Developmental Problem or Just Poor Writing

[LegoUniverse]

I've just received a letter from school telling me DS (nearly 7) is going to be attending physiotherapy sessions for poor motor skills. DS is bright (listed as G&T), very active (swimming lessons, judo, football) and very literate (adult reading skills). His handwriting is crap (but so is his dad's, and his big brother's -- who is a medical student). Does he REALLY have a developmental problem, or can't he just have rubbish writing? Could it also be due to the fact that the school has never taught him to form his letters correctly?? (I've had to help him practice that, and he is essentially pretty idle and can't really see the point of good writing when he can use a computer and an iPhone pretty effectively).

There is normally a reason why someone has poor handwriting but without actually observing the child it isn't possible to say whether it is down to poor teaching or to a physical difficulty. I would assume the school has looked at more than just his written work to decide he needs physio

My ds 6 also has crap writing but also has problems with scissors. [He is left handed though teachers seem unconcerned]. He too is good at reading and the content of his writing fine.
No advice really but I do find looking at other kids writing discouraging.

My ds also will only write if he has to! [Lack of practice won't help I guess].

I don't think anyone has to HAVE rubbish handwriting

DS2 currently being assessed for dyspraxia because, to a large extent, of poor hand-writing. He simply *can't' seem to hold a pencil properly - it feels wrong to him so he moves it to a position that feels better but produces appalling writing.

But there are other issues with DS that may or may not be present in your son.

My dh and dd (yr 2) have poor handwriting, dh keen for her to get support, as he feels it is a disadvantage, he has a doctorate and 4 other degrees, but now he avoids any course with an exam as he always does comparably worse because people can't be bothered to decipher it. Imagine if there is a simple intervention which will make it easier for him to write, wouldn't that be a good thing?

You are so lucky that your child is getting phsio, for free, and without you having to beg!

None of the things you have listed that he is good at require good fine motor skills, so it is totally possible he has fine motor skills problem.

It is more likely that he had difficulties learning how to write, than that he wasn't taught.

I've spent far too long blaming school for not teaching my DC XYZ, and not realising that they had taught them, and taught them, and taught them - but my DC had a problem that was stopping them from learning XYZ.

Be very grateful your school is so good.

He sounds like DS1 (now 10). He worked through a programme at school to help with improving his fine motor skills. He knew how to form the letters for cursive properly (had been taught them) but found it difficult to do and so would only do the minimum needed for writing. We were worried that he'd struggle to keep up with his classmates at secondary school and possibly underachieve and so were keen for him to do it. It seems to have helped - along with the ergonomic pen. The school is offering it - what harm will it do?

Can he write well if he actually wants to, but can't be bothered (like my ds) or is he unable to write well?

hello Lego,

I was not a tidy writer at school and my husband's pencil grip is similar to my daughter's i.e. unorthodox, so the fact that she has some difficulty possibly is a bit genetic.

However, she has been with the OT off and on over the last year and has had physio since she was a toddler.

She has gross and fine motor problems, but the OT sees an improvement with her fine motor skills (we do exercises etc).

Her reading is good and the content of what she writes is nearly always correct for her age (5.5) but if no-one can read it...?

When I see some of the other children's lovely tidy work on display my heart does sink a bit, but I do see DD improving too. I did manage to make it through university via lots and lots of written exams, so I suppose my writing must have improved, but then DD does have more physical issues than I did and if its more than just untidiness this may not improve on its own.

We are taking the therapy as apart from anything else, might there be cuts in this area in another year or two?

If it helps, DD loves going to physio/OT, though I know she is younger than your son.

PS - scissors were a bit of a horror story too, but she has really improved. Not super neat but much better.

100% agree with IndigoBell. I'd be biting the hand off of a school that offered this.

me too, ragged, me too

the problem with a bad pencil grip is that it is literally bad for you: it puts strain on your body and impedes concentration and can damage your joints

LegoUniverse. Clearly your ds has a problem. If the school is willing to expend valuable resources on him, then they are having problems deciphering his handwriting and they strongly believe that is holding him back. That doesn't mean he has to have a serious developmental problem, just a serious illegible handwriting problem...

Thing is, he's obviously bright so the motor skills thing is probably holding him back a lot. I suspect that OP's DS needs some extra help as much if not more than the low-ability pupils (with motor skills) to achieve his true potential.

I have a bright DS with good motor skills but he can't write a coherent sentence in regular English (just not very articulate chap); wish they had a support course for that.

Does he have any difficulties in any other areas of his fine motor skills? eg does he enjoy lego, painting, typing, Hama beads or similar slightly fiddly things, can he cut out with scissors neatly, use a knife and fork proficiently etc? Or does he avoid doing fiddly things with his hands? If he is happy to do all sorts of other things with his hands, then it is just his handwriting that's an issue. If he avoids doing much in the way of fine motor activities, then it could either be because he finds working out how to do them difficult, lacks the patience and concentration to enjoy doing them at this age, or because he doesn't have sufficient hand strength and control to do them, yet (through lack of practice), or a bit of all three. It doesn't sound as though he has any big issues with his gross motor skills, which is good as poor gross motor skills often impact on fine motor skills, particularly if they result from low muscle tone/weakness, but that doesn't mean he should automatically find fine motor skills easy, particularly if he rarely indulges in them... nor does it mean he has to have a developmental disorder.

Thanks, everyone, for your positive and helpful messages. I hadn't really thought about the handwriting holding him back. I suppose I wish they would spend 15 mins per day, in a group of 4 with a teacher, three times a week, working on his maths (which is very good, but which the school doesn't seem to want to develop at all -- he got an award for knowing how to do 24 hour clock a few weeks ago, and he's been doing that since he was 3!!!) But it's good that they're doing something with him, even though it wouldn't be my priority. And thanks, Rabbitstew, for the comments on broader issues: he does do Lego a lot, but struggles with Hama beads, cutting, is very poor at using cutlery. He likes art and painting, but it is pretty basic and very slap-dash. But I thought this was more to do with attitude (rushes to finish things, like Daddy and Big Brother) rather than skill or physical capability. So I will think again.

I will look at getting an ergonomic pen, so thanks Bluesushicat, for that suggestion.