I think there is something going on in terms of organizing thoughts and sequencing...and her lack of pretend play kind of ties in. She can do pretend play when forced to but clearly isn't that into it. She also has some perfectionistic tendencies and is a big picture thinker...she sees patterns that other people would never notice (such as looking at a piece of sheet music for piano and immediately noticing a pattern in the music), but not necessarily details, and with writing you need details.
Her piano teacher says she is extremely advanced with music reading ability but has trouble coordinating her two hands, although seems to do better when she is medicated more. Not sure what that means, if anything.
blackcat, I'm answering your post in pieces - hope that's ok!
Re the above, much of it sounds very similar to my ds who has DCD, not ADHD. *However*, I don't think the lack of interest in pretend play is necessarily a symptom of a challenge - I think that it's more a sign of how the particular person's brain is wired. Some traits such as not being interested in pretend play may occur frequently in children with certain types of diagnoses, I don't think it's necessarily a predictor of the diagnosis.
I wonder if I can just use the writing fluency score to qualify her for an IEP, or if it has to be "written expression" as a whole.
I think that the way to approach requesting an IEP is to start with understanding and defining what you want in terms of individualized instruction, then look for the data and tests that demonstrate and support the need for that instruction. It's jmo, but a relatively low score in writing fluency could be an indication of a child who has a difficulty getting thoughts out - or it could be an indication of a child who has slow handwriting - or it could be an indication of many other things. I think you'd have a tough time requesting IEP eligibility on a relatively low score on the fluency subtest alone. You can absolutely, however, advocate for help with written expression and use the writing fluency score as part of the supporting data.
polarbear
