One of my son's weaknesses is that he can't draw very well because he has a disability that causes hypermobile finger joints and pain when he tries to write or draw for more than about five minutes. I think he also has some vision issues that affect drawing ability.
He exercised his hand muscles by using squeeze balls and all he got for that was the ability to squeeze my hand to the point that it hurts. It did nothing to improve the amount of time he could write or draw without pain.
He plays a game online that involves drawing pictures. He gets points if another person guesses what he drew and he doesn't do so well on that part but he says he still wins at this game because he also gets points for identifying what the other people drew and he is really good at that.
He became physically weaker while in a scoliosis brace for three years that didn't allow much movement except walking. When he was told to quit wearing it because it wasn't working he worked hard to regain his strength by weight lifting and doing pull ups on a power tower only to find out that he has a heart condition that can be made worse by weight lifting and doing pull ups. So he is back to walking--which also hurts but he does it anyway because he wants to be healthy.
Overcoming his medical anxiety will be very hard. He was misdiagnosed by several doctors who would not listen to us. We now have to trust that his orthopedic surgeon is different and can safely perform the spinal fusion surgery and that none of the awful things the doctor said can possibly happen will.
We are unschooling this year because medical issues took so much time. We were criticized by my college professor sister-in-law and my son was compared to his athletic cousins without a disability. Instead of support we get criticism.
But my son has a very loving immediate family. My husband, my daughter and I will do everything we can to support him. He is still a gifted kid even if he is not using the same curriculum or learning subjects in the same order as everyone else and even if he needs to take time off to recover from medical issues.
