Has anyone else’s child really struggled with learning to write, and if so, what has helped?
DS is 7 and in year 2. Overall he is bright and has had no trouble learning to read. He is reading chapter books and has good comprehension.
Writing, though, had proven far more difficult. It was flagged when he started school that he was struggling to hold his pencil. We increased fine motor skill activities, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. We have also encouraged lots of gross motor skill activities, and while he runs, balances and kicks balls okay, he struggles to catch and do things that involve a lot of co-ordination, like swimming and bike riding (although he has mastered the latter now).
His writing, though, continues to be problematic. He still struggles to control his pencil and his writing is very uneven. He also still reverses quite a few letters. This is now becoming more problematic as he can’t write at the speed expected in school, and he is becoming more reluctant to try. His teachers now feel he isn’t focusing and that he is needing extra support to get on with his work, which we think stems from his trouble writing. His teachers agree that he may have mild dyspraxia but are unable to offer any support for that and suggested we look into strategies to help him.
He has those rubber pen grip things, and we have tried to do some handwriting practice at home. School say there is nothing else they can do, and he needs to learn to focus and stay motivated. Has anyone found anything else to be helpful with a similar problem?
TIA