Welcome to the forums, EPL. You'll find a wealth of information here
I'm a parent, not a professional, so keep that in mind while reading my advice
My high school senior has DCD. He was first diagnosed at 8 through a neurospcyh exam, which we'd turned to because his teacher was convinced he had ADHD and we didn't see anything other than a highly intelligent kid who seemed to be a perfectionist and who was most likely very bored at school. He was also extremely anxious at that point in his life - so anxious he were really concerned, seemed totally out of proportion for anything that was happening in his life at the time.
The DCD diagnosis was a *complete* surprise to me - I couldn't quite believe it at first, but DCD is complicated.I don't know if the diagnosis is correct for your ds or not, but I wouldn't throw the concerns out the window without first reading up a bit on DCD and then taking a look at the global picture of your ds' work and developmental history. DCD impacts each individual in varying, extremely individual, ways. For instance, my ds is also an amazing artist - his drawings when he was younger were so detailed and accurate that adults would see them and be amazed that a child had created them. (He's still great at drawing but it's not really his "thing" anymore
) Like you, I didn't understand how a person who could create complicated drawings could also have a fine motor disability, but the roof of DCD is a disconnect between brain and muscle group which impacts the development of automaticity. The art of drawing, for instance, is very different than the art of handwriting. The way you hold your pencil is different than handwriting, once you start drawing your pencil rarely leaves the paper therefore you aren't picking up, finding your place, putting it back down, starting over again like you do when writing. You also aren't having to repeat what you've learned previously, you're creating something new each time you draw.
I'd suggest putting together a list of questions for the neuropsych re her report, think through a few things re your ds' history and present functioning before finalizing your list, and then ask for a follow-up appointment where you can ask your questions. I found this to be *very* helpful in understanding my ds' neurospcyh report and diagnosis.
The things I'd consider re your ds:
1) Did he meet developmental milestones like crawling/walking/etc basically on time or late?
2) When did he start speaking?
3) What does his handwriting look like?
4) Does he seem shy when he talks to people he doesn't know well?
5) How is school going for him? Is he doing well on his academics or is he seeming to underachieve vs what you think he should be capable of doing?
6) How is school going socially? Is he having a hard time making friends?
This (above) may seem like a random list... and it is a bit of a random list. but fwiw, each of these things has been an issue for my ds (not in any obvious glaring was at age 8, but the signs were there once I knew what to look for). Each could be related to many things, but for my sample of one, each is directly related to his DCD.
When you put together your list of questions for the neuropsych,
1) Did she feel any of his development history indicated the possibility of DCD (Im guessing she asked for a development history as part of the neuropsych eval).
2) Did she observe your ds as being especially anxious or tired during the ability testing? What order did the testing take place (achievement or ability first)?
3) Your ds has extremely high scores in the fluency achievement tests, how is that explained if he has DCD?
4) What test scores and observations went into the DCD diagnosis?
5) How does the nueropsych feel DCD will impact your ds?
Last thought for now - if I were to introduce my ds to you today, in high school, or even many years ago in 2nd grade, he wouldn't "look" like a kid with DCD. One of the most difficult things about advocating for a student with DCD (as well as parenting a kid with DCD) is that it's truly "hidden" - and it's so easy to mistake signs of it as other things, such as perfectionism etc. The reason my ds had such high anxiety in 2nd grade was that he was struggling and none of the adults in his life saw it. Once we understood the issue, were able to explain to him why he was struggling, and were able to get accommodations in place at school his anxiety evaporated.
I hope you'll find the answers you're looking for - hang in there!
polarbear
