He sounds a lot like a 7 year old with dysgraphia based on what you've mentioned above, and I noticed that in another thread you mentioned his fine motor score on the Beery VMI was very low. This all points to fine-motor dysgraphia - and yes, it is *very* possible for a 7 year old with an FSIQ > 150 to not *remember* how to make a t.
The Beery VMI scores are partly why I am so confused. He scored at the 99th percentile for Visual Perception but below the 1st percentile for Fine Motor Coordination. Similarly on the WISC, he scored in the 25th percentile on Coding but at the 91st on Symbol Search (as I understand it Coding requires more fine motor skills). He also scored very high on the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills – non-motor (TVPS-nm). I interpret these scores as meaning his visual skills are fine, but it is the physical act of writing that is difficult (i.e., making the muscles do what he wants). But perhaps I am interpreting this incorrectly?
My interpretation is that you are interpreting it correctly! The split you are seeing in scores (high-low) on the Beery VMI and on the processing subtests (coding vs symbol search) is exactly what my the test score profile looks like for my ds who has fine-motor dysgraphia.
I easily understand why he has trouble with the physical act of writing a ‘t’, but can't understand why he needs to ask me how to make a ‘t’
I think that the key here is in understanding that "fine motor dysgraphia" doesn't mean that a child has impaired fine motor function in a purely physical sense. A child who had been injured in a way that harmed their fingers, for instance, may have difficulty forming a "t" when they are handwriting - but their brain is still sending them the correct information re *how* to form the "t". Dysgraphia is an impairment in neurological function - ie, the brain does not send the correct information to the fine motor muscles in the finger to allow it to correctly form the "t". I'm not a professional psych, so don't quote me on any of this - this is just my understanding from what our neuropsych has told us and from what I've read.
(or he requires a visual cue by looking at a set of letter tiles we have in the room to see what a ‘t’ looks like ). So, is it possible to have strong visual perception skills, but still have difficulty visualizing what a ‘t’ looks like?
Again, I'm not a professional, but from what I understand, for children with fine-motor dysgraphia, the issue isn't visualization, it's the connection between the brain telling the fingers what to do. For most of us, the connection works well and over time we develop an automaticity of handwriting - we don't have to think to form the letters. For kids with fine motor dysgraphia, their brain isn't sending the correct signals, so each time they have to write a letter, they have to basically remember how to do it or relearn it all over again.
I hope that doesn't sound discouraging! The handwriting of my dysgraphic ds *did* improve - first in legibility (with OT), gradual decreases over time in the number of reversals etc, and gradual increases in speed. The important thing though, is that in spite of those improvements, he will never catch up in speed/legibility and most importantly *automaticity* to a neurotypical peer - which means he's never going to be able to rely on his handwriting to fully show his knowledge at school or in life. That's why it's so important to really understand - is it dysgraphia? And if it is, start accommodations when your child is still young.
Best wishes,
polarbear
