Bizarre use of capitals

[DocMarteens]

Hi there,

I wondered if anyone has tread in these steps before me and could give me some pointers.

A brief history:

Son is now 9 years old - soon going into y6.

Diagnosed with adhd in year 5 after a 1-2 year decline in relationships, functioning in the classroom etc. Of course stuff at home but I thought I had to just suck it up as a parent.

Concentration and focus now much improved and fewer flash points with peers.

School tell me he has high IQ but it doesn't translate into his written work output.


He's had Ed psy assessment that was all about his needs and behavioural paediatrician. In general things are pretty good for him but I've noticed that for the past 3 years he can't use capital letters appropriately.

Initially I put it down to immaturity, then lack of focus but now he knows about it and I'm beside him prompting him. But he can't put a capital letter at the start of the sentence and a full stop at the end of it.

I'm absolutely bewildered. He knows about grammar and the rules, why it's important and that I'm observing to make sure he does it. But then he'll write (reluctantly) and forget the capital letter, but then put them back n the middle of the words he writes.

Is this dysgraphia or something else?

[artichaut27]

Hi there,

My DS is now 7 (will be 8 in October) and dyspraxic. With work, we've managed to sort out a few of his prevalent handwriting bad habits. He's even producing longer texts and they are legible when it's 'serious' work. At home, though, where he doesn't have the same expectations, his writing is pretty erratic, and that's fine, the Ed Psych said to leave him be when he writes for fun at home.

Anyhow, his main persisting problem is use of capital letters in middle of words and a 'creative' use of punctuation.

Did Ed Psych (private or school one?) have a look at his written production?

ADHD is highly co-morbid with DCD. Any other signs of clumsiness, poor motor coordination? Or just the handwriting?

It's probably due to working memory issues, it's not easy to hold all the priorities in mind when producing a written text i.e. meaning, spelling, grammar, punctation, letter formation etc. It's hard work for kids with learning difficulties.

[DocMarteens]

Thanks for replying arti, I think I need to go back to Ed Psy. Much has changed in the past year and I don't think there was an assessment of written work. School arranged the assessment but I had to pay.

Yes he's very clumsy and accident prone. It's been hard to get into sports because so uncoordinated and lack of focus whilst waiting turn etc.

I've read some other threads about getting a good pen/pencil which I actually did do last year but they lasted 2 weeks before being lost (as with everything else in this chaotic whirlwind!) Think I might name tag his pens next year.

[artichaut27]

You can do a DCD assessment with an OT. In our county (Devon), we were able to self-refer, and it was pretty quick (3 months!).

We're doing a technique, called the '2 minutes handwriting challenge'. The idea is to do it regularly (every day if possible) but only 2 minutes.

2 minutes pattern/pen control exercises and 2 minutes handwriting (caterpillar letters, bouncy ball letters, etc.), 2 minutes cutting, 2 minutes colouring.
There are good free worksheets on Sparklebox: www.sparklebox.co.uk/special-needs/dyslexia/handwriting.html

Also, we use 'learning without tears' website:
www.lwtears.com/sites/default/files/online-tools/dtt/aplus-lite-player

We did two sessions over last 6 months with private OT and it keeps us going for a while. She gave us lots of tips.

[twoyears]

Hi DocMarteens

I guess your son is essentially ‘practising’ the incorrect use of capital letters. To be successful in changing patterns like this give him responsibility for preventing mistakes completely.

So, instead of prompting him, have a go at the following:

Ask him not to write any capital letters without asking you first if it’s ok to put one in that place. That way he’ll stop making mistakes. If he doesn’t stop and ask then let him carry on and when he’s finished the writing tell him how many errors there are and challenge him to find them all and change them.

If he omits capital letters, say nothing until he’s finished the writing. Then tell him how many capital letters are missing and challenge him to find where they should be and change those letters himself. You could then extend this by getting new paper and dictating the passage back to him. His challenge then is to see if can write with fewer mistakes.

Children love keeping scores for this sort of thing – it just becomes a game. However, it probably would be better if the school did this. Feel free to pm me if you’ve got any more questions.

[Lara53]

Was going to add you might need to see an OT - could be dysgraphia or dyslexia