ABSTRACT
To consider the manifestations and outcome of childhood learning disabilities (LD) in adulthood leads to a number of interesting questions, more so even than answers. While we know much about LD and subtypes of LD in children (though even here there continues to be debate about the very definition of LD), less is known about presentations in adults. Nonverbal learning disability (NLD) is a particularly interesting syndrome to examine both for the particular presentation of individuals with NLD and for the tenets of its model (Rourke, 1989). Specifically, in this model, there is an emphasis on a developmental neuropsychological approach to the study of LD. Underscored is the importance of a life-span or developmental approach, as well as patterns of performance and models of brain-behavior relationships. In all, what is eschewed is a static perspective that draws on structural and hierarchical definitions in favor of an approach that proposes a dynamic model that emphasizes not the things in themselves but the relations among them. It raises a question whether at least some adult psychopathology can be understood relative to the intersection of lifelong learning profiles, organization of the brain, and the environment or context for development. What follows is a description of the characteristics of NLD academic, vocational, and psychosocial dimensions, as well as a model of brain involvement, and finally a discussion of what future directions are needed.
