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time and I have finally bit the bullet and here I am! I still have no idea what I am doing or how to do this, so please bear with me! To start out, I figured I would give a more in depth picture of who I am and my story of living with nonverbal learning disability. This is my story of why I am taking the plunge and am going to start blogging. My about page contains a brief synopsis of who I am, if that’s what you prefer!
Childhood through High School
I was born and raised in a very small town (population of about 3,000 people) in the northwest corner of Connecticut. When I was 15, I moved with my mom, twin, and dog (Lolly) to the south shore of Boston. This was a HUGE change. I went from a school of about 300 students total to a school of more than 1,000. To say this was terrifying is an understatement. It wasn’t until my freshman year where we finally realized that something was way off.
I really struggled throughout my entire freshman year and ended up in school failure. I don’t even know how many days I missed my freshman year. In 2017 I was finally diagnosed with nonverbal learning disability (NLD). However, it wasn’t until fall 2021 (my freshman year of college) when I finally came to terms with this diagnosis.
College
College was where I essentially hit rock bottom and really began to understand how much this NLD diagnosis was affecting my everyday life. After doing some reading on NLD, everything I read was describing me. Despite doing well academically, NLD severely affects my social life. For my entire life, I have never had any true friends who I feel like I can be myself around. I have always felt like the odd man out and that I never understand any jokes. This has caused severe loneliness, isolation, depression, and anxiety. In short, college was a big shock to my life and I was not prepared for that transition.
I really struggled throughout my entire freshman year of college. It was a very dark and scary time for me. I have never felt so alone and depressed. And I really began to question my worth and identity as a person. I felt like something was wrong with me because I didn’t feel like I fit in, nor could I make any friends. For a long time, I have always felt like no one likes me, which I know deep down that is not true in most cases.
Throughout my second semester, I began working with my school’s center for accessibility services to come up with a plan for the following year and I was approved to be in a single. This gave me hope that the following year was going to be a lot better, despite having to stick it out in the double for the remainder of the year.
Nonverbal Learning Disability Awareness
Nonverbal learning disability is not well known and it is a very real thing. In many cases, just like mine, it is often diagnosed late. I was diagnosed at 15, but many people aren’t diagnosed until their mid-twenties. I wish I had had intervention growing up because then I may not have struggled to the same extent. However, I realize I can’t go back and I can only move forward and continue to work on my weaknesses. As well, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I strongly believe that all of my past experiences, as hard as some have been, have allowed me to grow and become a much stronger, more confident, and braver person.
My goal for this blog is to raise awareness about nonverbal learning disability. Everyone needs to realize that treating people with the smallest amount of kindness can change a person’s day and make them truly believe in themselves.
I am very shy and have always felt like there is something wrong with me, which is why I have never really spoken about about my nonverbal learning disability. However, after a lot of thinking and praying, I have come to realize that there is nothing wrong with me, and if I am feeling this way, I am sure many others are feeling the same way. If my story can help just one person, I will have accomplished my mission.
This is very new territory, and while it is exciting, it is also very nerve wracking, so thanks for hanging in there with me! I would love to know how this post relates to you or what you can do to brighten someone’s day! Leave me a comment down below and let me know! I look forward to starting this conversation with you. If you want to learn more about NLD, check out this book (written by an NLD’er) and let me know what you think!