Trajectory assessments of cognitive, visuospatial, and academic profile in nonverbal learning disability (visuospatial developmental disorder).
Kids with NLD lose ground in spatial thinking, writing speed, and math facts each year unless you step in early.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Diemer et al. (2023) tracked the kids with Nonverbal Learning Disability for three years. They gave the same IQ, writing, and math tests every 12 months.
Kids were 8-14 years old at the start. No control group. Just watching change over time.
What they found
Perceptual reasoning, handwriting speed, and math fact retrieval all got worse. Verbal scores stayed flat.
By year three, average drop was 7 IQ points in perceptual area. Writing speed fell a large share. Math facts slowed a large share.
How this fits with other research
Fernández-Cobos et al. (2025) saw similar math slips in autistic kids without ID. Both studies link weak visuospatial skill to later math trouble. The pattern looks the same even though labels differ.
Greene et al. (2019) found gifted autistic students actually gained academic ground. C et al. saw only decline. The difference: K's group started with high verbal IQ and got enrichment. C's NLD group had low spatial IQ and got no special help. High verbal IQ may protect against slide.
Howlin et al. (2006) tracked adults with Down syndrome. Verbal intrusion errors forecast memory loss. C et al. show perceptual reasoning drop forecasts academic loss. Both papers give early red flags you can watch before big problems hit.
Why it matters
If you serve a child with NLD, do not wait for failure. Slide starts early and stays. Add extra time for writing, teach math facts with verbal self-talk, and use graph paper to keep numbers in line. Re-check spatial and math skills every year. Catching the drop gives you a clear road map for IEP goals and saves the child from years of frustration.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Time a one-minute math-fact sheet and a one-minute copying task; save scores to compare in three months.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Substantial progress has been made in defining children with nonverbal learning disability (NLD), but longitudinal studies are still lacking. To start filling this gap, we examined changes in general cognitive functioning, visuo-constructive skills, and academic profiles in a group of children with NLD, also taking into account any internalizing and externalizing symptom as transdiagnostic features. A total of 30 participants (24 boys) diagnosed with NLD were tested twice, with a three-year gap between the two assessments (T1: at age 8-13; T2: at 11-16), on their cognitive profile, visuospatial abilities, and academic performance (i.e., reading, writing and arithmetic abilities). At T2, any internalizing and externalizing symptom was also investigated. Statistically significant differences emerged between the two assessments in terms of the WISC-IV Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), handwriting speed and arithmetical fact retrieval. The NLD profile seems to be characterized by a relative stability in its core features during a child's development, as regards both weaknesses (i.e., visuospatial processing) and strengths (i.e., verbal abilities). The presence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms also suggested the importance to analyze transdiagnostic features rather than only sharp boundaries between conditions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104540