Advice about Handwriting
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Advice about Handwriting
Jan 2006
We came from cultures where cursive handwriting is taught
before manuscript. We have been visiting some schools (public
and private) for our prospective kindergartner and we noticed
that the emphasis is given to manuscript writing and reading
instead of cursive. We also realized that the transition from
manuscript to cursive in the second or third grade is harder
than beginning in K or first grade with the cursive handwriting.
That is a cultural value that we’d like to preserve in our
family, and for that reason we’re looking for a school
(public/private) where the kids learn first to write/read in
manuscript.
Unfortunately, homeschooling is not an option. We live in
Berkeley, so we are open to Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and El
Cerrito areas.
Thanks,
Cristina
I know that the East Bay French American School (Ecole Bilingue)
starts kids out learning cursive handwriting before printing. I
was quite amazed to learn that this is actually easier for
children to do.
Fran
My three girls attended the same Montessori school starting at
age 2 and into the elementary years (the Renaissance School in
Dimond District of Oakland). The first two learned block
lettering first and then moved to cursive which was a hurdle
(but not insurmountable, and their cursive over time has
improved). The third child learned cursive first in
preschool/K and at 6 years old, her cursive is beautiful. The
children still end up learning block because most reading books
are in block, but our school has been trying to locate more
early reader books in cursive to reinforce that lettering a t
the young age. In the long run, my children did recognize both
and my 6 y.o. can write in block as well (it is also
improving). A parent of one of her classmates says her son's
cursive isn't so great, so there is probably an element of fine
motor control, but I suppose that affects both cursive and
block writing.
When the school said that my youngest would learn cursive
first, I was concerned that it would affect her reading ''block''
books, but the school mentioned some evidence about a more
natural progression from cursive to block (I can't remember the
details anymore and it is probably similar to your cultural
philosophy). In the end, I have observed with my child that
learning to write cursive first was NOT a problem in terms of
reading ''block'' books... in case anyone is wondering.
Janna
1st grader with poor handwriting skills
2001
Hello to all, My 6 1/2 year old is in a two-way English/Spanish curricula
embedded in Cragmont Elementary School's regular school year. Her primary
language is English, but she does seem to be acquiring Spanish along with
most of the tasks required of 1st graders. Problem is this, her handwriting
is poor. She has never liked to color, is better but still resistant to
writing assignments. Her fine motor skills for writing/art/painting seem to
be slow in coming. She also struggles to tie shoes. Otherwise she can and
does everything else within the scope of fine motor just fine or better. Any
suggestions on games, tricks, exercises, etc. on improving handwriting?
Thanks in advance.
Lu
My son, now a secondgrader, also struggles with his handwriting. He
writes like a three year old. He also never colored as a preschooler and
avoids writing whenever possible. He is 7 and just learned to tie his shoes
last week. The resource teacher at his school suggested activities to build
large motor skills and upper body strength (such as karate) so that he
would be better able to develop his fine motor skills and suggested
activities such as using his fingers to draw in the sand (for better
tactile understanding of the relationship between hand and page), but
because his academic performance was excellent in all other aspects, he was
not eligible for the resource teacher's ongoing help. We then had him
assessed by a developmental pediatrician (after getting a referral to one
by our Health Net pediatrician) who then referred us to an occupational
therapist. He has several activities that he does with his therapist:
theraputty squeezes to strengthen his hands; bead stringing and pin pushes
to develop his fine motor skills; drawing curves and circles for better
control. In school he uses a special pencil grip (called Smart Start, I
think) and a band that goes over the pencil and his finger to give him
better form and control.
I highly recommend occupational therapy because as your child progresses
in school, and writing becomes more and more important, there is going to
be a real gap in how your child performs, and it can take forever to get
resource help for your child. We have been trying to get the school to
provide resource help since he was in kindergarten and haven't been
successful so we went the private therapy route.
Yvette
I have an eight year old with very poor handwriting, an issue we have been
dealing with since kindergarten. I can suggest a few things.
We did occupational therapy in kindergarten with Gail Gordon,an occupational
therapist, who worked with him on writing and other fine motor skills.
We reinforced this at home.
Many of his issues have to do with how he holds a pencil, which usually
can be corrected with a pencil grip. These are readily available at
teacherparent stores
(Lakeshore Learning in San Leandro, the Oakland Parent Teacher store, and
also on the web at: http://www.thepencilgrip.com/thegrip.htm ). When we bought
them we bought LOTS of them for all of the kids in his classroom. His pencil
grip remains problematic. We are in the Oakland Public Schools, and while
OT is available in the schools, our child didn't qualify (not bad enough,
yet). We didn't deal with it much during second grade.
Now in third grade, where there is so much more writing, it's started
to make life very complicated for him. We've decided to get what is
called a 504 plan for him for dysgraphia. This is a disability designation.
What Gail Gordon and Dr. Brad Berman told us is that the earlier
he gets this in his file, the better it is for him. Because of the ADA,
it compels the school to accomodate his disability. They are going
to provide some OT, but more importantly make some accomodations in the
classroom. Among these accomodations, he will be given a keyboard to use,
longer time for written tests. Since it's in his file, these accommodations
will follow him to middle and high school where it so much more of an
issue.
Note that health insurance will in all likelihood not pay for your child's OT
unless prescribed by your child's pediatrician, and even
then, if you are in Pacificare/ABMG most likely still won't since it's
not a medical issue according to them. I tried to get them to pay, or
to give me an example of what they would pay and the only example of one
that they would pay was for a downs syndrome child with tone problems.
In any case, they only refer to the group at AB/Herrick, and Gail was
recommended by
Dr. Berman whom we trust, so we paid out of pocket. This is not an inexpensive
option ($65 a session) and probably not a choice for everyone.
Most likely, this is more than your child will need. If you'd like to discuss
this further, I'd be happy to.
Myriam
Someone wanted recommendations for her child who was having trouble
with writing. These activities develop the muscles and the coordination
that is needed.
Some fun fine motor activities are: stringing beads, clay (spongy
modelling clay is easy to work and can be used in small pieces), legos
(also builds spatial reasoning), bristle blocks, making collages, sewing
and lacing. Most of this you can make on your own, but Amsterdam Art has a
selection of kits, and there's a company "Lauri" 8004510520 that has
attractive lacing projects (Lakeshore Teacher's Supply carries some of
their products).
CDorf
My 6 year old, in first grade, hates to write. He's doing fine with reading
skills. He loves art projects, puzzles, building things, etc, but has never
liked coloring. I think some children develop this skill later than others.
My 10 year old also hated to write and eventually he got better at it and it
wasn't an issue. Their little muscles aren't used to holding pencils and
doing this fine motor skill. It takes practice which can be frustrating.
Now that Kobi can sound out words he enjoys filling in the missing letter of
3 letter words (and drawing the picture of it) ie: If the given letters are P
E ___he might fill in a "T" and draw a picture (very basic pencil drawing) of
a cat or dog.
He loves connect the dots, which improves his number reading. This works for
us. Fighting with him did not work. My suggestion to you is not to worry
about it and let her progress at her own speed, with encouragement but not
pushing. Good luck.
June
My daughter faced all the challenges you describe. My advice is to
immediately request an evaluation by your school districts Special
Education Department. Your request must be in writing and send a
courtesy copy to your child's Principal. If possible, hand deliver
your letter and ask for a dated receipt. The district must respond
to your request within 15 days. I also suggest asking your pediatrician
for an occupational therapy evaluation referral. The school district
will do it's own evaluation. If you private evaluation supports the
need for the school to provide services, the school is more likely
to do so. The School District should provide occupational therapy
as well as classroom support if her fine motor abilities are
interfering with her abilities as a student.
I recommend you contact your
district's special education dept. We live in Albany, and my son has been in
speech therapy for two years (he'll be starting kindergarten next fall, but
will be five this month). Last week, the speech therapist brought in an
occupational therapist to work with him on his handwriting and other related
skills, like painting and scissors. Apparently, these two are related (speech
and fine motor skills). In his case, his neurological functioning is either
delayed or different, but it's subtle, and is just enough to make such tasks
very frustrating (resulting in avoidance behavior and alot of reluctance).
The O.T. was able to figure out a better way for my son to hold the pencil
than the usual, "correct," way that seems to allow him to write much smaller
and more comfortably. The school should be able to refer you to the
appropriate specialist, and as it's public school, it should be free (it's
actually covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act). Maybe even one
time would be enough to get a feel for what's going on with your daughter.
Best luck!Roxane W.
First let me tell you that a lot of first graders are
struggling with this issue. It is good that you're
taking notice and trying to help, especially since
children will have to do increasingly more writing and
you don't want your child to become frustrated. The
finemotor skills can often impede the flow of ideas
and make writing a painful experience. I have had
much success with a program called "handwriting
without tears." They are on the web. Also, buy as
many different pens as you can: different sizes,
shapes, colors etc. will make drawing more enticing.
Playdough, chalk, writing in the sand, fingerpainting
in the bathtub: all this is good. A keyboarding class
would also be helpful for writing assignments in the
meantime. Get dolls or other toys that teach how to
tie shoelaces, zip zippers etc. Finally, you may get
advice from an occupational therapist. A good one to
call would be Liz Isono at 9252530788. Most
importantly, keep praising your child and don't make
this a big issue. You don't want her to become
selfconscious and start comparing herself to her
peers or worse, start to dislike school.
Petra
March 2004
My second grade son has had trouble with writing and drawing all along. His
written work has consistently been the messiest and his drawing the least
developed in his class. He is also very intelligent, verbally adept, and
athletically gifted. He's reading about at grade level but has some fluency
issues. His (private) school has recommended that he work with an educational
therapist over the summer on the writing and reading fluency. I spoke with the
therapist and she charges quite a bit...in fact if we did what was recommended
it would cost around $1000. That's a lot for us, we are really stretching to
afford his school. On the other hand we want him to get the support he needs.
Has anyone else had experience with this? Did you get the extra support and
feel it was money well spent or did you wait it out and just teach him to type
or some other solution? Thanks for your help!
anon
Hello, When my son was in first grade he had trouble with his
writing skills. Fortunately, he went to a wonderful montessori
school and we were instructed by his teacher to teach him to
cross stitch. Since I knew how, I easily taught him, and he
would spend hours doing simple projects. It did improve his fine
motor skills (writing/drawing). As for the reading issue--I
would spend more time reading with him (both you reading to him
and him to you). Hope the advice helps.
mother who has been there
Our son, now in second grade, has had similar writing
difficulties since kindergarten, as well as other fine motor
issues, and still does. Two years ago, we signed him up for
some OT (occupational therapy) at a local hospital and they
spent LOTS of time, much to our surprise, on improving
handwriting. They use a pencil grip and his handwriting did
improve to some extent, although the spacing is still a problem,
and he is not yet writing cursive. You might check this out, as
many health plans will pay for OT services.
anon
Perhaps you could investigate some alternative rather than
traditional methods. My son, too, is sloppy with his writing,
not that advanced in his drawing (although he loves and is very
expressive in water colors), and performing well above average
in math and reading. We created a project last summer where we
had a journal conversation. I expected his neatest writing and
we had a great deal of fun with this. And again, you can also
let him find other ways to express himself artistically
(painting, sculpture, legos?). Also, my kids godmother has done
some very interesting and non-traditional tutoring work where
she just helps kids relax with what they are doing. It isn't
always necessary for kids to be on par with some expected
average at that age, so if you do work with him, I suggest that
it be in a very relaxed way so he doesn't feel some pressure to
perform. Good Luck!
Beth
Sounds like your child may need Occupational therapy in
particular, rather than general educational therapist. Among
other things, Occupational therapists teach handwriting and
drawing in systematic way to kids who don't acquire it from the
mainstream class/ life route. Last I looked, private OTs were
$80 per session (45 min or one hour I can't recall which -- so
once a week for a 10 week summer would be like $800). You
should ask your pediatrician/ look into your health insurance,
it's possible to get it through insurance although that could be
limited to kids with more overarching disabilities (I have no
idea). In any case, insurance might pay for an evaluation if
your pediatrician recommends it. Another cheaper route would be
to get materials from Handwriting Without Tears (www.hwt.com I
think) and do it yourself at home. But, I think HWT is just
handwriting (so won't address drawing skills), and without
professional intervention you won't address or areas that might
require expertise such pencil grip or arm movement.
anon
January 2007
My teacher was told by an OT that my eight year old's sons
illegible handwriting cannot be corrected because it is habitual.
My husband and I started taking him to a speech therapist and an
occupational therapist and there has been some major
improvements. He is doing well in school--except delayed
reading--now we know--because we went for outside help that he
has visual and processing issues. His math scores are high. He
is fine. I wondered if the school's occupational therapist
overloaded or uninformed?
morning
I had poor handwriting until about the age of 10. At that point, my
mother sat me down and made me practice out of a handbook every night
for about 15 minutes before dinner. I'm now in my thirties and still get
compliments on my handwriting. I did not have reading set-backs or
anything, though, so I don't know if that makes a big difference.
The point is that my mother helped me to change the ''habit'' of poor
penmanship into excellent handwriting.
I hope that's encouraging.
helpful handwriter
Talk to Liz Isono (510-717-1300). She is an expert on children with
handwriting problems.
-
My son is only 5, not 8, but we've seen enormous improvement with a
program called Handwriting Without Tears. Check it out on the
web--perhaps you can order some workbooks and supplies yourself, or work
with an O.T. (We found the program through our O.T.). There are
separate programs for printing and cursive.
cstalmann
You can purchase a book on how to write in calligraphy and make a
pursuit of this yourself. Your son will be interested in what you are
doing. He is pretty young for creating repeating forms but if he sees
you doing it he will be interested. In addition if you write down in
pencil what you would like him to learn and have him trace it with a
felt tip pen he will learn to guide his hand in better formations. Also
in Walgreens they have books for kids to form their printing letters
correctly. You can get one of those and spend some time with him. In
time he will retrain.
show a love for doing these things and he will respond.
Suzanne
When I hear any professional saying there's nothing that can be done, I
think what they often really mean is THEY don't know what to do. If your
son has shown improvement with outside help, you are on the right track.
continue in that vein and is someone tells you something is hopeless,
seek another opinion.
good luck
Handwriting can often be corrected, and it is especially likely that you
could do it with an eight-year-old. Talk to your pedeatrician, who can
reccomend a specialist.
Julian
Your kid sounds VERY much like mine -- my boy is now 12. He also has
had somewhat ''global'' problems but at a fairly low level -- speech,
visual processing, fine and gross motor (fine motor is the handwriting).
And like your son, he was very smart and good at math. I'll bet your
kid has a very highly developed memory, to compensate for his struggles
at getting information down on paper or out through speech.
My experience is that a good OT and lots of work can help with the
handwriting, but at around age 8 I bought my son an Alphasmart -- small
word-processing computer, see http://alphasmart.com/ and sent him to
typing classes at the Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley, see
http://www.cforat.org/.
What we found is that the process of producing words on page with a
pencil/pen was so agonizingly difficult that all the cognitive stuff
would just fall by the wayside.
Typing overcame that to an enormous extent. He is now an avid creative
writer, on the Alphasmart.
Keep working on the handwriting -- have you seen ''Handwriting Without
Tears''?
Again: http://www.hwtears.com/. Because there will always be times when
he must write things down (math, for example). But let go of the idea
that his handwriting will ever be beautiful. Good luck to you --
Letitia
6th grader's poor handwriting hampering schoolwork
May 1999
I am the mother of a reflective, bright, 12-year-old 6th grade boy at
King who is having a hard time with the handwriting and drawing aspects
of his language arts homework. I really like his teachers, but I feel
that asking kids to copy sentences out of books and draw pictures is not
exactly contributing toward any critical thinking skills, or anything
else I can imagine is useful. (But I'd welcome opposing views here.)
This is a longstanding problem. When he was four, he chose not to write
his name (a long one), but rather made a capital A, and with a few deft
strokes, turned it into a space ship. That was his signature. When he
was in kindergarten, there was virtually no writing. His first grade
teacher was too freaked out by control issues to work on printing. In
second
grade, his really creative teacher said "he's got great ideas and has a
hard time writing them down; why don't you take dictation for him" and
in third grade, the same wonderful teacher taught color theory instead
of cursive writing. The summer following, I bit the bullet, pulled out
my (deceased 3rd grade teacher) mother's Palmer method handbooks, and
tried to make learning to write fun! I only partially succeeded. His
fourth grade teacher made cursive happen, with grit, and it wasn't
pretty. He has become adept at putting off the horrid aspects of his
homework (boy, have we seen some sunrises) and at saying his piece more
succinctly than his teachers would like, in handwriting anyway.
I've encouraged him to use the computer to compose, but at this point,
I'd really like a referral for an excellent person who can evaluate
what's going on, and help us remedy the block or the problem. An
occupational therapist? A writing teacher? I don't know. All I know
is this is one smart kid who can discuss complex ideas for hours and
won't willingly write one iota more than he needs to squeak by -- and
barely.
Thanks!
A tired mom
We have a friend whose son is disabled and can't write easily to take
notes or produce assignments, although he can think well. They bought
him a smallish laptop type of computer for taking notes at school. (It
has a name which I could find out for you if you're interested.) Then
at home he transfers them to the computer to store, work with, word
process etc. He produces almost all of his homework on computer. Maybe
check with the special ed teacher for ideas on how to complete work.
Consider how much effort is reasonable in this day and age where all the
kids are starting to use the computer. Maybe he shouldn't have to
produce decent handwriting and you can all sleep in!
This is in response to "A Tired Mom" concerned about her son's
handwriting. My son, who is now in 7th grade, was evaluated in 3rd grade
because his handwriting was so immature compared to his ability to read
and articulate.
Short version...the testing was very helpful and revealed a challenge in
his visual to motor ability: difficulty writing, drawing, spelling, and
spatial relationships. It also revealed that his reading comprehension
was extremely high and auditory recall was exceptional. The coaching
that I received has been a lifesaver for me through these last four
years. It equipped me with the language and strategies in working with
teachers and where to offer support to my son.
I was reassured that eventually it would pose no problem, once he uses
the computer and spell check (spelling was also very immature). It also
helped in choosing the appropriate level of classes. For example, he had
difficulty with transcribing from one column to another (spatial) in
math, which has been a source of anxiety for him...There are so many
aspects of learning. It was a relief to both of us to understand what
his particular style of learning was and how best to assist him.
This is for the mother of the 12 year old who thinks of all kinds of
inventive ways to avoid writing. It certainly sounds like he's a bright
kid whose hand can't keep pace with his ideas. I have an 11yo with a
mental age of 17-3 and a written expression equivalent of 9-6 -- he
qualifies as special ed with a disability in written expression. The
cause can be anything from poor pen grip to visual or aural processing
problems. There are all kinds of accommodations the school can provide.
Start by addressing a letter to the principal describing his problem
[i.e., what you wrote to the list] and requesting evaluation for special
ed and/or 504. The school office will be able to give you info
explaining these acts and their procedures/timelines. The school then
has a defined period of time to conduct an evaluation - you don't have
to pay for it. Do it NOW before school ends, or he will get lost in the
shuffle of requests at the beginning of next year. This goes for any
kind of learning problem. Do a search for URLs about dysgraphia and the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); start with LDOnline
and the MiningCo.
Kids have real problems getting their thoughts down on paper and feeling
good about it. The "smarter" they are, sometimes, the harder it is.
Especially in today's public schools. Some teacher's don't often spend
enough time encouraging creative writing with all the other burdens they
have to bear. Kid's have a hard time, because it is another step in the
process. As in reading to oneself and reading out loud, those are
separate, increasing in complexity tasks. My son has gotten better at
reading and writing by being on the internet. Mavis Bacon teachs typing
is a good "learn to type" program as is the Mario Brothers program. I
think a good creative writing class could be helpful. One that combines
art and writing.
June 1999
My daughter, soon to be 15, also had trouble with cursive writing. Her
6th grade teacher made no effort to require cursive or to help kids. My
daughter can write her name in cursive and that is all. Interestingly,
her father also could not write in cursive. (So, maybe some of this is
genetic?) Printing is definitely the slow way to go..... I was
told (by someone -- and it wasn't her 6th grade teacher) that if a kid
doesn't have this skill by 6th grade, it's not going to develop. I
would not take this as a given, but I know it's too late in my
daughter's case. I think a person has to really be interested in
mastering this and also have certain "fine motor skills" (is that the
right expression? You probably know what I mean...).
June 1999
Here is something that might help your son while you are trying to get a
more professional evaluation of his needs: a fountain pen. I know this
sounds bizarre (what could be harder to manage for a non writer than a
fountain pen?), but your description of your son's writing issues could
have been written about both of my boys (now age 15 and 11). Someone
brought them inexpensive school child fountain pens from France (cost
about $5, they use cartridges). Something about writing with these pens
seems to change the whole dynamic of writing for them.
The 11 year old especially. If I catch him and remind him about the pen
before he starts an assignment, he writes legibly (!), coherently, and
at least at grade level. He also seems focused and, maybe it's the
novelty (although this has now been true this whole school year), he
doesn't spiral into a frenzy about hating to write. If he starts the
assignment or anything else writing with another pen or a pencil, you
would think he didn't know how to write either physically (cursive or
printing) or conceptually. Plus his frustration quickly skyrockets.
So, I don't know why this works, but it might be something to try. (And
I'd surely like to know if anyone else has had similar, or a different,
experiences. I might have to rethink my opinion, based on my childhood
memories, of learning the Palmer Method!)
I think the fountain pen is a great idea. Also, making writing an art
activity. With a fine paint brush and watercolors and large sheets of
white paper, is a way of awakening the art of fine
penmenship. Have them practice with their name or a simple phrase like
thank you or welcome. Or copy a spcial saying or poem and draw a
picture.
March 2004
Looking for help for my 12 year-old son. He will receive his
first bad report card this month as a 7th grader in a private
school. A big part of his problem is currently unintelligible
handwriting, a skill his teachers in the public schools didn't
teach, for which he shows no aptitude, and with which his
teachers no longer have any patience. Because it's hard for
him he is also averse to writing, and underperforms on
written assignments: a classic example being using
synonyms instead of definitions on a vocabulary test... He
types when possible, but still avoids writing more than
necessary (or slightly less, hence the grades). He also has
much poorer drawing skills than his peer group, but the
repercussions from that have been slight.
This year is the first year that his generally sweet demeanor
has not gotten him out of the problems his chicken scratch
gets him into. Because he has other organizational issues
(losing assignments, forgetting to do homework, etc.) and a
family history of ADD, it may be that an assessment for
related learning problems is in order.
But... because he is a 12 year-old boy, it may also be that
this is a stage he's going through, and that all he needs is
help with his handwriting, and consistent support from his
parents.
One question is whether to consult an OT, or get a broader
evaluation, but in the larger sense, I'm hoping someone
else has been on this road before and can tell me which
way to go -- all suggestions gratefully accepted.Thanks!
Anonymous for my boy's sake
Your description of your son sounds like classic dysgraphia. If this is
the case, his
instinct to rely on keyboarding is right on. Dysgraphics don't get
enough info from
their fingers to their brains, so the brain needs to call in other
areas to take up the
slack. This means these areas are not available for other operations,
often making
the child feel stupid. Their handwriting is often illegible, and
spelling doesn't
develope. Dysgraphics are also often affected by organizational
issues.Middle
school is a classic place, because of the way it's structured, for the
kid's system to
break down. I suggest you read Mel Levine's book ' A Mind at a Time'.
He gives
beautiful descriptions of the manifestations of various learning
differences, as well
as discussions of the hidden gifts and talents in these diffferences,
and
recommendations for strategies to work around them. I also recommend
that you
get him tested! My son has dysgraphia. I can't describe the relief it
was for him to have a name for what is going on instead of just having
a vague
sense of failure. He now has tools to help him get his wonderful
thoughts out into
the world, and strategies to approach school work that free him from
struggling
with thiings that aren't gong to work. Now he can use his time and
efforts to learn
and he is successful.
anonymous and relieved mom
In response to some of your concerns, I can share some of what
I've gone through. My son is 13 years old and has illegible
handwriting, sometimes he can't even read his own writing. He
has severe dysgraphia. A fancy way to label his poor motor
skills. He was diagnosed in 3rd grade, after alot of testing,
including an OT eval. As far as your concerns go, I don't know
how long your son has had handwriting issues. My son currently
goes to a holistic OT in Oakland, that he started just this
year. He doesn't like it too much, as intervention at this age
is alot more difficult, but more importantly he doesn't want to
change his handwriting. He will transition to a laptop this year
to use in class and for homework.
I hope some of this information is helpful. It would be helpful
to know what is the underlying problem, as you mentioned you
might need to do some kind of evaluation. An OT eval might be a
good place to start, or maybe consulting a pediatric behavioral
and developmental physician.
Good luck to you and your son
vivian
My mom is an educational psychologist, and I know what she
would say to you: get an assessment done. You can go to the
school district even though he's in private school, or your
insurance may cover it. It may be, as you say, simply a case of
being twelve and having had little coaching in the way of study
skills and penmanship. But he could also be in need of a little
fine-motor physical therapy and maybe some help in other areas.
In any case, you can't lose by getting an evaluation. At least
then you'll know where to begin, and both you and your son will
feel more in control of the situtation. It turned out in my
brother's case that he had a combination of what's now called
ADD (then it was ''hyperactivity''), mild dyslexia, and a
perfectionist streak. He never loved school, but with
intervention he was able to do pretty well, taking honors
classes in high school and going on to college. And hey, piano
lessons, begun as a way of helping him develop better fine-
motor skills, ultimately led to his becoming a professional
musician!
Anonymous
At about the same age, my daughter had not developed a skill
with cursive writing. I was concerned, but her 6th grade
teacher was lackidaisical at best and wasn't interested in
trying to address the problem. I later talked to someone else
about this who said it's a skill which if not developed by age
12 probably won't happen. At 19 she still *prints*. She uses
cursive only to sign checks, etc. Her father was the same in
this regard. I'm from the ''old school'' on this: handwriting was
taught in elementary school and it was a skill all students were
expected to develop. My daughter thinks she may have ADHD, but
I'm not sure. She was psychologically evaluated (for other
reasons) but ADHD wasn't a diagnosis. I wish you the best in
unraveling this issue.
a Mom
Your son sounds similar to mine. He probably would have been
diagnosed as add or adhd if I'd been interested in having a
diagnosis, which I wasn't. I think kids range wildly in their
ability to pay attention, sit still, and focus, and I knew I
was never going to put him on medication, so we just did the
best we could with the personality we had. All through
elementary school, teachers would say he was very bright but
had trouble sitting still. He also hated writing and drawing
and was not good at either. His writing was very difficult to
read. When he started receiving grades in middle school, they
were mediocre to poor. He failed a couple subjects because he
wouldn't do homework, and didn't turn in assignments. In
middle school at least the handwriting was no longer an issue,
because everything is pretty much typed. We (the parents) have
always stressed how important education is, and how he'll have
difficulty getting into college if his grades didn't improve by
high school, and we asked him how he thought he could do well
in high school if he didn't understand the material in middle
school. We've had these discussions probably once or twice a
week for years. He always said, ''Don't worry, I'll do the work
when I have to.'' Sometimes I would watch him from a distance
when he was with his friends at lunch or recess, or P.E.
class. The other kids would sit down, or walk around some, my
son was hanging from trees, climbing the goalposts, jumping
around like someone who'd had way too much coffee. I asked
some other parents with older kids what they thought. They
said that the kids mature dramatically by high school. Another
thing I heard repeatedly was that I should get him involved in
sports--which he'd NEVER been interested in, despite our
encouragement. I didn't really believe that, but in 8th grade
he somehow decided to do track, and absolutely loved it. Now
in 9th grade he lives for running, doing cross country and
track. He's getting almost straight A's. I think the exercise
helps burn off excess energy, and helps him focus. This is
just my experience, but maybe it will give you some insight.
a mom
Hey,
Our son (13) also had a lot of issues being successful in
school. This is so overwhelming that I think it is hard to sort
out where to start. It also sounds like the teachers are
overwhelmed and not able to provide the support he needs.
First,my suggestion is to take it one issue at a time. while
the handwriting is the biggest one you mentioned, maybe that's
not the first one to address.
If he has organizational problems (as our child did) try helping
to sort that out. That will weed out a lot of his confusion and
inablity to keep up. Our son's teacher paired him with an A
student and she showed him how she writes down assignments and
organizes her work. That helped a lot. Sometimes too, the kids
are overwhelmed with advice from teachers and parents and shut
us out. So if you can get another kid, or older kid to help
him, that works great - they listen much better - it's amazing!
A friend of mine also had a specialist teach their kid how to
organize themselves too - see if the school has one they
recommend. Does he have a ''system''? A schedule/assignment book
where he writes everything down, broken down by subject? Our
son had to write down assignments in his book, then check them
off as he completed them, then check them off a second time as
he double checked that they were in the proper area of his
folder. Find out what ''system'' the teachers have - some write
the assignments down on a corner on the board, or hand out
sheets, ask them so you can remind and go over this with your
son.
Also, I'd talk with his teachers to let them know you know what
the issues are and work out a plan - in phases to help him out.
It really takes a huge commitment on your part to make it
happen. Anytime we slacked on our son, he slipped immediately
back to old habits. Check in with him every day on homework,
help him plan which assignments to tackle first, etc.
Basically, do everything you can for him until he can handle it
on his own and give him one new thing to do at a time. So if
that means you tell him what assignments to do, how to organize
them, where to put them in his notebook (so they don't get
lost), to pack his bag before he sleeps, wake him up and make
sure he has his stuff etc.
Also, our son was so overwhelmed he would try to avoid or lie to
us and say he was ''fine'' or doing ok. So his teacher wrote us a
note every day for about 2 weeks to let us know if he actually
did what he was supposed to do. Not every teacher is this
supportive, but perhaps they can write a weekly note home about
where he did and did not follow through on assignments. It
makes an incredible difference when kids know the adults are
paying close attention. Let him know you are his partner in
figuring this out - and whatever you do, don't lecture!
Both me and my partner work full time so this was quite tiring
for us, but well worth it. They just can't do it on their own.
Even though sometimes you want to ''believe'' they are doing ok,
just so you don't have to work as hard yourself! And this age
comes with so much to deal with. They also transition from
elementary to middle school with several different teachers and
social pressures etc. Our son has shot up 8 inches in 6 months
and is going through so much it's amazing he handles all he
does. He now does his homework and is done before dinner! We
really can't believe it ourselves.
Another thing that helped was getting an outside tutor. If you
can't afford it, look into a local program that may be free or
low-cost. Our son loved having others he felt comfortable to
ask for help, instead of parents who might slip into lecture
mode. Also, find out which teachers are available at lunch and
before/after school to help. Our son had to go to school early
every day and go to lunch or after school to clear up any
confusion.
Our son also was a chicken scratcher, but once the other muddle
cleared up, so did his writing. it's amazing how neat his work
is now. Before, he'd literally scratch his name on the top of
the paper like the tazmanian devil and not notice how awful it
was. But i think when they are overwhelmed, disorganized and
frustrated, you have to take it one issue at a time and it
literally helps clear up the rest. once he realized how writing
neater helps him w/ his work, then it wasn't an ''issue.'' For us
(and maybe your son) the messy writing was more a symptom - not
the cause. Your son is definitely old enought and capable of
making this change - it's just helping him do it in logical
steps.
Good luck to you!
stick by his side
Hi! My son is 8 and in a Public School. He ha major issues with
writing which we recognized when he was about 6 years old. He
is super bright, but his writing gets him behind his peers in
school. We started him on OT 2 years ago. It has made a little
difference, however on a day when he is not being extra slow
and careful, the writing is not at all readable. I want to ask
you if he ever had a fall in his life where he landed on the
back of his head?
We have moved our son to doing homeopathy and acupuncture. Both
holistic systems recognize the individuality of a child and
don't treat them on a generic level. The other symptoms that
you mention also seem familiar and again for those I have used
homeopathy and seen wonderful results.
Other than that - Be patient and understand that your child is
probably going through embarrassing moments in school which
must be affecting his self esteem. My son is 8 and I am already
seeing signs of low self confidence.
Best of Luck.
anon
My son had the same problem at the same age. Then he
got interested in grafitti. Not writing it on the wall, but
practicing fancy alphabets in a notebook. He also really got
into skateboarding, so the''writing'' (as grafitti art is called)
went along with a whole pre-teen identity. Anyway, the weird
thing is, his handwriting transformed as a result of hours of
making this careful lettering. I think the fact that he attained
some personal power by creating a mildly counter-culture
identity helped too. Today he has beautiful handwriting and
is finishing a masters degree in American Sign Language
(he is a hearing interpreter).
I'm not saying you should make your kid write grafitti, but
at his age the combination of a self-determined,
self-directed activity involving eye-hand coordination (could
be drawing, knitting, building stuff, maybe a computer
drawing program) that builds confidence and sets him apart
as an individual works wonders.
been there
My 12 year old step-son has and has had exactly the same issues
about writing. In our research about this possibly being ADD
related (as this is one of the traits in ADD), the advice was
instead of nagging them about it or making them do penmanship
excersises (as I think at 12 it's too late to undo the poor
penmanship) the advice was to teach them how to type. The idea
is that it is more important WHAT they write versus how they
write it. In anycase most of his teacher prefer typewritten
over handwritten anyway and they have told us that they don't
mind if he doesn't do all the typing himself. So often we do
the typing for him as he dicates to us what he wants to say.
Since doing that, he has blossomed into a very good story
writer. We still have our battles, but it has taken alot of the
pressure off. There are really great typing programs for kids
our there that have games integrated into them.
anon
It is true that handwriting is given short shrift these days. As
a result, many kids struggle with sloppy handwriting. It is
easy to discount poor performance, thinking maybe your kid just
hasn't had enough practice, or it's just not their talent; but
when coupled with the organizational difficulties you mention,
it begins to sound like there's more going on.
We have a 12 year old son with the same difficulties you
describe. He has NLD (Non Verbal Learning Disorder). This may
or may not be something affecting your son---more than one
learning problem presents itself with handwriting and
organizational difficulties. (Note: We avoid using ''disorder''
and ''disability'' around our son, emphasizing instead that in
certain areas, he learns ''differently'' than most).
Please don't delay in persuing a full assessment for your son.
Even if you are in private school, you can contact your local
school district and ask for this. Find out who heads the
Psychology Department and put your request in writing. Try to
get this done before the end of the current school year. Our
public school district, the WCCUSD, is facing severe budget
problems and will probably be laying off many school
psychologists at the end of the year. This will impact their
ability to administer assessments in a timely fashion. I don't
know how other districts may fare. You could go the private
assessment route; the East Bay Learning Disabilities Association
(eblda[at]hotmail.com)could probably help you there.
Once you have the results of the assessment, you can put
together a list of accomodations for you son to try. Federal
law mandates that public schools must make accomodations
available to those who qualify. Private schools are outside
this mandate, but that doesn't mean that your school won't work
with you. It would be worthwhile to see what your son's school
might do to accomodate him now. Can he have extra time to
complete written assignments? Can he type his work? Could some
written assignments be done orally? My son's school allowed all
this even before we had the formal assessment results.
There is a very good website, wrightslaw.com, that does an
excellent job of guiding you through the maze of education law.
They also have links to other sites offering information and
support for specific learning problems. We've been on this path
now for three years, and initially it felt more like a roller
coaster than a path! If you would like to contact me, feel
free. Best of luck to you.
sande
I teach middle school. There are so many things that could be
going on. Bad handwritting can be lots of things from just not
having good technique to a motor coordination of physical
problem.
My first inclination as both a mom and a teacher (especially if
money is hard) is to buy one of those handwriting books and sit
with him practicing forming letters correctly. Between now and
summer you can probably get a lot done toward seeing if progress
happens. You definitely will need to get some buy in on his
part... Don't present it as a punishment, but do explain that
this is part of a greater process aimed at improving his
handwritting since he won't beable to type everything his whole
life.
If going over how to make the letters correctly, and practicing
that don't help them you can start him on some tests. UC
Optometry has a Binocular Vision clinic that can test him to see
if you are dealing with a visual/motor coordination problem. If
that is the problem, then they will give him exercises he can
do. I don't know if they cost more than the OT you are
considering. It may be worth the call.
Regardless of the cause there are a couple of things that can
help... one is as you already are doing... to see if he can type
assignments. On assignments he can't type make sure that he is
using wide ruled paper (not college ruled) and is taking time
with his work. A lot of bad handwriting at this age seems to be
from rushing to get the work done.
The second part of the problem that you describe, using the
fewest number of words possible, is also very common. As a
teacher I am forever telling kids to provide more details and
explain their answer. A related problem that I have to
repeatedly address is kids who do not give complete answers...
they just move from the question to ''because...'' There is no
magic answer to this one. As a teacher, I go over my
expectations in class, and after they should have the idea, I
dock points. What I recommend their parents do, is check their
work. If you can't tell what the question was, and what the
answer means by simply reading what is on the paper (not looking
back at the book) then it needs to be rewritten. For some kids,
that is enough incentive to put out the effort the first time. I
know high school teachers who are struggling with the same
problem. So it isn't something unique to your son or even being
in junior high. Let's face it, lots of teens are looking for the
shortest route to being done with the drudge of school work. (It
is a lot like when they clean their room by pushing all the mess
into the closet and under the bed. If they can get by that way,
they will.)
If you think the problem is linked to the act of writting and
not to comprehension, it could clear up as you work on the
handwritting. Sometimes it helps to have a tutor who can go over
the homework and how to answer questions so that there is less
of a power struggle involved in the equation. (There are a lot
of kids who don't want to hear from mom or the teacher about how
to do it... but will take advice from an outside party.) Good
luck!
teacher mom
I can really empathize! I have a gifted, cooperative and quite
charming 13 yr old boy, yet could have written this exact message
-- right down to the underperforming aspects of his written school
work and the critique that teachers really don't teach handwriting
anymore. My 8th grade son cannot write in cursive, even his
signature, and his printing is practically illegible, though since
puberty, it has gotten marginally better.
My son's art work, his illustrations for book reports, and his
science fair posters, etc. which, unfortunately, many teachers use
for part of a student's grade, are woefully subpar compared to
those of most of his peers.
We decided to take our son to an educational therapist for testing
(we had some of the same issues with missing assignments,
disorganized school materials, etc.) to see if we could identify
the problem and suggest a solution. We had confirmed what we
already knew -- that he did have a deficit in this physiomotor
area, but we also discovered that he could be classified as
''disabled'' if we wanted to go that route, because his deficit was
that extreme. His dad and his brother seem to have a similar
deficit in handwriting ability, so there's probably something
genetic to it.
We learned that there really isn't any ''treatment'' since it's
neurological in origin -- and being forced to say, practice
handwriting, won't really help and will probably only frustrate
him. Modifications to his school set up (e.g. having a laptop in a
classroom--permitted if you have him documented as having a
disability) and teaching him strategies for success like doing his
homework on a computer (his output is of higher quality than if he
handwrites) are about all we have come up with. Lately, we are
trying an educational ''coach'' once a week to help with some of the
school management issues; too soon to tell if that's going to pay
off, and of course, it's expensive.
While my son does well on fill-in-the-bubble tests, he will
certainly face difficulties with (timed) essay writing tests in
high school and we may have to revisit the idea of having him
assigned as ''disabled'' to make sure things are set up so he can
show what he knows. As a teenager, you can imagine how much he
will resist getting any special treatment like that. For us, it's
also hard to adjust to since he is so smart and capable in so many
areas. I'm happy to correspond with you by email if you like.
We're just trying to figure it out, too.
mnm
Lest your son protest that handwriting is obsolete in the age of
computers, you might remind him that he will continue to write
things by hand at least through the end of college (about nine
more years). As a graduate student instructor (TA) at UC
Berkeley, I can tell you that if I can't read a response in an
exam or assignment, I can't give the student any credit for it.
AP exams and even the SAT (I think) have writing portions as well.
For handwriting, as with nearly all things, practice makes
perfect. It is not too late to start. Your son is lucky to have a
problem that is so simple to solve.
David, Berkeley
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