Just wanted to tell you all that I got this DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/Dyslexia-Writing-Challenges-Gifted-Children/dp/B0029NYEHQ and I found it extremely helpful. Those who are suspecting dysgraphia or dyslexia in their children should really watch this! It is very helpful for understanding both dyslexia and dysgraphia in bright and gifted children. It goes into more detail than the Mislabeled Child book and has good recommendations for remediation and accommodations. One of the most interesting things was it talked also about the some of the 'sources' of dysgraphia and discussed sensory processing disorder as being one of the sources. That is one of the things that the new OT I am looking into for DS said about my DS - that one of the the underlying issues affecting DS' dysgraphia is mild-moderate sensory processing disorder.
Also, just to update on our personal situation, I have a neuropsychologist appointment set to look at diagnosing the dysgraphia properly and look at ruling in or out for certain (or at least with some certainty) ADHD-inattentive! The one thing that I learned also from the Eides DVD was how the dysgraphic profile commonly has the very same weakness that my son has - problems with working memory, automaticity, sequencing, etc. I have heard of two instances now (in real life by reall moms) where this particular neuropsych was able to detect that two different children had been misdiagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive. In one instance, the child actually had a visual processing disorder that was missed and mistook for ADHD-Inattentive and in the other instance, a girl was misdiagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive but actually only had an auditory processing disorder. So, I am feeling hopeful that this neuropsych will not 'misdiagnosis' and truly understands and can detect how processing disorders and LDs can look like adhd but aren't. My feeling is that if she finds ADHD-inattentive then it will be a truly be ADHD-Inattentive and that she should be able to detect if it indeed it is something else (like dsygraphia and processing issues) mimicking adhd. I also got an appointment with a good chiro. So I am covering all the bases! (1) New OT for the hypotonia/dysgraphia and integration issues; (2)neuropsych from whom to get a concrete/true diagnosis/picture (and from whom to get some advice!); and, (3) a good pediatric chiro just because it seemed to help DS' coordination before! And DS is still continuing with Vision Therapy (which the Eides talked about a lot about for helping the dyslexic and dygraphic processing profiles (surprisingly!). I also have an appointment with the connective tissue clinic at CHOP, per Lori H's advice, to make sure the hypotonia/hypermobility are not the result of some connective tissue disease (fingers crossed that it isn't!) and got both kids tested for celiac's to make sure that isn't causing problems (my DH, the children's father, has it and it is genetic).
So I am feeling optimistic and productive!
