Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional I find out this week that my DD9 may have DCD...

I need some advice please. I'm reposting an email sent to an area Mom about our story. I find out for sure on Tuesday and I'm scared. Not of the dx, scared that I won't do the right thing. IF she has it, it is mild, but she has definitely severe handwriting and problems with the math logistics, her skills are ok, lots of mixing up numbers and signs. Reading and vocab are off the chart. We've been in private school, we homeschool now, do I push for a dx? Will we need it later as she gets older? She is gifted, FSIQ on Wisc 4 at 129. Individual achievement test in reading 99%. OT said the scores might be higher with accommodations. Ok, here is our condensed version..



Thank you D___! So much!! She is 9 1/2 and has never had any serious problems until recently. This has all been like being hit with a Mack truck from behind. It started last spring, the 3rd grade timed multiplication tests just flattened her. She has always made high averages in everything and it made no sense, she knew the facts but couldn't write them down, it was so weird! She also started having problems writing down answers in language arts, again, she knew the material cold, just couldn't put it on paper. I wasn't happy with how the school handled the problem (oblivious at the time that she could have a real LD) and we were anticipating making a move so I decided to homeschool her for a year, till we were able to move. In the past few weeks, I've gotten concerned over her handwriting, it's terrible, beyond terrible. I've always been told by her teachers that it was because she was left handed and she would eventually catch up but her refusal to do any writing and the fact that it seemed to be rapidly getting worse prompted me to take her for an OT eval. That was a wake up call! She has serious motor deficiencies, low tone, problems with crossing the hemispheres, etc. The OT said the her high IQ (which we knew about) helped her to compensate this far with high grades and no big red flags, but she has hit a wall and can't cover any longer. Now that I've started researching, I'm floored by how many symptoms she DID have that we (very nerdy, non-sporty, pudgy, probably dyspraxic, adults) never realized were symptoms. Never crawled, never rolled, late to walk, never colored, lots of sensory things, clumsy, can't remember directions, this list goes on and on. But, she's also gifted, creative, talked at a year, reading by two, funny, sweet, quirky, precious and nothing about her has ever seemed wrong to us. I know you know the feelings we are experiencing. On one hand, I'm scared but on the other, I'm thankful that we may have uncovered it before she experiences the low self esteem and emotional issues that could come with not discovering it. I was expecting the OT to send us home with a tennis ball, some pencil grips and a handwriting text and I feel like our whole world has shifted. We don't have an official DX yet but the OT and I talked at length and she and I both feel like DCD is spot on. And her motor deficits are pretty severe. The fact that I've missed so many symptoms over the years just kills me, but until now, nothing was obvious enough to really worry about. And, by our choice, she has always been in private school with no special ed services. Seemed like the right choice for her, until now.

I took her to our eye Dr who is a close family friend and has a child with a LD. She confirmed serious tracking and convergence problems, had researched DCD the night before at my request and also thinks it's a fit. She's known L since she was 3 and is shocked that her experience and medical training never helped her to spot any red flags. My child thrives on pleasing us and my heart breaks that she has been hiding these problems, or that I wasn't tuned in enough to see them.

I guess the big questions that I have now is about the best Doctors for this. The OT is going to write the report and recommend further eval. Our primary care Doc is another family friend (the ONLY benefit to living in the sticks) and he will write the referral to anyone I want. I'm guessing we should go to a neuropsychologist next?? Anyone you would suggest? I want to address her issues and not waste too much time setting a plan in motion since we are coming to the party late as it is. The OT can start therapy for her tone and core strength problems but she said that having an official DX will be a huge help to open doors for further treatments. Not really sure what she meant but I think that our next, logical step is to see a specialist. Any names that you have would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry this has turned into such a novel, I think I needed to vent a little. My husband sees the "symptoms" and agrees that we have hit on something but he is a little freaked and isn't ready to really talk about it yet. I'm not talking to anyone else until I get some answers, don't want to set off the typical family, fretting and wailing that will come. For now, I'll comb the internet, 24/7 and try to make sense of all this. I really appreciate you reaching out a hand. The guy from Dyspraxia USA (forgot his name) called and said that there were a few families around. Finding someone who has been down the path and can give me a little direction to specialists is like a light in the fog!



That's it in a nutshell...
So I get the official OT report emailed to me on Tuesday, and it suggests further therapy and eval, What do I do then? How can I have her WISC IV re-tested with accommodations if they could help her? I know they will guide me a bit but I want to know what an educated and informed parent does for their child. I'm trying to be all those things but my head's exploding so I thought I would look to some examples.

If you were on the cusp of possibly getting an LD diagnosis for your mildly (maybe more) gifted child, what would you do? If you've been there, what would you do differently? Feel free to spell it out, I'm still in a state of shock and need things step by step. I want to approach this the best, right way for my baby girl.

Thanks for reading this far and any advice you can give.

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.

We have a teenager with similar diagnoses and he is doing very, very well. I know it is always hard to have these kinds of concerns about your child confirmed, but I would encourage you to try to keep it in perspective. Some of the labels real are just fancy ways of saying stuff you already knew - you already knew she's clumsy, not that well coordinated, with a stronger mind than body, etc. The job of the OT is to come up with scientific ways to document these deficits so insurance will pay for therapy.

I'm glad the labels exist because insurance companies won't pay vague stuff like clumsy or weak, but I would keep in mind that it doesn't mean she's headed for big time trouble. There have always been smart uncoordinated kids who had terrible handwriting. The good news is that now we have ways of understanding those deficits and offering some help.

What therapy can do is help improve her strength and help her find ways to maximize what she does have. Perhaps it would help to think of it like an academic subject. Some kids are naturally not great at math and need tutoring. Tutoring probably won't make them a math contest winner, but it'll likely help them struggle less.

If you have the option to get a neurology or neuropsych assessment that's not a bad idea. I understand the desire to fix it and fix it now, but I don't know that there is a single one right assessment or therapy. I'd suggest trying out a few things and seeing what works. Everyone's situation is different. We found working on core strength with physical therapy and exercise has been helpful because it can really help improve stamina.

Neurologists have really encouraged us to look at nontherapy activities too especially those that encourage patterned movements, coordination, and strengthening. The most common suggestions are swimming, martial arts, yoga, dance, and horseback riding. We have seen significant improvements with these activities. It may also be worthwhile to look a little at diet and supplements. Omega 3 (fish oil) in particular seems to sometimes help some of the kids with these soft neurological symptoms.