This isn't an average 8 year olds drawing is it??

[delilabell]

I'm bad at art always have been. But we are worried about dds development in several ways including fine motor skills.
Shes proudly just created this and I'm so chuffed for her but it's not average is it?

Try not to worry. My child was the same at that age but this is their drawings at 12 years old.

My DS drew like that at the same age and also couldn’t keep within the lines for colouring in. His handwriting was worse though.
He was diagnosed with dyspraxia in year 5 and can’t swim well, use cutlery in both hands, tie laces, struggles with buttons etc.
He can ride a bike but as the OT said to me post diagnosis, not everyone with dyspraxia will tick off every single symptom and actually my DS is so badly affected by it that I was told not OT would be pointless so we have to find accommodations.
Obviously I wouldn’t know if it is dyspraxia in your DC case but it resonates and I would say go with your gut if you have concerns and speak to school. My DS school tended to dismiss/reassure me as he was bright and articulate and actually I wasted time when I could have been on waiting list for assessment sooner.

I cannot thank you all enough for responding to my post.
OK so, I do have a lot of worries about dd.
I want to preface it with the fact that she is funny (hilarious sense of humour) kind, an amazing reader, fabulous imagination. Loves wildlife.
The picture I worry, and that is one of her best ever that took a lot of effort, but tje fingers, the fact that she can't copy something, that they and animals lean towards stick figures. We have her pictures up on the fridge etc, praise her loads, sit and draw together. I'm also fully aware she could be like me and just rubbish at art 🤣 buy it us the tip of the iceberg.
School say she is behind in every subject apart from reading.
She can't retain info.
Struggles with laces, buttons, fine motor skills, riding a bike, swimming.
Fidgets a lot, I think stims at times.
Has massive meltdowns. Screams cries, throws herself around, sobs.
Very emotional amd clingy to me.
Obsesses over one friend.
Terrified of being late.
Has an amazing memory for dates. Can tell you any birthday where we went in 2022 etc.
She can remember her spellings for the week but struggles with spellings in general.

I have spoken to school repeatedly. They say autism won't show til year 5 🙄 that they see no issues at school at all (but say sjes behind in all topics) say they're "child led" amd unless she asks for fiddle toy /wobble cushion won't give (she's told me herself she wants them)
School say to tall to gp. Gp says school and a local family support group. Family support group agree with me but school just repeat the same stuff.
Honestly I don't know what to do

School is failing your girl here. Ask them to refer her to the child development clinic for your area. The child that made those drawings I posted presented exactly the same the same as your girl. She was referred to the CD clinic by the school with my permission. It took another two years before her diagnosis at the age of ten but she has been diagnosed as autistic.

She still can't ride a bike, she struggles with writing a lot, her understanding and processing is a year or two behind her peers, she has one best friend and one friend in her new school as she doesn't get social situations. She doesn't let anyone near her when she is upset until she is able to process it herself then asks for a hug and reassurance, but if you try to give it too soon, she will kick off at the person trying to help. At school she finds it very difficult to advocate for her own needs and will sit quietly instead of speaking up. I now email the school when and if she needs something put in place for her.

Good luck. It's not easy to get the help you need when the school goes against what you know your child needs. X

Sorry you are worrying OP.

Im wondering if this is almost a different post from the one you have posted. I know a handful of ASD individuals who are all quite good - even talented - at art. Conversely lots of useless (!) artist who are not ASD. I’m not sure the drawing is the place to start with your concerns.

I wouldn’t honestly stress about that picture. No it isn’t amazing but there is some detail and an attempt to move past stick figure representation to show fullness in the hairstyle, arms etc. Why not guide her to try something with background ( sky, flowers, birds etc) and things happening because I think a stand alone portrait style is quite hard to make much of either way.

Im also not sure about not retaining info. Perhaps some more experienced posters will jump in to add, but again I thought information and fact retention was often a strength of ASD .

If you start with the focus on the stinking, meltdowns , fidgeting etc you might get dons more targeted answers to what your real concerns are. Also does some of it sound more adhd? But I think you maybe haven’t targeted your most helpful Mn audience by starting with the drawing ..,

Sorry stimming not stinking! You didn’t say she stinks! 🤣

My DS was absolutely awful at drawing until I got him some step by step how to draw books, they have really helped him.

He seems to need really clear instructions, it just isn't instinctive at all for him. Actually I am the same way - I think we are both ND in different ways.

She has lovely hand writing .Might just be rubbish at drawing .I got to read comics in Grammer school art lesson as I was so bad at it .Neither I nor them could wait for me to drop the subject. Its a shame really as I would like to be able to draw

It's better than anything my 34 year old husband has ever drawn!

I think it's really cute! Good on her!

very similar to what both my sons would have produced at 8!! The eldest is incredibly bright and just not artistic, even now. My youngest is also fine and above average but again probably we just didn’t do much are with them when they were younger. Please try not to worry too much!!

I’m 42 and have never drawn better than that. I have no arts talent whatsoever. My handwriting is very good though and I fill forms for everyone!

DS is almost 7 and I would love for him to draw something similar to that, but both his drawings and his handwriting are those of a 4-5 yo …

I can't draw to save my life. If I were asked to draw, it wouldn't be much better than your 8yo's now. Some people just can't draw. I have beautiful handwriting and excelled at all other subjects. Just not art/drawing. Don't obsess over every single thing your child does. Take each day as it comes and enjoy them. Not everything has to point towards some kind of diagnosis.

If I had to guess the age of the child who did this drawing, I'd have said 4-5. At 8, NT children are expected to draw 5 fingers, and ears etc.
Your girl's handwriting is neat though.
If you're worried about her art skills, watch some Youtube videos together and follow step-by-steps to give her an idea how to draw. Drawing is learnt, just like any other subject. My younger DS is not much of an artist, but during lockdowns we spent a lot of time doing art together, and he did great drawings by watching Youtube, and I also taught him how to paint.
Judging from my son's school (he's 13 now), they don't teach them any techniques, just tell them a topic and expect them to come up with an art project.

I would definitely be looking into an assessment for dyspraxia. I was diagnosed much later in life as an adult but I really wish I'd known when I was little (it wasn't really recognised much back then).

I was a very bright kid at school - always way ahead in reading and writing, really good memory for facts and learning words by heart, very impressive vocabulary and imagination, creative, good critical thinker and so on. Obsessed with history and science projects. ADORED wildlife and nature. I was fairly good at maths.

But there were some maths concepts I really struggled with and I was always told off for being really, really bad at times tables. I also took FOREVER to learn to tie my shoelaces. I never managed to learn to swim. I couldn't do anything right in team sports or gym. I couldn't dance or learn actions to songs and I was really bad at music. I constantly lost things and forgot things. I also got lost all the time - I remember being sent to take a note from my teacher to another teacher who was in the staff room, and then not knowing how to find my way back even though it was a small local primary school with only about 100 kids and I'd been there for about a year at that point. I was always one of the last to finish getting changed for PE and found it really hard to do my buttons up evenly. If we did crafts that entailed following step by step instructions, I invariably couldn't keep up and went wrong (I remember our teacher showing us how to make origami birds and me being the only one who couldn't get it right). I did learn to ride a bike but my mum always says she has never before or since seen a child fall off a bike and get back on again more times than I did before I finally mastered it. I failed cycle proficiency at school (I was the only one) and I couldn't really skip or catch/hit a ball properly. I also found clocks, calendars and timetables really confusing and difficult.

Oddly enough, I was actually good at art and (if left to my own devices to find my own way of doing things) crafts and I had very neat handwriting, despite holding a pen in a really awkward way. But dyspraxia is a spectrum and there are always things that some dyspraxic people can do and others can't - I've had people inform me that I can't be dyspraxic because I'm a really fast touch typist and good at putting on makeup, for instance, but equally I can't drive a car or swim beyond a few strokes of doggy paddle, while lots of dyspraxic people can.

If her writing is neat I wouldn’t be bothered. It would be a great surprise if my 10 year old presented me with this - it would be a huge improvement to his usual drawings!

I’m in my 30s and can’t draw for shit. Hated anything arty at school and still do. Don’t worry :)

By all means have a strong word with the school about your other concerns but i’d say don’t worry so much about drawing talents.

Drawing seems fine and writing is good.
Great that she loves reading.
If she were my child I would be doing some fine motor activities for fun with her like threading beads, Knitting Nancy, piano playing, plaiting hair, tying bows, dressing dolls, Lego etc.
I would sit down and enjoy games like that every day.

Chores like setting the table (precisely) packing the dishwasher, folding her clothes.
Look for opportunities to increase her finer motor skills.
Has she had her eyes checked?

You've described my 6 year old exactly, I've long thought she has some ASD traits but I'm just trying to play it by ear and see as time goes on whether she grows out of them. Not sure if that's the right thing to do. Mine reads at a much higher reading age but can't do two times table and struggles in all other subjects. Even counting to 100 she gets stuck after 39,49,59 with what number to say next.

The drawing is similar to how DS 8 draws when he wants to and writing is a lot better then DS.

However everything else you mention sounds very similar to DS. DS is diagnosed autism, SPD and learning difficulties. He also struggled with things like scooters, swings and bikes. His biggest area of need is his emotions.

Girls often present differently to boys and also are more likely to mask to fit in. DS started assessment when he was five, diagnosed by age 7. A assessment would be something I would push for even if it isn’t autism or ADHD. She might just need some extra help. The current waiting times for assessment in my area is now 5 years.

1 thing I’ve learnt is to always follow up on concerns. Ds would’ve been diagnosed from a much earlier age then he was because I listened to family/ other people that wasn’t around DS often. Which meant I went until he started school with no support with a high needs child.

My 8yo draws similarly and his writing is worse. We've been working on his writing but I've never worried about the drawing.

Here is two drawings my 6 year old son did recently, each child is different my son is great at drawing but very behind in reading and writing.

I like it

I'm nearly 40 and I can't draw even if I was paid to..our 14 yr old hates drawing but has extremely good maths skills, our youngest all have different abilities there good at but only 1 enjoys drawing

Some kids just don't feel inclined to draw much or add detail.

My son is 14 and has always drawn very simply like this - he's just not into it. I've always encouraged him with lots of materials, mediums. He just doesn't communicate this way.

Yet my ex partners 5 year old would draw for hours, dozens of interesting characters and scenarios. I loved seeing his pictures!