To change DS's homework without asking teacher?

[CalcatrippticLego]

DS has to read 15 words.
Then write the correct word next to its picture (6 of them)
Then draw and write a word from the list.

He has dyspraxia. Writing is an issue. He constantly has the mickey taken out of him for his lack of drawing skills which he gets from me

He has read his words. He has done the 6 picture words and coloured them in. Would it be totally wrong of me to scan in his worksheet and show him how to search, type and resize a picture to fit the box for the final 6 and then print it out to send in as his homework?

He is desperately unhappy at school. Totally disheartened about his work and abilities. Who needs to draw these days anyway? (Unless you're a teacher or an artist.)

You don't HAVE to draw. Drawing is not a life skill. Write a note saying he has dyspraxia and the stress and anxiety caused by trying to draw outweighs any benefit.

Or maybe get him to do one drawing if he wants to try?

You know best. This kind of thing would cause my daughter sleepless nights and is detrimental to her health.

I would try and encourage him to do the drawing on a different page, so it can be pinned behind the writing homework away from prying eyes. I think it's important to encourage kids to stretch their limits, even when this is hard. He will learn resilience.

My sympathies. Poor little lad. And bloody drawing - I hated it and my son hates it. He's year 8 and at grammar school and still homework involves designing goddam bloody posters. Neither of us can draw for toffee. I'd ask to talk to the teacher in general about his unhappiness - SEN issues are generally very badly understood and you may have to be the one to raise awareness.

My DS has huge issues with writing/drawing. They mostly allow him to type in school but still send the same written homework that the rest of the class get. I consider it to be a lot of writing for homework anyway without the added issues of hand cramping up and shaking etc. I supervise and encourage as much writing as I believe he can physically manage, then ask him for his input and write exactly what he says for him. I always attach a note explaining what I've done and why (which shouldn't be necessary, but a supply teacher had a proper go at him about "getting his mum to do it because he is lazy" so I find it easier to just add the note. Never been an issue with the regular class teacher.

I don’t think children with SEN are usually the ones that have problems with coming across situations that will develop resilience.

There are a thousand and one activities he can do that will practice his fine motor control. Drawing for this homework doesn’t have to be one of them.

Chalk it up as a reasonable adjustment at this point. At another point in time maybe it’ll be something that he’ll want to try.

I would also be tackling the much bigger issue of the impact he bullying is having on his self esteem

Glad to see teachers on this thread keeping it in proportion. I've seen notes on my DS's class work "I asked X to write a description instead of drawing". It reduces the load on an already overloaded child a bit, and if they do that for him in class, of course I'd do similar with him in his homework. He's made progress with drawing slowly - I suspect they reduce the demand sometimes and push him a little at other times. When he's already stressed is not the right time to push. He is autistic but wasn't diagnosed at the time.

I wouldn't make a big song and dance about finding an alternative though. Just put a note in his book, and maybe encourage gently for him to do one very simple thing, like a ball or book (circle/ rectangle).

Poor lad. How is he with computers - could he put something together on PowerPoint with help? If fine motor skills is needed, surely tracing and colouring in would be just as good as drawing?

Ds1 is dyspraxic and dyslexic. Holding a pen for longer than a minute or so caused severe cramps, spasms and muscle pain. He struggled to draw a bloody line let alone a picture. It was not something that has improved over time with practice because it is not about being able to identify what is needed, it is the physical transfer of that into paper using and holding a pen or pencil. Doing it repeatedly does not stop the pain.
He read like a dream but just struggled to maintain a grip.
Half hour tasks took him 2+ hours, anxiety, frustration and upset.
One hour assignments for college would take 4+ hours.
Dyspraxia can be painful.
I was so fed up of reading comments about his presentation on school reports over and over again despite there being a SEN page explaining the issue. I ended up speaking to every teacher that marked him down for it and politely suggested they RTFP!
The school eventually applied their recommendations and let him use a laptop for writing but it took until halfway through year 8.

For the task you have, I asked him what he wanted me to draw and did it. He wrote the words....slowly.

Some of these responses show a lack of understanding of these conditions. It is not just letters the wrong way around, or lack of skills that practice will sort. it is about the way their brain processes information, how that is communicated to their limbs, eyes and mouth, the ability to physically perform the task, awareness of their exact presence in a space, and so much more.

nextDayDelivery. That is not the case with someone with Dyspraxia. They often don't have brain hand co-ordination and practising handwriting and drawing often doesn't make a difference, I know because DD3 has dyspraxia and still has some trouble with these things at the age of 26. She can write but she needs a lot of time to make sure it is legible, However she is able to use a computer and in fact did a computer degree at university

But Jamiefraserskilt the OP's son is 8. Fine motor and perception skills can be developed. I would be wary of avoiding opportunities at home to develop them, where there is no other child looking over his shoulder. I am all for the use of technology at secondary age, but less so at 8. However one piece of h/w doesn't matter one way or the other and that OP's son is proud of what he's done is obviously more important.

Can't he trace a picture? Then he still strengthens his fine motor skills, which is probably the point of the exercise but he doesn't have to draw free hand.

I'm with vice admiral on this.
Education was a nightmare with a kid that could not be pigeonholed.
He now has his first job (first interview successful!)
His line manager has already spotted his he is more accident prone and how he struggled to write in the logs and has addressed it with no fuss. He does not to be treated differently or have special compensation, just accepted.
Thankfully it turns out his team have three the same.
He has also learned to drive.
School was a constant battle from year 1. His y6 teacher who was the senco, called him lazy despite me describing his issues which were textbook. He was diagnosed after a battle with the gp, in y7.
He is bright, amazingly technically minded and constantly pushes himself every day despite being told at school he was weird, only fit for infant school, Irritating (he twitches and fiddles), lazy, clumsy, stupid, deaf, thick.....and not just from the kids!

But Jamiefraserskilt the OP's son is 8. Fine motor and perception skills can be developed. I would be wary of avoiding opportunities at home to develop them, where there is no other child looking over his shoulder. I am all for the use of technology at secondary age, but less so at 8.

My son was diagnosed at 8. His OT said that there was going to be some improvement in his writing, fine motor skills but actually never enough to cope with the ever growing demands of the school curriculum. Children in KS 2 actually do a lot of writing. She said that anything beyond 3 sentences would in his case be considered 'extended writing' and he should us a laptop or iPad. His Ed Psych report put his IQ in the top 93%. His handwriting on the bottom percentile. His self esteem was plummeting as he couldn't get his complex ideas down and he was labelling himself 'thick' while he was far from it.
Using IT properly for recording work actually takes skill. The fact that my son started using word processing at 8/9 meant he could touch type by the time he went to secondary school and the recording rate shot up. Waiting makes no sense what so ever. Part of his dyspraxia also means that he finds copying from the board impossible. He can't write unless he is watching his hands. Try doing that when you are trying to read what's on the board! For this he uses and iPad to photograph the board, drops into his notes and then reads and annotates.
Why should he wait to use the technology? Would you make someone who couldn't walk or see or hear wait for their aids? No, because that would be discriminatory and cruel. There is no difference. Dyspraxia is a DISABILITY!

@Pupschew
My lad had core strengthening physio from aged 7. We worked on muscle strength, fine motor skills, coordination skills, focus and attention, frustration and anger management, self esteem; working on his mind and body. These were things he needed to survive education. He didn't get a keyboard at school until Y8. He made little physical improvement despite working with an OT. What he did learn was alternative means to an end.
When you have sat with a child for a whole afternoon whilst they struggle to complete a half hour homework piece, when you have calmed their anger and frustration for the umpteenth time, coaxed and encouraged, done release movements every ten minutes to keep their hand from cramping up completely and congratulated them on completing the work that they know they are going to get teased about, then faced the same battle evening's and weekends for 11 years then you will understand.
Some kids do respond to physio, some do not.

I think if you allow him not to draw and to us a computer instead your subconsciously telling him he is no good at drawing and should give up and calling him a failure without even realising.

Could he not do the drawings but submit the homework without them? You could attach a note saying it has been done but due the teasing you’re not happy to send them in?

I think that way it sends the message to him that he can improve in private if he wants to, if he just doesn’t do it he will just think “I can’t do this, I’m bad at this” and have feelings of failure

I absolutely would change the homework to suit. I often do. The benefits of homework are negligible at this age. He is not going to fall desperately behind because he hasn't done his homework exactly right.
I would get him to read the words and check he understands them, and can spell them if they're not too hard. Then write in his homework book that you have done all that together and you are happy with the amount of homework he has done.
If the dyspraxia experts (I am not one) think that practising drawing is a good thing for him to do I would do that separately with him another time. Make a game out of doing the worst drawing of a horse or something.
But do not make him or yourself upset iver homework. There is no point.

We all know that school is really tough for those who are different! Even good schools can't make everything fair.

He faces daily humiliation and lots of chances to work on the things he finds most difficult... in front of heckling audience.

When he is with you he needs exactly what you are giving - support and cunning ways round difficulties.

In the rest of his life he will be using the sort of strategies you work on with him now. He will enjoy the confidence-giving knowledge that you thought the impossible set tasks of low importance. Ways round them are not simple cheating!

If he does need to work on co-ordination etc. This should be done in a way he wants - not in an arena where he will fail in the eyes of his peers.

Ds had asd in mainstream. He types hw, prints and sticks - he's 6. I'm not having a 2 hour meltdown over a picture

He has been having weekly physio for the past 7 months. He has now had a year and a half of speech therapy, before thst he had a year of OT. It just seems so pointless. He could be concentrating on spelling, reading etc and instead he ends up frustrated and in tears because he can't write small enough to fit the words in the boxes provided. His writing is leginle, but large. Holding a pen cramps his hand, after a couple of words his arm is shaking. Whilst he has improved since last year, his writing is my no means fluent, and I can't see how he will keep up in the future.
He has the same issue for maths. I have bought him some stamps in a bid to alleviate the stress of having to do maths and writing. But that doesn't help him in lessons.

I would recommend drawing them for him and letting him colour, because if you print pictures a child is likely to comment on it and demand to know why, which won't help his confidence

I have dyspraxia or clumsy child syndrome as it was called back when I was diagnosed! It's such a complex disability with most people having difficulties in different areas. Mine is coordination and tidyness. I am a teacher and so my handwriting is not too bad but I have to spend two weeks relearning it every summer holiday. I literally get a handwriting book and pen and practice! I would meet with the teacher and talk it through. If no joy then refuse to hand it in until an agreement is reached about productive adaptations.
I tell my class about my disability, how it effects my life but how it didn't hold me back. Your son will find his strengths and will get to the point like me where being humiliated because I had stabilisers on my bike until I was ten is now not important. He will find his talent, mine is teaching and then nothing will hold him back and he will be who he wants to be.