Is letter formation REALLY important? Please give me some tips to help DS with his written work.

[PrimroseHall]

DS (6.5) is really struggling with written work. I think part of the problem is that he doesn't form his letters correctly, but I forgot to ask his teacher before the end of term whether I'm correct about this.

Part of his summer project is to keep a holiday journal. It's taking him about 10 minutes just to write the date (and I am getting so pissed off with it tbh).

His end of year report said that his written work needed to improve for year 2, and I want to be able to help him with this.

Any suggestions? And am I right about letter formation being important?

It is because if he is doing it awkwardly or not the same each time it won't feel right or flow. Try using a sloping surface with a slightly soft feel so his arm isn't overstressed and sit him so his feet are on the floor and he is at a comfortable height. Also check his grip and maybe buy a pencil grip. If you want a programme to follow try Write Start.

Thank you Lizs. I'll google Write Start.

He sits at the dining table to do writing and his feet are off the floor, so I'll clear off the desk in his room and sit him in there instead from now on. I'll try and create some sort of sloping thing for him to write against as well, unless you can buy them (anyone??).

His grip is better than it was, but he holds the pencil really tightly so his flow isn't great. I might try him with a felt tip pen with a pencil grip round it to see if I can help him take some of the pressure off the paper.

Any more suggestions greatly appreciated.

ah tight grip may not help , it tenses the wrist and arm. You can buy slopes but they are quiet pricey , fil made ds'. Try the slope of an A4 file(supported by paper inside) and see if it helps. A softer B pencil may be easier too. Has he ever been observed by an OT ?

No, not an OT. He's on the autistic spectrum and was seen by an educational something or other (can't think at the moment) in his reception year.

I'll try the B pencil for him.

His fine motor skills appear to be very delayed watching him write, but give him a stylus and a DS Lite and he's absolutely fine. I've even been looking for learning to write software for the DS today, though I suspect that wouldn't solve the problem of getting him to sit and concentrate on something that he thinks is dull.

Wonder if he has some dyspraxic traits then ? Might be worth asking for an assessment at least , some very simple adjustments to posture and core strength can make a difference.

Write from the start.

You can buy it on Amazon

Is this the Write Start product that you meant? Or this looks good actually. These are quite reasonable as well.

The thing you need (as recomended by the ed psych who diagnosed ds with dyspraxia) is 'write from the start'

ah it's the one MB describes but that slope is what ds' is based on .

Yes, I have wondered if he also has dyspraxia. He's always falling over and is generally quite poor at anything physical.

Thanks MB. I'll look that one up too.

Ed psych, that's the term I was looking for earlier MB - thanks. Off to Amazon...