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Aspergers versus non verbal learning disability
My son, who is almost 8, has suffered from dysgraphia for many years now. There are a few reasons why your child is having success with the computer instead of writing. One, obviously, is that writing requires distinct fine motor skills; and the motor skills are greatly affected in a negative way in dysgraphia. Another reason is that when you have a horizontal work surface, such as when you are writing, you are using your cerebellum. When you have a vertical work surface, such as a computer, easel, blackboard, etc., you are using your frontal lobe. When writing on a horizontal work surface, he uses a slant board, or you can get a 3' binder to serve the same purpose. This will put the hand in a better position. And once the dysgraphia starts to affect spelling, remind him to look up and think about how the word is spelled. Writing (composing) and spelling become easier when using the frontal lobe. Dysgraphia is more than a fine motor problem. It is a whole brain processing problem. It affects not only the ability to do the printing, but slows down composition and challenges spelling, capitalization and punctuation. The act of the writing and the act of the spelling will compete against each other in the brain. Because the act of writing is so difficult, most of the brain power will be sent to that task, and the rest will suffer. My son has a way above average verbal vocabulary. Yet, because of the dysgraphia, he will use short sentences and the shortest words he can think of when writing. And although he is quite eloquent in a verbal way, writes with disjointed thoughts. Computers can free up the child to write at their potential instead of at their disability level. However, I am a great believer that while allowing that to happen is essential, remediating their weakness--the printing--is also essential. Both need to be done simultaneously. A good occupational therapist can help with this remediation. We use Handwriting Without Tears both in OT and at home. It will also help with letter and number reversals. And I just thought I'd mention that my son has an Alphasmart, as well. It is a portable keyboard that stands up to a child's abuse and can be plugged into any computer to print... And it frees up the child from all that computer stuff--having to save documents, etc.
I don't think you should give up entirely on handwriting, but instead look at what's going to make him successful at school. Many schools provide AlphaSmarts (which could be listed as part of his IEP). Of course he'll still need to be able to write without a keyboard, although not quite as much as you might expect.
I don't know the technical answer, but I have been told my 7-year old son definitely does NOT have Aspergers but does have a nonverbal learning disability. We know another boy, same age, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers. They both have social skills deficits. I think they have in common difficulty/inability to decipher nonverbal cues. But I'm under the impression the other boy (with Aspergers) does not have the language processing deficits my son has -- like difficulty retrieving descriptive and attributive words for things. Also, I'm not sure the boy with Aspergers has the difficulties with abstract, relational concepts that my son has. The literature seems all over the place so is not very helpful. Some think both are on the autism spectrum. Some say Aspergers is and NLD isn't. Some seem to see NLD as its own spectrum. I think I once read that one difference between Aspergers and NLD is that many (but not all) people with Aspergers can get focused on one topic -- like say maps -- and learn everything there is to know about it and talk about it day and night, whereas people with NLD often have the opposite problem of a sort of incapacity or unwillingness to delve deeply enough into anything to develop some expertise. Finally -- maybe you should ask the doctors what they think is the difference and why the distinction is important. Maybe that will help you figure out what (among their recommendations) you think your child needs. Hope this is helpful.
You are not the only one that is unclear about Asperger's Syndrome(AS) vs Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) -- the medical profession apparently has not agreed on this either. And the education system doesn't even include NLD in the 12 categories of disorders that are eligible for services under IDEA. There is a large overlap in the characteristics generally exhibited by people with AS and NLD - this is one reason for confusion in the diagnosis. Apparently it is very common for people with these disorders to receive varying diagnoses from different professionals. A great resource is the book 'Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger's Syndrome', by Kathryn Stewart, PhD - it explains the similarities and the differences quite clearly. There are also numerous books available from the library on both of these topics. Good luck in your quest to find the right support for your child. Diane Dew