Learning to write

[hyacinthwannabe]

My son is 6 and has ASD. He cannot write and shows complete aversion to using any form of pen or pencil etc. Can you recommend any resources I can use to help him learn to write please.

Any iPad game that helps with fine motor skills ☺

Maybe try him with writing with his fingers. Use wet smooth sand as your 'paper' or wet fingers on a dry chalk board or fingers dipped in paint on paper. Encourage him to use index finger. Shapes, patterns and pictures should come before letters. If he takes to it, he can progress to chalk and stubby crayons.

Hello, I would second trying apps. There are plenty of free ones to try.
Is your DS able to recognise letters or read at all?
Could it be that the act of holding a pen/pencil is uncomfortable for him and if so, have you had any OT input at all? It may be that using pencil grips could help (there are many different sorts so it's a case of trial and error finding the right one). I know that writing slopes, special cushions etc can also have an effect.
I wouldn't necessarily focus on actual letters at the moment. You can get those wipe clean books that work on pre-writing skills, so just copying wavy/straight lines etc and you can also download lots of free pre-writing printables to trace over.
If he likes particular textures you can try writing letters in a tray of shaving foam/sand/paint/lentils...
If you're wanting to encourage learning to spell and read maybe try giving him physical letters so that he can spell out simple words.

We did loads of sensory play- I'm sure you do that already : )

I bought a scheme called 'write from the start' which is great. It's not a writing scheme, it's pre writing skills and is quite good fun. It's pricy but I think it's good.

Do you have a pair of linked scissors for him to do cutting skills with? Sorry can't remember name but my ds can't manage ordinary scissors but can do a reasonable job with these.

We use chalk,whiteboards etc. My ds is writing now and it's a fairly recent development,hes7.

Have you seen an ot? We paid for ot sessions and she really helped with finding suitable equipment and early writing skills.

Oh and my lovely boy was NEVER going to write again,ever. School had completely put him off but with a break from the pressure and a bit of growing up, he was happy to try again.
Small amounts and on his own terms. Obvs!