Teaching a Gifted Child with a Learning "Glitch?" (Art & More)

When my 8yo was quite young, he had an assessment that included this piece of information...although he was able to identify shapes/properties at a much higher level than his peers (off the chart!) he was unable to replicate the same shapes/symbols above that of an average peer. The tester, an occupational therapist, told us that this would cause him some frustration. At the time, I assumed that he would grow out of this "stage." Presently, I think he's still being affected by it.

I think he has some sort of undefined processing glitch that he may or may not grow out of. While I'm not eager for a label, I do find it a bit frustrating that I can recognize a "glitch" but am not exactly sure what it is or how best to treat it. One example from today in math...he has a VERY difficult time with angles...despite going over and over it. It's like he can't quite interpret what he sees...or if he sees it once, he can't transfer that information to another setting. It's difficult for him to write in cursive because it's hard to replicate the shapes. All this for a child who made the criteria for "talented and gifted" in kindergarten; I think the disparity causes him extra stress. He recognizes that something that should be easy--because it IS easy for him in some ways--can also be frustratingly hard.

Here's an example from today in art...

Art instructors generally teach budding artists to see the lines (straight, curved, etc), texture, etc. that make up an object. For example, in the book Drawing With Children (a good one, only bested by Drawing in the Classroom), children are taught to see the 5 basic elements of shape: dot, circle, straight/curved/angled lines. Eventually, they draw by recognizing them in the environment and replicating them.

At least so far, this does not work for my son. If we look at a simple drawing and I talk him through the parts (see the line? the curve?), he cannot replicate it. BUT if I look at an original drawing, say the parts, and DRAW THEM MYSELF, he can duplicate what I am doing as I do it.

It's crazy how much difference this makes.

He's in the middle of drawing pictures for his dinosaur pop-up book. When he began planning the first page, we located a picture in a book for him to replicate the general idea of a triceratops. I talked him through each piece...  "See how the crest is like an upside down C?" He couldn't begin to make an upside down C--even while I showed it to him on the picture. But when I said the same thing AND drew my own, then he could do it. I talked my way through an entire picture while he drew his own next to me. The results are incredible.

My goal is not to force incredible pictures. My goal is to help him become a better artist. And since the traditional way of teaching doesn't seem to work with him, I'm happy to find something that does.

How do you teach your way through your child's unique needs? Have a gifted child with some sort of learning "glitch?" What's your story?