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NLD And Magic

For those of you who have never heard of the term NLD, let me start by explaining a bit about what it is.

The letters are short for Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, and it's deemed to be a distant cousin of Asperger's Syndrome and maybe even autism.

I've seen estimates that say anywhere up to 20% of the population suffer from some form of NLD, from the very mild to something close to out-and-out autism.

Symptoms include some or all of the following: focusing on the details but missing the big picture; inability to read facial expressions, gestures and other non-verbal cues; social awkwardness; having few friends, particularly among same-age peers; processing information in a linear manner; confusing abstract concepts; having poor handwriting; problems with arithmetic; not being able to pay attention in a noisy environment; navigation and/or map-reading; poor spatial awareness and lack of self-awareness in terms of their position in space (e.g. frequently bumping into things); lack of fine motor control; talking too much and too quickly.

And there is one more symptom, which is what led me to believe that I suffer from NLD too: an inability to visualise things.

You see, my wife and I were looking into matters such as the Law Of Attraction, developing an eidetic memory, goal setting and the such like, most of which requires you to visualise what you want.

And while my wife can picture things in her mind almost like they're real, I see nothing at all - just total blackness. My mind's eye is, to all intents and purposes, blind.

I'd never really thought about anything of it before, but some quick research on the Internet is what led me to NLD.

So, how does all of this relate to magic?

Well, with hindsight, it certainly affects me in a few ways.

Firstly, I've been interested in mnemonics since the age of eight, and although I've found these techniques useful and interesting, I never found them as easy as I felt I was meant to.

However, once you realise that you can't create mental pictures, then it's easy to understand why I find these techniques harder than "normal" people do.

And when you consider that one of my favourite "party pieces" is the late Orville Meyer's "Amazing Magic Square And Master Memory Demonstration", which involves both mnemonics and mental arithmetic, you might be able to appreciate the problems NLD can cause.

Secondly, even as a young child, I was always being admonished for being clumsy, and of course, I never thought anything about it at the time.

But when I began learning magic, in my mid-teens, the lack of fine motor skills that are part and parcel of NLD reared its head.

To be fair, I became proficient at some card sleights (largely thanks to the late Joe Riding), and even taught myself to juggle three balls passably, but the more dexterous manoeuvres, including classic card manipulations and most coin magic, somehow eluded me.

I could say that it was nothing more than insufficient practice, but deep down, I know it's more than just that.

Next, we come to the social awkwardness, and that has been me for as long as I can remember. I can fake it, on a good day, but it's probably not the ideal trait for somebody aspiring to be a magician.

Fourthly, you should know that one of my main interests in magic is mentalism, but I can only read about the skills and techniques of people such as Banachek and Ian Rowland with awe, since the inability to really pick up on gestures and non-verbal cues is a real hindrance here and limits the type of effect I can perform successfully.

So, you're probably asking yourself, why on earth choose magic as a hobby then if you have all these problems?

It's a fair question, and if I'd know about these issues earlier, maybe I would have chosen differently.

But I've been bitten by the bug now, and we all know that the scars this bug leaves are permanent.

Since finding out about NLD, have I come up with any strategies to help with the magic?

Well, to be honest, I no longer have much time to devote to magic - the only pack of cards I've picked up since moving to the USA was to practice a memory stunt.

So, what about mnemonics? How do I cope trying to use the standard association techniques when I still can't see images in my mind (not that I ever could)?

The same way I always did, I guess - what I "see", if you can call it that, is just the words, but definitely no images.

And yes, that does make it harder and more unreliable.

Before I finish, I do have one last thought - although this article has been talking about NLD and magic, it's been focused on the magician, but don't forget that any member of the audience you get to help you may have this condition too, so remember the possible symptoms listed above and make the necessary adjustments.

© Mark Farrar, July 2011

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