gmama, my ds also has Developmental Coordination Disorder and has a higher GAI than FSIQ on the WISC. Our school district initially pretended not to know what GAI is and insisted on FSIQ, but were able to advocate successfully with GAI. The key to advocacy is to fully understand what the data you have represents, how it applies to your child, and what you want the school to provide for your child. Gather all the data you have (test scores, reports, classwork etc) and then advocate calmly and without hesitation or doubt. Just keep plugging away and chances are you can make the case for using the GAI in place of FSIQ for your ds to qualify.
Also check fit. Gifted programmes seem to often have high output requirements which may be a poor fit for your child.
It is true that gifted programs sometimes have high output requirements, but that doesn't mean they will be a poor fit for a child with output challenges, and it also doesn't mean the classroom won't be a good fit. My ds is incredibly challenged with written expression in elementary school (and still is - he's made great strides but he'll never be at the output level of the typical students in his gifted school program, yet the gifted program is where he does his best work, where he's happiest, and where he's by far the most successful as a student. His output challenge doesn't impact his intellectual abilities, and doesn't mean he learns slower - it's just one challenge. He had accommodations and individualized instruction through an IEP in elementary school, and he has a 504 plan in high school. He has accommodations that he uses and that allow him to be placed in the classroom that's appropriate for his intellectual level, not his fine motor level. One thing that parents sometimes don't realize can happen with 2e kids is that they respond better to remediation in an environment where they are intellectually challenged than they do in a slower paced classroom with easier academics. For example, my ds also has an expressive language disorder. Learning how to compose answers to open-ended questions was a *huge* challenge for him. He made no progress when placed in a regular (non-gifted) classroom with no gifted differentiation. He was frustrated not only with his inability to write, but also with the slow pace of the classroom discussion, and with the questions other students asked because they seemed so obvious to him - so he was miserable every day in school times two. When we moved him to a school which had a higher level of intellectual instruction and expectations, his frustration over the classroom instruction/discussion situation was relieved and he was able to receive help with writing at the level his brain was working. The combination worked and he made huge progress.
For gmama, very early on when our ds was first diagnosed, it felt like we had to put 99-100% of the effort into helping him learn how to cope with and remediating his weaknesses, which is disheartening in many ways because it's hard work for the student, and takes a lot of time away from having time to pursue things children are interested in and also highly capable. But that early work focused on remediation and accommodation paid off in huge ways within a few short years.
Best wishes,
polarbear
