The NVLD Project Launches Giving Tuesday Campaign to Raise 100K So No Child with NVLD Goes Unrecognized

Campaign kicks off on Giving Tuesday, December 1, and runs through the month of December

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The NVLD Project, the New York City-based not-for-profit dedicated to raising awareness, funding research and building support for children, adolescents and adults with NVLD, today announced its 2026 Giving Tuesday campaign with a goal of raising 100K, running December 1 through December 31.

NVLD is a diagnosis that often gets overlooked or misunderstood. It is a lifelong visual-spatial processing condition that reaches into daily life, not just schoolwork. People with NVLD often show a clear split. Words come easily, while anything visual or spatial does not. NVLD is not autism, not ADHD and not anxiety, although it can occur alongside them.

Because so many children with NVLD speak early, read early, spell well and have an excellent vocabulary and memory for facts, their struggles are easy to miss. NVLD can be identified as early as age five, though it often surfaces around fourth grade, when schoolwork stops being about reading. Early signs parents and teachers can watch for include:

• Trouble with fine motor tasks, such as using scissors, tying shoelaces or holding a pencil
• Difficulty with gross motor skills, such as throwing a ball or riding a bike
• Frequently bumping into people and things
• Difficulty remembering information that was seen rather than heard
• Struggling with new routines, unfamiliar places or changes in plans
• Missing jokes, sarcasm or the meaning behind a facial expression or tone of voice
• Strong reading and speaking skills paired with real difficulty in math, puzzles or anything visual

As children grow, the signs of NVLD tend to appear across four areas of daily life:

• Motor skills and spatial awareness: fine motor skills, gross motor skills, spatial awareness and recalling visual information
• Focus, planning and new situations: organization and planning, activities that require multitasking, staying focused, and handling new and unfamiliar situations
• Social life: peer relationships, reading social cues, interpreting social interactions, reading facial expressions, posture and tone of voice, and understanding idioms, humor and sarcasm
• School and academics: reading comprehension, essay writing, understanding charts, maps and graphs, and math skills such as fractions, geometric shapes and word problems

Some people with NVLD have all of these challenges, while others have only a cluster. The mix is different for every person, which is one reason NVLD is so often overlooked.

NVLD also does not end at 18. Children with NVLD become adults with NVLD, and it shows up at work, behind the wheel and in relationships. Many adults have lived with it for years without ever receiving a diagnosis.

Since its founding in 2013, The NVLD Project has worked to make sure people with NVLD are recognized and supported. The organization funded the research that produced a clinically defined set of criteria for NVLD and a new name, Developmental Visual-Spatial Disorder (DVSD), which reflects its core challenge of processing and integrating visual and spatial information. With The NVLD Project's support, an international committee of NVLD experts developed a behaviorally defined set of criteria, drawing on surveys of adults and parents and input from practicing clinicians. That work means clinicians can now recognize NVLD through everyday difficulties, without relying on costly brain testing.

The 100K Giving Tuesday goal will help The NVLD Project continue to:

• Fund research that deepens the understanding of NVLD
• Educate teachers, clinicians and parents so the early signs of NVLD are recognized sooner
• Advocate for the recognition, services and accommodations people with NVLD need
• Provide trusted resources for children, adults and families navigating NVLD

Ahead of the campaign, The NVLD Project will host its 10th Anniversary Gala on Wednesday, November 4, from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET at The Century Association, 7 West 43rd Street, New York.

Donations to The NVLD Project's Giving Tuesday campaign can be made at The NVLD Project's donation page.

About The NVLD Project

Founded in 2013 by Laura Lemle, Ph.D., The NVLD Project is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to raising awareness, building support and creating solutions for children, adolescents and adults with NVLD, now reconceptualized as Developmental Visual-Spatial Disorder (DVSD). The organization funds research on NVLD/DVSD and funded The Lemle Clinic at Yeshiva University's Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. The NVLD Project brings together researchers, clinicians, educators and families, and it serves as a central resource for people seeking answers about NVLD/DVSD worldwide. Learn more at nvld.org.

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SOURCE NVLD Project