Did he hit the ceiling on any of the verbal subtests? If so, I would apply anyway. Not saying for sure that they would take him, but my understanding is that they look at all the evidence. If the motor skills were severe enough to account for the problem, then that might weigh into the solution.
Besides, I have also heard that even if rejected from the program that they will still try to help you find some useful information.
My story - DS has motor skills problems, but not as bad, I think, as what you are seeing. We learned this from a pediatric neuropsychologist who evaluated him recently. Among other things, she did specific attention measuring tests to rule out the ADHD issue.
One thing she mentioned to us was that the only place in the DSM used by psychs where gifted is mentioned is ADHD. Specifically, that you cannot diagnose ADHD based on behavior in a gifted kids whose academic needs aren't being met. I suggest the book 'Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children'. There is a great chapter on things that are normal in gifted children and another great chapter on ADHD and how can you tell the difference between this and gifted. Very powerful information for you to have in your knowledge base.
Now... venturing into the realm of personal opinion and things that may not be appropriate for your child or your situation....
We had a long talk with our son. Talked about his intelligence and his motor skills. Talked about ways in which he was just like every other kid. Talked about ways in which he was different - and talked about how other kids might react to those differences. How he might handle their reactions. Etc. It seemed to help him a lot in dealing with the stress of being different.
In his case, he went from a kindergarten classroom, to second grade (skipped a full grade), but with fourth grade math and science. Talk about gaps. Funny thing is, the gaps just made things more interesting. He learns so fast and so deeply that if he starts at the same level as the other kids, he is SO bored.... If he starts with some gaps, he still pulls A's, but has to put forth a little effort.
As Trinity said.... you come to treasure the gaps.
He got a lot of comments at the beginning of the year from kids with 'what are you doing in here' stuff. His response was 'The principal said for me to come here.' He stuck to his response and the questions disappeared after a month. By mid-year, the other kids had figured out that he was really smart and that was the reason - but he never said anything about it.
As for filling in blanks - yes, good to limit screen time, but computers are such a great tool. Can you find good learning software that your son can handle with is motor skills? Something that might work well to engage his brain? My DS thinks it is hilarious that sometimes when he is behaving badly, I send him to the computer to do a hour of something really mentally challenging. However, it often seems to work better than any normal type of discipline. He has a need for mental stimulation and if it isn't met, he can't entirely help it if he is a pain in the neck....
Mary
