Boarding school? Smart, verbal kid with borderline NVLD (not diagnosable) issues

Lyre
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:52:11 +0000

My D was diagnosed with NVLD at the age of 14 along with probable ADD. She is VERY verbally oriented and isn’t good visually or with symbol. She is also extremely smart, but has poor working memory. Her SATs were around 450 math and 630 verbal.

High school was very difficult for her and she eventually left, took the HS proficiency exam, and then went to community college full time. She eventually transferred to a 4 year college (with a block plan) and with only one accommodation (the replacement of a stats class), she graduated and went on to grad school at an Ivy League university.

She really, really struggled at times (and still does), but things have gotten easier as she has gotten older and been allowed to specialize her educational choices. I don’t think a boarding school would have been a good thing for her, but it might be in your situation.

I do wish you the best and would suggest that you pursue getting a really good diagnosis, as “borderline NVLD” doesn’t seem terribly helpful and any type of funding seems unlikely without a more definitive diagnosis.