Has anyone's child had handwriting tutoring - did it help?

[Nerdle]

DS is year 6. Terrible handwriting. Possibly partly because covid was years 2/3 which I think may be key time for this, possibly because he thinks writing is stupid so has never made the effort. It is bothering him now. He has good hand eye coordination (can build lego sets easily for example). No way would he do it alone or with us - it's like pulling teeth getting him to do any homework for example - but he has consented to a tutor if such a thing exists for handwriting and he likes them.

Any advice, recommendations (north/east London), etc. Thanks

ps school say it's legible, even though I think it barely is, so they are not worried. But compared to his siblings I can see there is a problem

I did for my then y2 child (he was reception /yr 1 In covid) It was more of a fine motor skills session. Im not sure it really helped to be honest. It was expensive too- I think it was £40 for 50 mins (she was an ex occupational therapist).
He's y4 now. Writing is mostly legible if he's warned that I can't read it. But messy and sloppily done with a can't be bothered attitude.
At some point I'll get the handwriting exercise books (Amazon has plenty) out and do 10 mins every day for a term.
Handwriting is difficult to change by year 6 - they have their own 'style' by then.
Honestly just get the handwriting books.

Yes, we did with my DS. His handwriting is absolutely shocking.

I think there are 2 main reasons - 1 is that he is ambidextrous and we think he probably should have learned to write with his left hand, but always picked up a pencil/crayon in his right. He would be seen as right-handed but does absolutely everything else with his left hand (would hold a tennis racket/10-pin bowling ball/hockey stick in his left hand, uses scissors in his left hand and would just naturally go left over right if he was picking up a heavy bag). He naturally picked up a pencil in his right hand as a toddler though and we never questioned it until he was much older but I do wonder if it’s not his naturally dominant hand.

The other reason I think is that he was taught 3 different ways to write by the time he was in his first year of primary - ball and stick at home (he was an early reader/writer), lead-outs (flicks at the end of letters) in his nursery school, and then lead-ins and lead-outs (flicks at the start and end of each letter) in P1. I think it just messed with his brain and I know that a lot of early years teachers (inc the nursery staff at the school he was at for P1) are very opposed to lead-ins and lead-outs at an early stage as it’s too many movements for that age of development in terms of fine motor skills.

His handwriting got progressively worse and then when we lived overseas we took him to a handwriting specialist who said that the best thing for him was to develop a style and stick with it - practicing every single day until his brain developed new neuro pathways and it became natural to him. The school he was at overseas taught cursive (proper old style cursive - not just joined up) and that seemed to click for him. His writing was never beautiful, and it was always very small, but it was certainly legible.

We then moved back to the UK and he was bullied in class for the way he wrote (he was in a school that did not care one bit about handwriting and was generally pretty low achieving), and he also got frustrated because it was slower to write than he wanted (his brain moves far quicker than his hand) and it slipped back into old habits. We encouraged it at home but it was too late by then.

He did 4 essay-based A-level subjects and it was a constant worry about examiners not being able to decipher his writing. Somehow he got away with it and he’s now at uni where everything is typed. I suspect his handwriting will get worse and worse now because he writes so little.

If you can get to a handwriting specialist - do it now! It’s not too late but it soon will be, and be warned that it takes a lot of dedication - daily practice for many, many months

Carol Vorderman. There are 3 books in her handwriting series. Worked really well for my then Year 3 DD.

Yes, we did it - £40/hr, worth its weight in gold. His handwriting will never be neat but it’s now readable and it’s given him confidence in English. He worries less about the handwriting now and focuses more on the content. He’s gone from on target/just below target, to a very strong greater depth. The tutor did a lot of fine motor skills first and then practiced letters during each session.

Yes. Look up Magic Link. Was transformative.

How did you find someone @Spreadsheetsrock?

Will check our Magic Link @sittinginacafe

We had a private OT who worked on handwriting.
It was actually the start of discovering DS had ADHD.

Word of mouth through a friend unfortunately as she had a DS who was in a similar position.

For mine awful handwriting (and generally poor fine motor skills) turned out to go along with dyslexia when we finally got him tested. So in high school he uses a laptop for any writing heavy subjects or exams (though dropped as many of these as early as he could- English unfortunately he needs to continue with.)

Sounds like you are the one with the handwriting problem.

Your son doesn't think he has a handwriting problem
The school say it's fine and it's legible.

But you don't like it.
You want it 'better'.

Your constant harping on to him about it will just make him feel under confident about his ability to do his homework and to worry about the teachers are thinking of him.

My son had terrible handwriting.
He was diagnosed with ADHD in his late teens.
Have you considered this?

Does he have any double jointedness?
Is he sensitive to tastes and smells?
Does he never have the right books in the right place at the right time.
Does he lose personal belongings.
Does he struggle to manage a routine (eg. he'd never have the swimming stuff ready or even think 'today is swimming lessons, I better gather my stuff)

I am a Key Stage 2 Tutor and I've worked with quite a few students on handwriting to date. Endless drills are not the answer (at least not at first!), identifying the problems in approach and technique are critical to making improvements.

I'm someone who had major issues with handwriting (up until my twenties when I addressed the problem properly), I was always being told my best handwriting was illegible - "Please be neater!" was always written in red ink all over my work.
I understand how hopeless it can a person feel.

The positive news is you can help - a bit of research and reading and you'll see that improvements can be made quite quickly - and yes, you can find tutors who do this. You can probably find one locally or even online.

My 12 year old had handwriting intervention when he was in year 7 at school and it really helped him. My 10 year old has been getting extra help with handwriting for years but he still struggles. He doesn't do punctuation and he only occasionally manages to remember to leave spaces between words. His letters are mostly unrecognizable squiggles. It's lovely when he uses the computer to type things because I am able to read it then.

My 10 year old is exactly like this too! He has just been diagnosed with dysgraphia. He is now allowed to type his work at school which is making a huge difference.

I got handwriting with a tutor for my Foster Son. The tutor went right back to basics with him. Letter formation, which letters joined and which did not. She did 20 mins handwriting and 20 mins reading each session so a 40 minute session twice a week. It was a few years ago now but she charged £30 for 40 minutes. It helped him a lot. He built his confidence and later she moved on to 1 hour of English with him.

You could get him to try out different handwriting pens. The right pen can make a huge difference. (Need sth that glides over page, so might need to buy a slightly more expensive pen)

Get him to try doing handwriting books to classical music - trying to move his wrist in a more relaxed fluid movement. Try out different composers. (Chopin piano vg!)

But most importantly get him to learn to touch type. Lots of good programs. Ten minutes a day now at his age will reap rewards. It will help him long term far more than having much neater handwriting!

What is the link between handwriting & adhd?

I had absolutely terrible handwriting. My equivalent to A level thesis ( I was raised abroad) was assessed as the best in school and would have gone to national competition representing our school if it wasn't for a dreadful handwriting. At some point in life I started writing in a way that letters are separated, without joining them in most cases. And that made my handwriting far more legible and overall acceptable.
My recommendation is to avoid joining letters if somebody has an awful writing

We never fixed my sons - just couldn't do cursive, nearly put him off writing for life. Never got his pen licence. Once we dropped the cursive pressure - his non- cursive writing improved and also speed. Now doing 13 GCSE's including triple science and further Maths - top sets all round. Our secondary school isn't interested in what handwriting style they use - just if it's understandable.

We also used these pens, which you can rub out errors - improved flow and speed. Pilot Frixion Erasable Rollerball Pen Set (Pack of 5) - Blue : Amazon.co.uk: Stationery & Office Supplies

Typing is an option but I would try non-cursive writing first.

possibly because he thinks writing is stupid so has never made the effort ... it's like pulling teeth getting him to do any homework

As a separate issue he will be handwriting for everything including all his exams until he is 18 years old. You need to talk to him about secondary, writing in class, writing for homework and how important homework is going forward. Ds has shitty handwriting, always has had, he has tried different styles but nothing changes. His brain works too fast for his hand and it shows.

He is now in year 13 and will be relieved never to have to handwrite again. However, I have seen him lose marks, including in his year 6 SATs because the teacher read a 4 as a 9, I could tell it was a 4 but the teacher who had him for almost a year couldn't tell. For GCSE papers I have no idea if an examiner misread anything he wrote. So come at it from that angle too that you don't want him to lose marks for mis-spelling words he has spelled correctly or losing marks for maths.

There is some typing allowed for homework in secondary and would be school dependent but it doesn't help in class. If I take individual words and take a photo of them Ds cannot read what he wrote, it is only when he can see it in context he knows what it is. His writing is inconsistent, not always on the line and he is 17. I am glad univerisities allow notetaking on laptops. It is frustrating as hell. Every teacher commented on it too.

sites.nd.edu/biomechanics-in-the-wild/2021/04/07/attention-deficit-handwriting-details-the-effects-of-adhd-on-handwriting/

@StBrides

Partly a focus issue, partly a fine motor skills issue and also more significant writing issues are a really common comorbidity.

My DD had a handwriting programme after an occupational therapy assessment. She had been diagnosed with ASD/ADHD and got to age 10 without writing more than 3-4 sentences of illegible scrawl.

The OT diagnosed problems with her grip, pressing too hard and hypermobility in her hands (she was later diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome) - all of which made writing exhausting and painful. Once she had completed the programme you couldn't stop her writing.