What Causes Non Verbal Learning Disorder?

Posted on Wed, 22 Apr 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 Answered on

Sat, 16 May 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : On the ray auditory verbal learning test. I scored 14/15 on the delayed recall trial. WHich is apparently good. But on I scored 15/15 on the final trial before the 30 min delay. Is it normal or ok to forget one word? Also does my score rule out mci/dementia

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
its normal

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to HealthcareMagic.

You have performed well on Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT).

You scored 15/15 on final trial which is excellent.

Forgetting one word is normal.

This most probably rules out MCI/Dementia.

But as dementia is more of a clinical diagnosis, made on the basis of defined diagnostic criteria, a detailed clinical examination by a specialist would be more important and definite.

Hope this helps.

Feel free to discuss further.

Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Shubham Mehta (2 days later)

What about If I forgot 3word or 4 words? when does it start to become a problem?

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
cut off scores as low as 6 are acceptable

Detailed Answer:
Hi again.
Sorry for the late response.

Even if a person forgets 3-4 words, there is no problem.

Cut-off scores as low as 6 are acceptable.

The interpretation depends on the final score of all trials.

MCI and dementia are primarily diagnosed on the basis of diagnostic criteria.

The results and interpretation of such neuropsychological tests may vary from person to person and culture to culture.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Shubham Mehta (15 hours later)

I score really low on the rey complex figure test. Bottom 5%. On the rey auditory verbal learning test I scored really highly, top 96%. Why is this? is this a sign of some sort of non verbal learning disability? Not sure if this is in anyway related but on the corsi block tapping I scored a 6, which is above average apparently.

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
contrasting results.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again.

Corsi block tapping test and rey complex figure test both assess visuo-spatial abilities.
You have performed above average on corsi block tapping and low on rey complex figure test.
I think the results are contrasting.
This does not suggest that you are having a non-verbal learning disability.

You have performed well on RAVLT. A person may have his one domain stronger then other. This is not unusual.

As I told you earlier, such disorders are diagnosed primarily on the basis of clinical features which affect activities of daily living.
The neuropsychological tests are just supplementary to the clinical features and are not the diagnostic tools.

Do you have difficulty in identifying the gestures or facial expression of people around you? Do you understand the meaning of traffic signals when you go around the road?

If these things are intact, I dont think there is a possibility of non verbal learning disorder.

Hope this answers your query satisfactorily.

Feel free to discuss further.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj