To ask if anyone has a child who reads really well but finds writing incredibly difficult?

[AjasLipstick]

DD is 10 and has always struggled with writing. She's incredibly articulate and reads very well. She also draws well...better than average though not as well as she reads.

She spells well....but when she's meant to do any writing for homework she just will do ANYTHING to avoid it.

She tells me incredibly detailed and imaginative stories. I am not being ott about how good these stories are. They're brilliant....I have an older DD so do have something to compare her to. She can make up rhymes which go on and on and the rhythm and everything work beautifully.

But ask her to write the story down and NOPE!

She also hates maths as it's boring. She says writing is hard because it takes too long and she finds it hard to concentrate. She wears glasses...but that wouldn't make her find writing so hard would it? Her prescription is recent and her glasses are comfortable etc.

She's bright, very funny and sociable...good at sports and anything physical...also extremely popular...her teacher says she doesn't "seem" dyslexic" but maybe I should ask about her seeing a behavioural optometrist...we're in Oz. This would probably need to be private.

I'm just trying to work it out....when I ask her "do the letters move on the page?" she says no...it's just boring.

Aw, I was like this - I have dyslexia. Still did really well at school, now a lawyer, etc etc but writing was (is) hell.

There is a condition called dysgraphia which makes writing a struggle, although reading is ok. My friends son is affected and is allowed to use a keyboard at school. I presume diagnosis was via educational psychologist.

Really scone? I must say, I'd be happy to just know what it is that's stopping her! I must see about the behavioural optometrist on Tuesday...it's Sunday night here and a bank holiday tomorrow.

Mayhew I thought that was to do with numbers?

Does she have problems with spelling? Maybe she's worried about making mistakes. Does she write slowly or untidily? The physical task of writing can be very dull.

I've got the opposite, comprehension is quite poor, but loves writing.

So we've got all the relevant books from Amazon/Smiths to help as it seems to instil more motivation.

Might be worth speaking to SENCO to see what they think.

Neo she can spell things when you ask her...she'll tell you but when writing, it all goes wrong. I feel terrible...she's somehow got to ten (just turned) without this being noted. We all thought she'd catch up.

And yes...writing is both slow and untidy.

My friends son has hyper mobility so finds holding the pen or pencil a bit difficult. Could this be a problem? I think the old fashioned word is double jointed. He has little rubber things that he puts on his pens and pencils to help him with his grip.

This is me. I have a condition called ehlers danlos syndrome and couldn't hold a pen for several years (I was in junior school before I could write) I had input from an OT in the end.

My ds does this. Always been way ahead in reading, was interested in nothing but text books until about 11 and read highly for his age, but HATES writing. Even now in college.

Had a lot of testing and apparently has dyspraxia. Part of that is to do with writing. He just feels like the words come so fast in his head he can't slow them down to write them, so because they won't come out how he wants, he doesn't want to bother. Also has trouble with laces - but not legos...

Both my boys are voracious readers (6 and 15) but terrible writers. DS1 has definitely improved in secondary but it was a real struggle for years. No additional needs or dyslexia, he just always found it a struggle to physically write. He can type and spell perfectly. His handwriting is appalling but a thing least it’s readable nowadays.

DS2 is in yr one and they have started cursive writing and fucking hell its painful to watch. His scribbles are pretty much unreadable.

DD is 14 and has beautiful handwriting, but doesn’t use capitals as they spoil the look of it. I despair at the lot of them, frankly.

My son is dysgraphic.

Just ask the school to let her work on a keyboard. If it quickly becomes apparent she is able but it is writing holding her back ask to see an Educational psychologist.

My DS did all his exams on a computer and is now at uni. Primary school was a trial because of the obsession with handwriting. Secondary couldn't have cared less as long as the work was to the correct standard.

Good luck.

Yes we have this. My 6 year old has a reading and comprehension age of 11 but struggles to get started with writing.
It has improved a little recently but he finds it very frustrating, as the outcome is slow and untidy. I also think he finds it dull, which is compounded by the fact it takes him longer.

He finds most other stuff easy (and is very aware of this compared to some peers) so I’m giving him lots of praise and highlighting the lesson that some things are hard and worth working on (just like his friends do with maths).

I have exactly the same in DS 10. Comprehension is fine, but writing stories or long pieces of work is a nightmare.
I found if he tells me the story and I write it down word for word he's happy to copy it out, but that doesn't help much at school. But to be honest it gets us through homework a bit easier. Also he's much better at typing than writing.
I thought he might be dyspraxic but school don't seem overly concerned and his new teacher thinks she'll have his writing level on par with his reading by the end of the year.

Mousse she seems just as slow on a keyboard to be honest!

Hi, this describes me a bit, I love to read, I don't always understand everything I read, but I do read very well, and in most of the languages that I speak. I speak nine, and can read in all but Chinese and Thai. I struggle with writing though, I always have. I can't get my thoughts down on the paper, find the vocabulary I need, get my writing to make sense. It's very frustrating.

My DS is like this, he has dyspraxia, diagnosed via an occupational therapist (waited 6 months after a self-referral); he uses a computer in class & gets support with fine motor skills. Unusually for dyspraxia, his gross motor skills are ok.

We went through a phase aged 10 onwards where we'd insist they use a dictionary / thesaurus plus I'd do little cards with examples of these words they're now being taught, one that springs to mind in past participle.

You can get note sized cards and a box from Amazon and do the same if you want.

Maybe put an emphasis on comprehension to see how they understand what's been read, then to see how they'd answer a SATs based comprehension question.

To do the cards if you get the book on English for KS2 English was less than £10 which was a help. I'll see if I can find it as it might be of help. It'd save you having to shell out for it.

Yes she may be slow on the keyboard as dysgraphia can be associated with dyspraxic tendencies, but if she starts learning now she will have significantly more chance of expressing herself fluently by the time she gets to GCSE level.

When my ds was particularly despondent or tired I would type for him. I did NOT edit his work, just typed in and read back what we had said.

I am dyslexic, so we have experience in the family. It is vital that you keep her confidence up and secure her sense of ability. One of the main problems with dyslexia, dysgraphia etc is that these children have the confidence knocked out of them. They begin to believe they are stupid. I did. My son did not because I did not let that happen.

To all those saying the school is not concerned, beware.

I knew my ds had an issue of some form. I was able to coach and support him at home. I offered coping strategies and encouraged him because I am dyslexic myself and a trained teacher. His official diagnosis came in the first year of his degree.

I gave up with the schools and supported him myself. The school SENCO had heard of dysgraphia ffs. I arranged laptop use for him in school and exams and the did the rest myself.

I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome, and have retroactively diagnosed myself with dysgraphia.. Handwriting is incredibly difficult for me, the pain is unbearable and I don't have a handwriting style, it changes from minutes to minutes, and rarely looks the same twice. Ask the school sendco.

It could be ED or it could be dyslexia. Definitely worth getting her tested and getting appropriate support in place. If you can, do it privately, if not keep at the school until they get the testing arranged. A teacher's opinion that she doesn't seem dyslexic is not good enough.

I was like that as a child (still am at tomes) I’m dyslexic, my reading and comprehension is fine and I did wel at school but having to write anything filled me with dread. I found coping mechanism with the spelling or just used a dictionary but for me it was more about issues around syntax and grammar. I’ve just got no understanding I them and trying to hide that is so much harder than the usual issues of spelling associated with dyslexia.

My teachers used to make an example of me and stuff so I developed a real phobia of people reading anything I’d written down for fear of being criticised (when I was at school teachers just said stuff like your not trying hard enough didn’t do anything constructive) so I’d oretty much do anything to avoid writing

Same here for one of my DCs. Great reader, loved words, musician ..reluctant to get words down on page.

Can you get her to learn to type? the earlier the better and you can adjust the size or style of font as you know and find out what suits her. The act of writing is lovely but if your thoughts are flowing too fast for your pen then typing is the answer. It will also be hugely useful for essays and dissertations later.