Odd Girl In

Hello... The article written on NLD by Pia Savage was soo accuratly written.. I hope by her writing this article this disorder becomes recognized and respected.. I have know Pia all my life.. this should be an understanding for those that have never been able to put this into words..Pychology Today: you have an amazing writer that you just added to your magazine.. look foward to hearing more from Pia...

Great piece on a disorder that most people have a hard time comprehending, never-mind knowing what to do with. This type of article can only help those with this elusive disorder.

Bravo Pia!!! May the bravery you've shown in opening up about NLD and the effects it's had on your life encourage more people to start talking about it. My hope is that one day NLD will be as commonly known as ADHD, with none of the disrespect. You are paving the way for my daughter, and as always, I applaud you!
Hugs from your Canadian cheerleader,
Karen

Great article! So helpful to hear an experiential point of view. one of my kids has a learning disorder that was hard to figure out and this article helped me to put myself in his shoes.

Subtle writing, particularly the stranger telling the narrator that people like her shouldn't be let outside and, a few paragraphs later, the author reaching the same conclusion conditional on a manicure.

Thank you for this outstanding article and sharing your very personal experience. I think the more this is talked about and discussed, the better.

Look forward to reading more from you.

Hi Pia:

Thanks for the wonderful post giving NLD some much needed attention. This is truly a complex and difficult neurological disorder to understand. I, too, was diagnosed later in life, and I am continually frustrated by what little information there is on how NLD affects adults. Since Aspergers Syndrome is now in the public spotlight, I hope that NLD—its lesser-known cousin—will get the public attention it so desperately needs as well.

Best, Regards,
Lillian Baulding
www.theoddbirdblog/
NLD Documentary Project

Excellent first piece. If we're going to be a more mentally healthy society, we need to have improvements to the system, but also a better general understanding of mental health. This is a worthy contribution to that goal.

Pia,
This is so beautifully written. Thank you for allowing us to see what it is like to live inside your skin. Well done! Oh and congratulations1

b

Thanks for writingsuch a great account of what people with NLD go through.

Thank You Pia for sharing your experience! I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time and when i want to help with something but don't know what to do... I kinda just stand there with a pretty "out there" expression. I'm also in the way of employees, people with shopping carts, waiters, and the guy with the locker next to mine. And guess what? I also have NLD. I was lucky and got diagnosed pretty early, but that doesn't keep me from having trouble. Thank you so much for letting people know about the trouble we go through and why. I personally am proud to have NLD and wish more people knew and cared about it. You have helped to do just that.
Salty

Since I started taking Psychology at school, I have learned there are so many disorders out there that would have been laughed about when I was a kid. There are so many types of learning disorders alone, let alone the whole realm of anything which can happen when the brain chemistry/connections go wrong.

I hope to see more of you on here now that I have subscribed to Psychology Today:-)

"I call organization "the black hole," as organization feels like nothingness to me."

I find it quite interesting, although I guess not altogether surprising that you have conceptualized your organizational skills (or lack there of) in this way - because I feel the same way. In many instances, when I am trying to organize or synthesize information, or when I am trying to converse with somebody who is communicating in a non-linear way, it does feel like there is a mental void. My brain is fixated on processing a certain type of information in a linear way and when that is not possible then there is a dearth of activity.

I think that one advantage of the poverty (and inconsistency) of information on NLD is that we have been forced to come up with our own theories about it and can then produce entirely original 'research' on the topic, as you have so eloquently done here, with fascinating results.

Anyway, I share your hope that NLD will become a lot more widely recognized and understood in the future and I have confidence that your contributions have been and will continue to help.

I TOTALLY hear you in your desire to have this disorder become more recognized - and we with it generally more understood! I've written to this a lot - and of course! - because words are my best friends! :)

-stan

I've never heard of NLD before - it sounds easily misdiagnosed. An emotionally-charged yet very lucid blog post.

I too have NLD, and I'm not coping very well. I didn't know until my last year of university, and I've spent my whole life thinking that I was stupid. I was severely bullied, but I can understand why it happened, not that it was right, but I can see why it happened. I don't know, I just keep struggling. I have high verbal abilities, but very low non-verbal abilities. In fact, the psychologist described "all aspects of non-verbal functioning as exceedingly weak." But what can you do? Had I known 10 years ago, it would have made a profound difference, but there's nothing I can do about it now.