Is there an increased familial prevalence of psychopathology in children with nonverbal learning disorders

The cognitive and behavioral symptoms of nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have been described by previous investi-gators. Nevertheless, we know far less about the potential genetic contributions that may predispose a child to have NLD. An endophenotype model was investigated in 5 samples of children ages 9 to 15 years: NLD (n = 32); reading disorders (RD; n = 59); participants with a psychiatric diagnosis but without a learning disability (n = 55); typically developing con-trols (n = 31); and children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS), a chromosomal deletion syndrome that has been pro-posed as being an exemplar of NLD (VCFS + NLD; n = 20). Based on a family genetic interview, the authors ’ data suggest that children with NLD, RD, or a psychiatric diagnosis have a higher prevalence rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity dis-order (ADHD) and substance abuse/dependence. Psychiatric controls and children with NLD—but not children with RD— showed higher prevalence rates of familial bipolar disorder