Berkeley Parents Network: Teens' Difficulty Writing

Berkeley Parents Network

Teens' Difficulty Writing

Advice, discussions, and reviews from the Parents of Teens weekly email newsletter.
Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Teenagers > Teens' Difficulty Writing

10-year-old's writing angst

Oct 2004

My 10 yr old son has extreme angst when it comes to writing. This has been going on since 3rd grade. Whenever he has a writing assignment for homework it literally takes him 3+ hours to finish it, and more than half of that time is spent by him moaning and groaning and just paralized from thinking of what to write. Once he gets over that stage, and this happens when we finally say if he dosen't write something soon, he will have to bring it to school unfinished, he can write a pretty darn good paragraph, essay, etc.

I need to know if other parents have these issues and how you achieve good results. We try to encourage him, but it dosen't seem to get to the root of the problem. I just hate to see him go through this funk everytime he has to write something, and there has to be a way for him to do it efficiently so that he dosen't spend hours and hours on it. Are there motivational teachers/tutors out there who can help? thanks so much worried mom

Our son had similar difficulties beginning to write. One day I heard an author discussing how she learned to write and overcome writer's block, on the radio. She offered a nifty trick that worked for our son and might work for yours.

She advised beginning each piece of writing with the phrase: ''The most amazing thing happened when...''

This always worked to get our son started, and once started, he was fine.

Once the piece was written, the author said, it was fine to go back and eliminate that first sentence, or rewrite it, as needed.

With this trick in hand, writing stopped being an issue and now our son no longer uses this trick, at all. -Muse

My son had difficulty writing. We had him evaluated and he has some fine motor problems. It is very challenging to formulate an idea, keep it in your head while you make your hand write it, while simultaneously developing and expanding your ideas. Having him dictate to me what he wants to write was very useful. He also learned to keyboard well. He writes much more easily with a keyboard than by hand. Now that he is older, I talk with him about what he wants to write. He can generate ideas in conversation, then types what he wants to write. I help him by editing and making suggestions. He's improved a lot. He also talks with his teachers (or I do) so that he can turn in most assignments typed. He doesn't have a computer at school. understanding mom

To the worried mom whose child has a hard time starting an essay..

Try getting him a graphic orgnizer of some type that will help put his thoughts down in a logical, sequencial order that he can write from. This can be as simple as a piece of pape divided into columns or a web with the subject in the center and individual spokes coming out from it with the subject details.

There is also a great computer program called ''Inspiration'' that is an on-screen organizer. It's possible that once he knows how to organize his thoughts, he will feel more in control, and the writing process will become easier.

I am an educational therapist, and I have helped many reluctant writers develop successful strategies to help them succeed in school. One way I do this is to show students that they have all the words inside them; they just need help in getting them out.

I hope this helps. Feel free to email me. Jamie Keller

You need to have your child assessed for a learning disability. This type of problem is very common with people who have a non-verbal learning disorder (NLD). More info can be had at www.nldontheweb.org or nldline.org. If the assessment shows a learning disorder, then accomadations can be made. Here is how to get started.

To get the ball rolling, write to the principal (if it's not in writing, it didn't happen), and demand an assessment to determine if your child is qalified for an IEP. The school district (SD) then should evaluate him. (If they don't, they have to give you Prior Written Notice, which is a letter (it must be in writing) explaining IN DETAIL why they think your child should not be evaluated to see if s/he qualifies for an IEP. You can then use this PWN letter to escalate your case up the food chain in your SD or in a due process hearing.)

If the SD agrees to evaluate the child, the SD will arrange to give appropriate tests to the child. The IEP team will then review the results of these tests (from standard assessment tools like WISC III/IV and Woodcock Johnson) PLUS parent and teacher observations, medical diagnoses and private testing results, if any, grades, results from standardized academic tests, performance on school work and homework, et al. as appropriate. A dx is not necessary; the IEP addresses the child's actual needs or weaknesses and should not be based on a label.

If he qualifies for the IEP, the team will then develop an IEP, which should include goals for specific deficit areas and MEASURABLE objectives. Then and only then does the IEP team determine the placement of the child (regular classroom, LD class, regular class with pullouts, etc.). Then all you have to do is make sure the school implements it successfully. (This is actually the hardest part.)

Here are some IEP resources to get you started:

Re links on how to craft a good IEP: Here's a memo containing ''Examples and Tips of Making IEP Annual Goals Measurable'' from the Wisconsin public schools http://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/sped/issues-IEPissues/writingiep/GoalsMeasurable.html brad

There are two main barriers to writing for most kids who have problems with it. The first is that the attention required for the physical act of writing gets in the way of its expresssion. I've heard, ''I purposely use shorter words like 'pretty' instead of 'beautiful' because it's shorter'' from a highly gifted student. You might get him checked out with an occupational therapist to see if there's a problem with pencil grasp or posture.

For this problem, a keyboard may do the trick, with good keyboard instruction and practice. AlphaSmart.com, with the most commonly used keyboards, has three models from $229 to $379 (the latter has a much bigger screen). They're Mac and PC compatible.

The other problem may have to do with organizing ideas and written expression. I really like ThinkingMaps.com because they're purposive - one map doesn't fit all, unlike the bubble ''mind maps'' that have nothing to do with the writing requirement. The web site http://www.thinkingmaps.com/ htthinkmap.php3 or http://tinyurl.com/6ecn5 has an explanation of the pedagogy and links to the individual maps, which can be enlarged. They work for all ages. Sometimes getting out the ideas without first feeling committed to the paragraph can be a big relief.

Sometimes a kid has both problems, which is pretty frustrating and may make the kid eligible for special education or 504 accommodations (e.g., access to classroom computer or school-provided AlphaSmart (usually the oldest model), extended time for writing).

Note: I'm not being paid by either company. Dana Lear, DrPH

Have you tried letting him dictate to you while you type? This helped my sluggish writer lots of time, just as a jump start. Just pretend that you are his secretary and type up whatever he says. I also would give helpful prompts like this: "OK, you need an introductory paragraph, a closing paragraph, and the guts. So which one do you want to start with?" When we got to "the guts" then I might help him break down the topic into smaller pieces and he'd do one paragraph per piece. He would describe the pieces and I would take notes, so that when he finished dictating one paragraph I could remind him what he said the next paragraph was going to be about.

My kid would just get so overwhelmed with a big paper that it would really help to break it up like that, and he'd often dictate a little to me and then take it over once he had a start. I don't know if your child is allowed to do papers on the computer, or if you even have one, but handwriting is lots slower. I think in one case I let his teacher know that he needed to use the computer for papers because his hand- writing was so poor that it just took him too long (another story - he never learned cursive.) Also on the computer you can write the "guts" first, and then easily go back and add in the opening paragraph, move stuff around, etc.

I think my "secretarial skills" eventually got him into the habit of doing this planning for himself, and he can now sit down and write a paper without assistance - he's even taking a creative writing class in college just for pleasure! Good luck. Ginger

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.