The video on the MNT link above was pretty enlightening. If only I'd seen it like 6 years ago. I wish I had known about this before this past year, when he was flagged for DCD at 9. I can't believe how much I have missed and wish I'd known when my DS was younger. His cognitive abilities were so strong that it just seemed like the motor things were written off.

I guess the approach we took worked in some ways -- just by happenstance (with handwriting being the exception). Like, I knew he had poor balance, so we both took Tae Kwon Do together for a year, and he really benefited from that. We encouraged non-ball physical activity, we did a lot of play-dough and sensory play, beading, just because it was suggested for reaching milestones (not specifically due to DCD). We didn't push bike riding (he's great at it now), gave him a big wheel. Other things, I just felt like, you know, "we'll get there," like with scissors or shoe tying. And he did, just more slowly, though he still gets frustrated with things (like trying to teach braiding string to him, while his sister, two years younger, caught on right away, so he gave up).

I think those motor issues are the sole reason nobody thought he actually needed to be way more cognitively challenged at school, and he suffered quite a bit the first couple years of school on that level. I think his case must be fairly mild, and since it doesn't seem to impact school work much any more -- it used to make him frustrated to not be able to demonstrate as much as he knew due to time, but to the teacher, that came across as average or just about average level written work, but he has seemingly found his own work-arounds. He gets no accommodations (other than a couple for vision), and was able to grade-accelerate this year (and is doing well), but I do still wonder about as he gets older if his processing speed will be overly taxed. But he's happy right now.

As for a genetic component -- I also think that doesn't have to be a known disorder, but something in the family line. I have visual processing issues, and was always clumsy with bruised legs as a kid, loathed balls, and focused on other physical activity (like running and gymnastics), so it seemed natural to encourage DS to do the same -- benefit from my work-arounds. I cannot for the life of me master a multi-button game controller and games where you watch multiple things happening, so DS has that up on me, and I think that's been actually good for him! Heck, I couldn't even do well at a simple 80s arcade game -- I didn't know I had a reason for it back then. He's definitely not a kid who will play for hours, though, as it probably does fatigue him eventually.

Related: I heard a fascinating story on This American Life a couple weeks ago about a genetic mutation, more than one, actually, that had interesting effects on a small number of people. What struck me was the determination of this woman to figure out what was going on -- she spent so much of her life researching and making connections. That was powerful to me. You never know what you might discover just though your own personal research and persistence and who you reach out to. That's why I think you might appreciate the story. You can read the story or listen to it below:

( Read on ProPublica or Listen at This American Life, Act One, 35 minutes)