Year 5, poor handwriting and spelling

[sunnyrosegarden]

Another year, another report... DS is a "very able writer", but his handwriting and spelling are below expected levels for his age. School are cagey with levels, but he was a 4a at the end of Year 4, and I think he was around a 5c at Easter.

Every year, school assure him that the spelling/handwriting will come, but it is clear that they are not, and this is now starting to hold him back. He cannot write clearly at speed, and this affects his planning and note taking, according to his report.

I am wondering whether there is more to this - no experience of dyslexia, but is it possible that it could be a link?

He is very advanced in maths, but his weakest area is anything visual (reflecting shapes, etc), and he has to be very very careful in tests to make sure he hasn't transposed numbers - eg. written 56 instead of 65.

He can get 100% every week on a spellings test, but cannot spell in written work. If he copies down something, he will often copy it wrong.

I don't want to stress him about this, but am wondering whether it is worth a word with school, or if this genuinely will just come in time?

I'd say there could be. My son is dyslexic and struggles with similar things. Lots of schools don't pursue dyslexia if kids are doing well, which your son clearly is. We had to get ours privately assessed as the school were taking ages to sort it. Definitely worth it for us as just him knowing why he was struggling with writing/ spelling has given him so much confidence.

Thanks, Smee. Did your school make any suggestions or put in any help after you had the assessment?

We had a bit of a battle to be honest and he doesn't get a lot of extra help simply because he's doing so well. I'd bet you'd find similar as your son's SATs levels are strong. I do think it's worth knowing though, as it's really boosted my son's self esteem. He works really hard to compensate, but the fact he knows why he has to work harder than a lot of his friends and that it's not just because he's not so bright or clever is such a plus imo.

That's what I was wondering. I picked it up in maths, because he is sitting secondary entrance exams in september, and has done extra papers at home. We have worked out a strategy which works (lots of double checking).

I think the spelling has just been pushed to one side, but it is now becoming a real issue. I just need to make him realise that he is not "bad" at spelling, he just has to work harder/ try different techniques.

I have now had a quick word with school, and mentioned my concerns. Lots of nodding, and note taking, so we will see.

Can I ask what your dc was like? Was it similar? He's also a nightmare with losing things, still struggles with shoe laces, puts clothes on inside out or back to front etc. He is, however, very good at ball sports, running etc, so co ordination is fine. And he's a very hard worker and rule follower, so it's not laziness.

Thanks again.

I could have written exactly the same post - DS (9) sees smth on board but copies it down wrong; can spell the same word 4 different ways in a paragraph. Handwriting spidery. Maths good but trying to get him to record things systematically or even on a line or box is a constant battle. Not sure how the teacher can even mark his work.

Just went out with his shorts on back to front !

I have always struggled with wondering if it is 'can't be botheredness' as when I point to a misspelled word and ask him to spell it, 9 times out of 10 he can. But I have also wondered if there is smth else as the written work doesn't seem to match the ability/knowledge and what to do about it, given that school seem certain he is doing well and above average.

How much of a 'spectrum' is dyslexia I wonder?

Holidays - exactly. I am sure it's just the way his brain is wired, as he's always been the same.

He wrote a note to a friend this evening; loads of spelling mistakes. Like you say, spelling the same word wrong several ways in the same paragraph.

He's such a strong writer in other ways, that I don't want to make him too self conscious, but his school report actually quite upset him.

Am wondering this about my DD2 who is finishing year 3. She is a very good reader now after really struggling at the start - couldn't do phonics at all - and her comprehension is excellent, but her handwriting and spelling are atrocious. She is also very inconsistent in her spelling and doesn't seem to make the connection between learning words for tests and using the same spelling when writing. She has made massively heavy weather of learning times tables etc too ... Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Am feeling a bit sensitive about it at the moment as DS (4) is already picking up words and spellings with the same facility DD1 did in nursery and reception.

Schnitzel, sunny, based on my recent experience I would suggest either pressing for the school to do a dyslexia assessment or getting one done privately. My DD has just finished year 3 and despite my questioning since reception whether she's dyslexic we are only just starting to get a response from the school. Still in the process of working out what's right for her needs but I wish I'd been less accepting of people's reassurances that she just needed time and I should calm down and stop being a deluded pushy parent

sunny, yes my DS sounds v.similar. He's totally chaotic, can just about tie his shoe laces but finds it tough. He can't remember the months of the year/ days of the week/ times tables unless we go over and over and over. He didn't read until he was 7, then read fluently instantly. (I have no idea how he managed it. ) He gets left/ right v.confused, writes numbers/ letters back to front. Also he can't lay out things in any sort of organised way, so like your son he's hitting a wall with maths as he makes lots of mistakes. He was no good at colouring in, jigsaws, so hand/ eye co-ordination when he was little. Like your son though he's well behaved and hard working. None of which of course helps as if he was hurling chairs round in frustration they'd be inclined to help him a bit more..

I hope the school give you some better answers soon. If you can afford it though, I'd go for a private assessment. Annoying that you have to but schools work so slowly, especially when your child's ticking their SAT's boxes..!

Just a thought, but apart from being dyslexic, my son also has an eye condition - it's often called Meares Irlen, but basically he can't see black text on white paper clearly. It moves/ blurs. He wears coloured lenses now which help him a lot.

So just in case he's similar, ask your son what happens when he looks at a page of text. Ask if the words/ letters stay still or whether they blur/ move. My son has 20/20 vision, so a normal eye test didn't pick it up. It has made no end of difference to him to wear his glasses, so it's definitely worth checking just in case!

Thanks, I will ask him.

School did say that they will speak to him (probably in the new term) and ask what he actually sees when he reads.

I think we will concentrate on the entrance exam stuff over the holiday, and I will keep an eye and try and work out what he is seeing. The Head did ask which bits of the verbal reasoning he was finding hardest, and she actually guessed correctly (the questions where he has to find words within words which are not phonetically the same - hard to explain, but the questions where he has to read a word from scratch phonetically). I think she is thinking along the same lines as me, which is reassuring at least.

How on earth do I find someone to do a private assessment, if necessary?

Just call Dyslexia Action - they can arrange the whole thing for you.