研究发现，视觉空间学习障碍比思维障碍更常见

研究发现，视觉空间学习障碍比思维障碍更常见

Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD), a poorly understood and often-overlooked disorder that causes problems with visual-spatial processing, may affect nearly 3 million children in the United States, making it one of the most common learning disorders, according to a new study by led by Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

哥伦比亚大学欧文医学中心(Columbia University Irving Medical Center)领导的一项新研究显示，非语言学习障碍(NVLD)是一种理解力差、常被忽视的导致视觉空间处理问题的障碍，可能影响美国近300万儿童，成为最常见的学习障碍之一。

The study, the first to estimate the prevalence of NVLD in the general population, was published online today in JAMA Network Open.

这项研究是首次估计NVLD的研究，今天在JAMA网公开发表。

"NVLD is a huge and hidden public health burden," said Jeffrey Lieberman, Chair of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. "This important work might never have come to light if not for the support of dedicated advocate and their philanthropic support. We hope that these findings raise awareness of the disorder and lead to an understanding of its neurobiology and better treatments."

“NVLD是一个巨大而隐蔽的公共卫生负担，”哥伦比亚大学瓦杰洛斯医师和外科医生学院精神病学系主任、纽约州精神病研究所所长杰弗里·利伯曼说，“这项重要的工作如果没有热心的倡导者的支持和他们的慈善支持，可能永远不会曝光。我们希望这些发现能提高人们对这种疾病的认识，并有助于理解其神经生物学和更好的治疗方法。”

The name of this neurodevelopmental disorder may be part of the problem: children with NVLD are not nonverbal, as the name suggests, and have no difficulty reading. Instead, children with NVLD have difficulty processing visual-spatial sensory information, which can cause problems with math, executive function, and fine motor and social skills. "Children with this disorder might shy away from doing jigsaw puzzles or playing with Legos," says lead author Amy E. Margolis, PhD, assistant professor of medical psychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "They may have trouble tying their shoes, using scissors, or learning routes or schedules."

这种神经发育障碍的名字可能是问题的一部分：NVLD儿童并不像名字所暗示的那样是非语言的，而且阅读也没有困难。相反，患有NVLD的儿童很难处理视觉空间感觉信息，这可能会导致数学、执行功能、精细运动和社交技能方面的问题。“患有这种疾病的儿童，可能会回避做拼图游戏或玩乐高玩具，”主要作者艾米E.马戈利斯博士说，她是哥伦比亚大学瓦杰洛斯医师和外科医生学院医学心理学助理教授，“他们可能在系鞋带、使用剪刀、学习路线或日程安排方面遇到困难。”

NVLD was first described in 1967, but compared with other learning disorders it has received little attention. There's little consensus among physicians on how to diagnose the disorder, and it is not included in the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The cause of NVLD is not known and there are no treatments.

NVLD于1967年首次被发现，但与其他学习障碍相比，它很少受到关注。在如何诊断这种疾病上，医生们几乎没有达成共识，而且它也没有被包括在美国精神病学协会(American Psychiatric Association)最新版的《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM)中。NVLD的病因尚不清楚，也没有治疗方法。

Few parents have heard of NVLD. "Most parents recognize that a child who isn't talking by age two should be evaluated for a learning disorder. But no one thinks twice about kids who have problems with visual-spatial tasks," says Margolis.

很少有家长听说过NVLD。“大多数父母都认识到，两岁前不会说话的孩子应该被评估为学习障碍。但是对于那些在视觉空间任务上有问题的孩子，没有人会做更多的考虑。”

To see how common the disorder is, the researchers analyzed three independent samples of children (ages 6 to 19) in the U.S. and Canada, including a total of 2,596 individuals. Any child with a deficit in spatial reasoning and impairment in two of four domains (fine motor skills, math calculation, visual executive functioning, and social skills) was considered to have NLVD.

为了了解这种疾病的常见程度，研究人员分析了美国和加拿大三个独立的儿童样本(6至19岁)，其中包括2596名个体。任何在四个领域(精细运动技能、数学计算、视觉执行功能和社交技能)中有两个领域的空间推理缺陷和障碍的儿童，都被认为患有NLVD。

The researchers found that 3 to 4 percent of children in each sample met the criteria for NLVD. "When applied to the U.S. population under 18, this translates to approximately 2.2 to 2.9 million children having NVLD," says co-author Katherine Keyes, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

研究人员发现，每个样本中有3%到4%的儿童符合NLVD标准。研究报告的合著者、哥伦比亚邮差公共卫生学院(Columbia Mailman School of Public Health)流行病学副教授凯瑟琳•凯斯(Katherine Keyes)博士说:“如果将这一结论应用到美国18岁以下的人口中，大约有220万至290万儿童患有NVLD。”

Many of the children in the study who were identified as having NVLD had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety disorder. "While there is some overlap in symptoms between the two disorders, it's important to distinguish between them so we can begin to develop interventions for NVLD," says Margolis.

在这项研究中，许多被确诊为NVLD的儿童被诊断为注意力缺陷多动障碍(ADHD)或焦虑症。马戈利斯说:“虽然这两种疾病的症状有些重叠，但重要的是要区分它们，这样我们才能开始开发针对NVLD的干预措施。”