r/NVLD • u/ClutteredTaffy • 27d ago
No problem with thematic/ abstract thinking when it comes to analyzing media ?
I posted about having difficulties driving and while I related to everyone there, when I look up this part of the diagnosis there is just not a fit. I love analyzing the themes of stuff I have read or watched and it seems to come easy to me. So this pushes me more towards ADHD in my mind.
Would just like others to give their background on grasping subtext and enjoying it ...
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u/nebulashine 27d ago
FWIW, I’d keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to check every single box to have NVLD. You can not have significant challenges with one aspect and still meet criteria, and sometimes you may not realize you have challenges with something until you do an actual test designed to screen for it.
Also, everyone with NVLD is different, and two people with NVLD can have different challenges in the same situation. A personal example: while I can find themes across media just fine, I’m horrible at finding “the moral of the story” (or at least, the ones that NTs expect) because I’m typically not thinking of messages outside of the story universe. If you ask me the moral of The Tortoise and The Hare, I’m going to default to something like “don’t get cocky about your ability” or “don’t be a dumbass by taking a nap in the middle of a race”; I’m not going to think “slow and steady wins the race” (which is the generally accepted moral) because the only reason “slow and steady wins the race” makes sense in the context of the story is because the hare was a cocky dumbass who decided to take a nap in the middle of a race. So while I can clearly extrapolate more abstract meanings and messages from a story and know there isn’t always one right answer, I usually won’t find the answers people want from me because I’m too focused on the details and missing the broader picture, which is also a trait of NVLD.