He's just turned 9.
He doesn't like writing, and will often put far more time and effort into avoiding doing a bit of homework than it would take to just get on and do it. We've had 2 hours of drama over 5 minutes of writing in the past, though I'm better at managing things now and I avoid these stand-offs.
When he does buckle down he is perfectly capable. He can dash off a reasonable page of writing. His spelling is good. His handwriting is fairly awful - big and all over the place, like the writing of a much younger child, but tbh he isn't interested and never practices, so it's not surprising. His fine motor skills aren't great, and we do plenty of fun games to work on that (mostly without him even realising that's what we're doing).
His ideas and knowledge are very good. He is typically curious and informed as most kids his age are, he asks great questions and has fabulous ideas and theories. All up to speed.
But then we have this bloody block when it comes to writing it down.
I've never really worried about it before - he doesn't like writing, and is a bit lazy. But today he needed to write a quick post-card thank you to his grandparents. No stress, no pressure, he'd chosen a card and was dreaming away, gazing out of the window, avoiding actually putting pen to paper as usual. I said something along the lines of "come on DS! Dear Granny and Granda, we're having a great time... write that to start with" and left him to it. 10 minutes later, still not a mark on the paper. "Come on ds! Write Dear Granny and Granda..." and then we get the sulky lip, and he's sighing, and gearing up to make a fuss.
I asked him if he didn't want to write it. He said he did. I asked him if he agreed he was capable of writing it. He said he was. I asked what the problem was, and he had a sort of hysterical panic about it all. Hyperventilating, and crying, and running off to howl in his bedroom.
I just don't understand. He CAN do it. He's being supported. He can write four sodding words on a post card.
Please help me with this.
Other than the writing thing he is a cheerful, easy going, confident, laid back kid who has plenty of friends, likes school, gets on with his teachers, enjoys sport, has a happy family life, eats well, gets enough sleep... it's all good until writing.