My verbally gifted son was recently diagnosed with DCD or dyspraxia at age 11. He also has low muscle tone and sensory issues. He didn't crawl, was unable to pull himself up because of weak muscles until he was 13 months old, walked at 18 1/2 months and read his first easy reader book at 2 1/2. He could also identify words that were spelled out for him without looking at the word. He fell in love with musical theater at 4 1/2 and memorized hundreds of words of script and song lyrics faster than older kids but had trouble with costume changes. He loved words and books and people often told us he talked more like an adult because of the vocabulary he used. His general knowledge was beyond that of most kids his age and he liked to make people laugh. He has always been very witty and fun to talk to and as his neuropsychologist described him, personable. I think it was because he seemed so smart and articulate that doctors had trouble seeing the disability. Because of this we had trouble getting referred to specialists and without the diagnosis on paper he could not get OT or PT. By the time he got his diagnosis, the neuropsychologist told us it was probably too late for OT.
My son has been homeschooled since he finished Kindergarten and was reading at a 5th grade level but couldn't or wouldn't color in the lines. He hated coloring. He wanted to learn and they did more coloring than learning at this school. We were told by the principal (a relative of mine) and a teacher who thought he was probably highly gifted that we needed to homeschool, so we have been homeschooling ever since.
My son is good with mental math and math concepts but always had more trouble if there was a lot of writing required like with multi-digit multiplication or division and he would often come up with other ways to get the answer that didn't involve as much writing and sometimes the way he did math seemed backwards to me but it worked for him. I worried about this a lot. I didn't know if it was important to make him do it the way the example showed or let it go if the answer was correct. He would not use graph paper to keep his columns straight because he found it visually distracting. He is finally able to keep his columns straighter if he slows down. It is like he has to choose between speed and legibility, but I think he will be ready to start algebra in February even with the disability.
I think my son will need extra time on tests that require writing of any kind because he also has dysgraphia. That is one of the reason I pursued a diagnosis for my son. I would like to have more answers but I can't seem to get them. I have spent hundreds of hours on the internet looking for answers.
Anyway, you are not alone and I wish you luck.
