Anyone else's child has an IEP because their child is cr@p at using sissors

[Reallytired]

My son has an IEP because he cannot cut along a straight line. He is six years old and in year 2.

I realise that this is a skill which should have been mastered in reception, but why is it so important to learn to use sissors? Is it a major life skill that a six year old needs?

My son is neurologically typical and I am sure that he will be able to use sissors by the time he is 18. Frankly I would rather the school spent the time helping with hand writing.

But the skills needed to successfully manipulate scissors are needed to write.

Hi Reallytired. It may be that the school have picked up that he has some problems with fine motor skills. If he has problems with handwriting, the two could be interlinked.

Are you sure (sorry) that's all it is? Is it possible that the scissors thing is representative of a fine motor skill issue which the school is addressing?

ds couldn't use a pair of scissors for aeons, and even now (age 10) he holds them in a really awkward way. He was also given special pencils at school with rubber grips because he had trouble holding the pencil.

I think it was because he was pfb and I never let him touch any scissors or pens at home (aaaghh, he might cut his eye out/stab himself with pencil/swallow felt pen fluid, blah de blah). Dd has had no such problems and had drawn all over the walls at 18 months and cut holes in the curtains.

Ds is not very dexterous at anything (crap at sport) but - his lack of prowess with scissors has not ruined his school career as his handwriting is excellent and he is top of his year.

So your son may not be cut out (boom boom!) to be a tailor, but otherwise I can confirm that lack of scissor skill is no big deal.

Is he left handed .? i only ask because my daughter is and she can't cut properly with normal scissors. When she uses ones that are designed for left handers she is much better.

I doubt he has an IEP just because he cant use scissors, I would think its because of his poor motor skills generally and that scissor control is one of the things they want him to work on.

ds was the same, he had probs with fine motor skills and couldn't cut with scissors..his handwriting was difficult too, but with the extra help he has mastered the scissors and writes very well..it's not a bad thing Reallytired

I'm sure it isn't just the scissors - it will be about fine motor skills generally. And if they have concerns, an IEP should be used because at the very least it provides a paper trail to prove that the school tried X Y and Z tactics and aids, so if at a later point he needs to be referred to anyone beyond school there will be a record of how things have gone to date.

I agree that it sounds like he's getting help with fine motor skills in general, with the scissors being mentioned as a measurable target of progress. The help with this should hopefully in turn improve his ability to write.