7 year old son has major problems with writing

[user1471471849]

Hi there,
My son (aged 7) hates writing in school and gets extremely frustrated and exhausted by it. He had major problems in school last year, he couldn't attend for the full day for most of the year, and I think it was mostly to do with how tiring and demanding he was finding the writing. He struggled to keep up and then got stressed coz he felt he'd never catch up and it all seemed overwhelming for him.

I think he has some either physical or cognitive difficulty with writing, even though he can read and spell out loud no problem. Maths is fine too.
He just had a bit of a meltdown thinking of starting back at school in a week and was saying he doesn't want to go back if it's like last year. When I mentioned maybe seeing if he could use a tablet for writing he was instantly relieved at the thoughts of it.
Does anyone have any idea what might work? I'd like to go to the teacher with some ideas (I'm thinking a tablet). We're based in Ireland, happy to buy something ourselves because if this doesn't work I can't see him lasting another year in school. We'd have to home school him.
It'd be great to hear if anyone had a similar experience and what worked for them.

Thanks!

Just to add, the Ed Psych said it’s really crucial to build his confidence. So it’s really important the school sets work at an appropriate level and have appropriate expectations around his writing and reading. For example. If kids are expected to write for 15 minutes he may be able to only write for 5 (this is also linked to the ADHD). Expecting him to do the same as his peers will only demoralise him and make him want to engage less. Where if he is set work within his abilities he will feel it achievable and build his confidence.

Just because he struggles to write it doesn’t mean he’s not understanding or taking in the content. she also said we need to demonstrate any tools he needs to help him (like screen readers etc) are his normal way of working by year 9 as (in Wales at least) that is when they assess what extra provision is needed for exams.

She was using a chromebook at her old school as they had them left over from covid. She now uses an iPad with a keyboard. Everyone at her school has an iPad, so she's only a little bit different. At home she uses my laptop, I just have to turn off autocorrect.

She will be allowed to use one in exams. She has an ed psych report that recommends she use a computer. But I think the rules say that if you usually use a computer for school work, you can use one in exams.

She still handwrites maths because she will need to at secondary school. I didn't think her 3s would ever be the right way round, but they fixed themselves in year 4 and she was bribed by her maths teacher into writing in the squares in year 5.

I'm beginning to realise that she might not do things when her peers do, but instead when she is ready. Sometimes that means I need to ask her teachers to work on something that her peers mastered years ago. She still does handwrite short answers and I am hoping she will learn to put spaces between words this year.

The Write from the start workbooks are good for developing the motor skills needed for handwriting which lots of boys struggle with - it builds up gradually from colouring to drawing zig zags and loops around the edge of different shapes.

my son hax this due to hypermobility in hands. Doing A levels now and is allowed to type answers (cant finish a paper in time if writes) and 5 min supervised breaks where he shakes his hands out.

Get him assessed by Learning Support as soon as he starts secondary. Get GP to refer for hypermobility, is my advice.

DS has dyspraxia and used a laptop at secondary school (took his own) and used computers for exams.
ADHD/ASD/dyslexia/dyspraxia are all ND conditions and it's not unusual to have more than one. DS has ASD and dyspraxia.

My DC2 is dyspraxic and ADHD - the school puts in lots of accommodations for him but his handwriting is still really poor and he isn't getting his talent out because he physically can't do it and it's exhausting. I'm going to speak to the school when we go back to see if he can use a computer for creative writing as he's so talented and it's holding him back.

Something they did in reception for kids with poor handwriting is core work through kids yoga - apparently if you strengthen the core it helps and it did improve his writing and swimming.

My DS was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD and dysgraphia at age 7. His school taught him how to touch type and it made such a difference in his output. He had some OT at the time too. Now he is a teenager he types everything. His English teacher said when he types rather than writes it is like a different person. You can get some good touch typing programmes online. The one his primary school used was the free BBC one. It was a bit more fun than the one we paid a subscription for (I think that was called touch, type, read and spell). Being able to type and express himself easier is good for confidence.

Thanks for all your replies everyone. Some great advice there. Interesting about a strong core being important for handwriting. I've heard swimming is good for connecting the left and right brain hemisphere too. It really sounds a lot like ADHD and dyspraxia to me so hopefully we'll get some answers from the psychologist. He also finds it hard to regulate his emotions or see how his actions/words might affect other people even though he is very kind and moral. He's my third child, DC 1 and 2 were a walk in the park in comparison!
I don't think he has hypermobilty ( just from a quick test I did online).