Q: My six-year-old daughter has oral and verbal apraxia and developmental coordination disorder. She has a difficult time keeping up her levels of concentration throughout the school day. One teacher tells me that Hannah needs to “attend” and that she is concerned about Hannah’s “attention deficit.” Do you know of any resources that would help explain how her diagnosis affects her ability to focus?

Probably the best place to begin is The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz (2005, Penguin). It was written for parents. There are several book companies that sell it.

Please keep in mind that your daughter also may have an attention deficit disorder (ADD). Sometimes these problems go unrecognized because of the other problems that are more obvious.