- Trouble recognizing nonverbal cues (facial expressions, body language)
- Early speech and language acquisition (talks “like an adult” from a young age)
- Poor coordination; seen as “clumsy” or always “getting in the way”
- Poor fine motor skills (difficulty using scissors, tying shoes, etc.)
- Always asking questions, to the point of being repetitive or interrupting the regular flow of conversation
- Needs to verbally “label” information in order to understand it; difficulty comprehending unsaid or spatial information
- Visual-spatial difficulties (discrimination of differences of objects, visualization of images, determining one’s location of body in space)
- Extremely “literal;” struggles with sarcasm, innuendo, or other linguistic nuances
- “Naïve” or overly-trusting
- Difficulty coping with change
- Trouble following multi-step directions
- Difficulty making generalizations or seeing the “big picture”
- Overall challenges often masked by highly advanced verbal skills
Despite their verbal proficiency, those with NLD — particularly children — often exhibit poor reading comprehension.
According to Today.com, through therapy, Rock has been unfurling and understanding his childhood trauma alongside the new diagnosis.
“I thought I was actually dealing with it, and the reality is I never dealt with it,” he said, acknowledging that being able to laugh about his childhood didn’t necessarily mean he was over it.
“The reality was the pain and the fear that that brought me, I was experiencing it every day.”
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Rock has also introduced a new activity to his workout routine: swimming.
The Emmy winner is putting his previously unused pool to good use to boost his new fitness regimen.
“Do you know how f—ing hard it is for a grown-up to learn how to swim? You’ve got to not be scared to die,” he said. “The other day, this guy says to me, ‘OK, you’re going to dive into the deep end and swim to the other side,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you f—ing crazy?’ But then I dove into the deep end, and I swam to the other side, and it’s a metaphor for what I’ve been trying to do during this time.”
“We live in this world where everybody wants to be so self-made,” Rock said. “And I did this by myself. And what happens is we shut ourselves off to people, we don’t ask for help for a lot of things we need help for. … I do two therapists and I do a group, telling people my problems but also hearing other people’s problems and realizing you’re not alone. … And if you can talk to people, everything will be better.”
