possible dyspraxic son and English

[sweetteamum]

how can I encourage my ds, who finds anything to do with English so difficult, to read (and anything else similar) at home, without forcing him to read baby books.

he is not dyslexic, and this has left us very surprised, as he struggles and argues about doing these types of work .

I'm not trying to get him to love doing them . he just needs to accept that he still has to try at the subjects he finds so hard. he's very strong willed and doesn't see others points of view at all.

has he got an OT?

not yet, he's been left to it . I've only found these details out as I got him assessed privately.

would that make a big difference? the assessor told me he's a very slow writer and as he's left handed then he's also unable to see what he's writingwriting .

How old is he ? Has his vision been checked, working memory and processing ? Dyspraxia doesn't necessarily equate with lack of reading skills on its own. Is he well grounded in phonics etc. Many kids under 7/8 are not that keen on reading but with time , choice of media (online or kindle may appeal more than a page), and topic (non fiction, graphic novels) it may yet come.

Leave notebooks and pens lying around. He might be tempted to have a go when there is no pressure.
Get books that are related to tv programmes and films that he likes. Don't force it though.
How old is he?

Don't make an issue out of him being left handed. I'm left handed, as is my son, who is six. I'm a secondary English teacher and it saddens me when children blame problems on being left handed.

I would ask your GP for a paediatric OT referral ASAP. They will put together a program to help with the dyspraxia. A yoropen /pencil will help him to see what he is writing as the point is set forward so the hand isn't obscuring things.

LIZS He is almost 10. He's ok with Maths (I say ok, but as this is his thing) as he enjoys and 'gets' it. His eyesight is ok but not had a specific vision test (I have only ever heard of the detailed checks on here).

I have done that recently, BodyOfEeyore but he is just completely un-interested and would happily not do it - I feel there is some reason why we only have luck with maths, but can't quite put my finger on it.

I only really mentioned the left-handedness as the psychologist who recently assessed him did that when giving feedback - I wasn't sure it was related or not tbh but maybe i'm pulling at straws. DS hates being left handed, with a passion and hates being 'different' to other children in his class.

I will arrange the Paed. OT mrz as soon as I can and while I wait, i'll google those other things you mention - hopefully that will help him.

If his fine motor skills are poor then he will find handwriting difficult and slow and knackering - so much effort has to go into the formation of every shape, as the hand responds that much more slowly to the messages from the brain. So that will affect his enjoyment of writing, and he will do what he can to avoid it.

When my Dyspraxic DS2 was 9 or 10 he was given touch typing lessons and then a laptop, and it made an enormous difference. It was organised via a clued-up teacher and the OT team - worth investigating maybe.

Re the reading - what's his passion? What is he interested in? Those are the books you need to find for him. And don't panic - there will be some reading going on; if you think about something like those Match Attack or Top Trump cards - boys who wouldn't pick up a book are actually reading and dissecting and absorbing quite detailed information from those cards, and sounding out quite difficult names. There are lots of different ways in which reading takes place.

Thanks hassled

I've got just the thing he's interested in and as you've said, he's been reading and learning all along - while ive been getting stressed about him not doing the school stuff - which he needs to do in time.

He's just so clumsy, his hands are shaky when empty and he holds the pen so tight, just to keep a grip of it I think. His fine motor skills are hit and miss and it would explain his hate of english.