How can someone have terrible handwriting and yet draw so well??
This is actually somewhat common among kids with fine motor dysgraphia - handwriting requires the brain to communicate a series of steps to the hand to create letters, and the pathways required to do that never develop automaticity. When you draw, you aren't recreating anything or having to remember how to make a letter. My ds12 is severely dysgraphic but has been drawing amazingly detailed accurate pictures since he was old enough to pic up a pencil. The other little odd thing is that the way many dysgraphics hold their pencil (odd pencil grip) is similar to the way many of the artists I know hold pencils etc to draw (but it's *not* the way we are taught to hold pencils to write).
For the OP, and the others who have children with similar gaps between VCI/PRI and processing speed - our ds also has a gap that large (> 43 pts). His working memory when first tested had a similar gap (not quite as large); when he was tested in 5th grade his wm score improved some but is still lower than his VCI/PRI. When he was in early elementary he was diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive) and dysgraphia; as the years went by and his dysgraphia was accommodated it became clear that he did *not* have ADHD. I do know that children who have ADHD often have handwriting challenges and written output challenges, but for anyone who is wondering about their child re ADHD/handwriting/low processing speed scores - when you see all of those together - my suggestion is to get a referral for a neuropsych eval so you can have someone look at the full picture of how your child is functioning. Much of what is mentioned here could be ADHD, but could also be an LD.
Best wishes,
polarbear
