His fine motor skills and handwriting seem age-appropriate. He completes the basic worksheets (circle the pictures that start with A and write ANT or APPLE) in 2-3 minutes if I stand over him. But, he does try to get out of any writing so I would like to investigate any possible issue.
Our ds appeared to have really well developed fine motor skills when he was young - or so we thought - because he could build incredibly tiny detailed clay models, and his handwriting didn't look out-of-sync with the other kids in K/1. It wasn't until later when the other kids' handwriting was continuing to develop as expected and ds didn't seem to be making the same strides that you could see the impact of dysgraphia on his handwriting. One test that you can do at home that might be interesting is to time his handwriting - have him write the alphabet, upper and lower case, and see how long it takes him (measure in letters per minute). You can google letters per minute vs grade level and get an idea of what is considered typical (although just a warning - there are a lot of different ideas re what is "typical" for handwriting speed). Sometimes kids with dysgraphia will have legible handwriting but it will be incredibly slow relative to peers.
We do enrich (math and science in particular) at home and have been asking for differentiation, and offering materials, for months. The teacher has been resisting, saying it's not fair to the other kids. (Even beyond academics - he has a wedge cushion which helps him sit still at the table. But she does most of her instruction on the floor and doesn't want him to use it there, because the other kids will want one. And so he squirms, and she is frustrated.)
It sounds like you've done all you can with this particular teacher - I would consider requesting a 504 hearing as your next step if you continue to feel that your requests are not being heard and respected. The wedge cushion is a very common accommodation, and there's no reason the teacher can't allow your child to have that cushion on the floor as well as at his desk. If I were in your place, I'd be tempted to say "OK, I can understand that the other kids might also want a cushion also. Can the school supply more cushions for the classroom?" (I'm guessing the teacher would answer "no"... but fwiw, this is how my dd10's teacher handles the wedge cushion issue - there are 1-2 kids in the classroom who have it written into 504 plans, but there are about 6-7 cushions and whoever wants to use them can, but the kids who need them have first dibs. If the teacher did say no, the school doesn't have extra cushions, you could also suggest that the teacher offer that anyone who wants to use a cushion can bring their own cushion in from home.
Re being fidgety - there can be *so* many reasons for fidgetiness - from ADHD to just plain bored to gifted behaviors to having itchy skin. My dd10 used to fidget like crazy and never sat still - it turns out she had severe double vision, but she was used to seeing double and it never occurred to her to tell us that was how here eyes worked. Sitting on the cushion also helped her because she had weak muscle tone in her trunk... we used to send her outside to swing for 15+ minutes each afternoon to build up her trunk strength
Anyway, I'm rambling. You have a good plan - stick with it. It sounds like this year is going to be over without the teacher ever cooperating, but this is the time to put the groundwork in place for a successful year next year.
And I'll put one last plug in for the neuropsych consult - it sounds like it would be helpful not only in better understanding what's behind the behavior you've seen, but also in advocating for services at school. You've got the part of the eval that will be a great tool for advocating for gifted services, but it sounds like you might also need to firm up other accommodations such as the wedge cushion.
Good luck!
polarbear
Best wishes,
Kath
