DS will use a laptop for A level exam due to poor handwriting. Can he also do this at Uni?

[Treylime]

DS in y13 took GCSEs and will take A levels on a laptop at school. He has no SEN just poor handwriting. His school and 6th form assessed his writing and let him use a laptop.
He has 5 offers for Uni (for Geography) and I'm not sure whether he will be able to do the same for his Uni assessments/exams.
Who should he contact to ask about this? The Geography departments?

As he has no special needs maybe he spends the next few months working on improving his handwriting.

If there are no diagnosed additional needs then his university might say no.

Are you sure it's just crap handwriting and not dyspraxia?

I have no advice about uni as mine are only primary, but how poor is his handwriting? Did he receive any support from occupational therapy?

Asking as my son has always struggled with his handwriting, recently had an OC assessment and he has SPD ( sensory processing disorder ) and dyspraxia. Both can make handwriting difficult ( my DS also uses a laptop at school and a scribe for tests ) .... he will get a lot of reasonable adjustments throughout his future school years now too

My dd did history and all her exams were done on a laptop anyway.

If his handwriting is that bad, are you sure he doesn't have dyspraxia?

Mine did but he had dysgraphia diagnosed by an OT so had the appropriate paperwork. I would suggest finding an OT with an interest in dysgraphia as many are not particularly aware of it.

It won't be as simple as that

This doesn’t answer your question as such, but it may be worthwhile to see an Occupational Therapist if your DS hasn’t already done this - having a DASH assessment +/- Movement ABC test would be good evidence for the universities.

The dept might have an arrangement where they are flexible on students handwriting / typing anyway.

But I would contact Disability Services, provide them with the evidence / reports / school exam arrangements/ samples of handwriting. The more you provide them to show that this was a formal arrangement at school and reflects his usual way of working the more likely he is to have it approved.

After researching I initially thought my DS has dygraphia, I was very surprised when the OC said SPD and dyspraxia

Honestly I would contact the disability services at the uni first because he might not need anything on top of what the school has already collected, and you probably don't want to waste money on other reports if they're not needed.

Ask his current school for a copy of his exam access arrangements so that you can pass the paperwork on to his new University. The SENCO should have this.

He will need to contact the university disability services. Dd who has no formal diagnosis but is most likely dyslexic, had extra time in her exams at college after an assessment and has arranged to have the same at university.

I knew mine wasn't dyspraxic as he played hurling at a pretty high level. It's a sport that involves catching a small, really fast ball with your hand, whacking a flying ball with a stick, throwing the ball up and whacking it, all while running at speed.

He does also have SDD (a subset of SPD) though so it wasn't just the dysgraphia.

I would add to the existing posts: get him to contact disability services immediately he starts university and formally register this as something he would like support with. Don't leave it till exams are looming. Different places may have different approaches so it's best to start the process ASAP.

It's not just the report. Getting the assessment means you can fine tune the adjustments needed. The OT is also very helpful in suggesting workarounds and adjustments to how you work that can make life much easier.

We have that issue - not at Uni yet, but I spoke to the disability or accessibility services teams at each of the unis we visited, and by and large they said that if the school confirmed exam arrangements, that would be enough. One was really pushing to try and get dysgraphia assessment, but they are non existent around her except for a very expensive private option. And there are other factors at play here which make me doubt that a diagnosis would be made.

I have no special needs and have handwritten for decades, still haven't mastered how to do it nearly, what am I doing wrong?

There won't be a one size fits all answer, OP, you need to speak to individual departments

What help did your child receive for dysgraphia?

DS scored well on his aiming and catching ( 37th percentile, so no movement difficulties ) but scored 1st percentile on manual dexterity and 5th on his balance. I'm wondering if he does actually have dysgraphia now you've said your son could catch well

DD’s assessments were all timed as in within 24 hours and on a laptop. Traditional exams are not always the case

I thought mine son whose now 9 handwriting was bad and school said to have him tested for glasses and dyspraxia and he had both!!.

His writing has improved as he has gotten older but still isn't where a 9 year old should be. The school did cursive but he can't do it so he is still doing single letters.

I will say you know your son best. Maybe speak to the university HR department or the geography head a chosen university to see what they would say.

DD has extra time in school exams (form 8 completed). Uni didn’t recognise it even though it was JCQ……uni don’t follow school arrangements

To be honest, I can't remember what they were. He was in his last year at school 10 years ago when he was diagnosed and then headed off to uni so really it was himself that dealt with implementing them. I do he found some of them helpful though.

He's currently off travelling but I'll see does he remember when he gets back. He may still be using some of the hacks.

Poor handwriting to the degree that he has been assessed and then approved for access arrangements at A level mean he does have an SEN though That's literally an SEN right there.

I'd get an OT assessment (you may well need to pay for this unless you want to be waiting til he is 30 odd).

Pretty sure most work is done on laptops anyway, obviously depending on the course. My dd has just completed an English degree using a laptop but she didn’t have any exams (just coursework). My daughter’s writing is awful, luckily most things now seem to be done on a computer/laptop so I don’t see it as being a huge issue.