extra help with writing.

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AIBU to expect the school to give my DS some extra help??

He is a good reader and reaching expectations dispite being the youngest. However he really finds writing difficult and is not reaching the level expected. I have frequently asked for him to have extra help but just been told he is a boy and the youngest give him time. It is now 5 months on and he is still stuggling. I accept that all children have an area of weakness but surely writing is important and some extra help would be benficial.

I am not asking for him to be made an excellent writer just given the chance to catch up if he can.

I am surprised they are not doing anything as the dyslexia early screening test picked up he may hve mild dyslexia and I have it too.

AIBU to ask for extra help and now push harder as he still is not receiving it.

Ask the teacher what the criteria would be for a child to qualify for extra help in writing.

BTW do you mean handwriting, or the whole process of writing, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, stringing a sentence together etc?

he is unable to use phonic knowledge to write words altho he does seem to be able to spell them when asked. It's the whole pencil in the hand causing difficulty. I tried asking back in December what the criteria was when he was still working towards NC level. Was just told to give it time.

He came home today with a sticker for good work he had done with SNA. I was estatic thought thought he was finally getting help. But no one class was on a school trip for he and 5 others got a 'special treat' to work with SNA. He said that it's usually only another 5 who go.

I do wonder whether there are so many of the children who struggle so the ones who find it hardest get help but surely all children are entitled and if thats half the class then so be it? (which in itself could be worrying).

In the work he had written 2 sentences for 4 printed pictures which could be deciphered and was phonetically correct BUT for example giraffe was 'jraf'. He had spelt words such as 'can' and 'made' correctly which is a great improvement. The fact he had written 2 sentences is also a great improvement.

I was really proud of what he had done but still feel worried that for a child who can speak clearly and consisly with a great deal of expression and intricate explanation he will suffer because he can't record his thoughts.

By the way he is a level 1C now and at current rate of progression is unlikely to acheive a 1B by end of year 1 therefore not get a level 2 by SATS.

If you asked about criteria, and was told to give it time, your question was not answered. If extra help exists in your child's school you are entitled to know on what grounds it is handed out. If the class teacher won't tell you, ask the Head. If still no joy, ask IN WRITING. If still no answer, copy your letter to the Chair of the Governors.

You haven't said how old your child is. Year 1? If so, then writing for giraffe is quite normal development. It may be that he will be fine and is in line with the majority of his peers. I still think your question should be answered properly and you should not be fobbed off as you have been.

I think your right. I feel fobbed off and as if the question has not been answered properly. I have asked a friend of mine whos a teacher to have a look at what he's done and she'll be honest as to if i'm worrying needlessly!!!

Jraf was a good example.He's written mic for milk, ell for elephant but was impressed with the grars for grass as he's used phonic knowledge of ar sound. Oh the his bog was a dog!!!

I'll certainly do as you suggested and see where I get but the school is very defensive when asked simple questions and it seems a lot of parents feel this way.

Sorry to answer your earlier question he is 5 and in year 1. It's all his writing as a whole it is uneven, but some bits are decipherable it does has full stops and generally uses lower case throughout and adds capitals at beginning of sentences sometimes. I do think he isn't a confident writer which can sometimes make children's work unfluent and think maybe some extra help would give him confidence which sometimes does wonders.

Have to say as a mother of yr 2 boy who has struggled with writing it sounds like he's doing ok if he is using full stops and lower case throughout. My son was barely writing at all in yr one and what he did was all phonetic and hard to decipher, and mixing l/c and u/c letters. His teacher was fine with it. Different teacher and different story this year but he has suddenly - last term - made huge progress (from a 1b to possibly a 2b for Sats, we hope) It was about muscle control and sitting still and confidence issues. Like your son, he is very articulate and the best reader in his class, so I was always surprised his writing lagged so far behind. Its still behind many (he often forgets capitals and other punctuation) but it is getting there, so I though I do have some concerns about his teaching, I do think its mainly a question of maturity. Hth

Boys do seem to come to writing later than they might to reading or maths - my son certainly did. He was a whizz at Maths, but his writing was dreadful but he did get there in the end. I agree a bit more help in the early years might speed up the process.

The best thing you can do is help him to develop his muscles in his shoulders, arms and hands. he could be finding it uncomfortable holding a pencil, some children grip too hard and it makes their arms ache.
One exercise I remember is to squeeze water out of a sqeezy bottle, another exercise is to draw large letters on a board or floor with chalk it helps the shoulder muscles develop.Try googling pencil control etc.
My son has only just started to write neatly(ish) and he is age 9 in june, he did a programme at school called sir kitt to help.

er age 8 in june!!

Thats basically what I think. When you look at what he writes it just looks like a load of poorly written letters on a page - bless!!!

Closer examination and you can see he's tried to write a sentence. Actually I say he uses full stops this is not very often and uses a capital A instead of a small one when just writing A cat sat on A mat (for example).

He also doesn't seem to finish off words!! Or joins words for example long neck he has written llon ec!!!

Houseofboys your son is doing really well you must be really proud of his progress.

I am hoping it's just a maturity thing - it has been picked up he has poor manual dexterity and spacial memory which I know will impede on his writing - another reason I feel some support would be nice.

Thanks Danthe4th sounds good. Actually makes sense as when doing swimming lessons he can swim quite well apart from the fact he can't co ordinate one arm moving at a time over his head. Perhaps it is all connected. I'll try that im sure now the weathers warmer he'll love chalking on the path and washing it off with squirting water!!!!

As a ps, my DS has done swimming lessons for last six months so that might have been a big factor in his improvement, definitely helped his coordination. TOok a while to get going with swimming but has now clinked (tho back stroke arms are very funny to watch!)

LOL took DS to lesson tonite which he has missed for 2 weeks due to holiday (and being stuck extra week!!!) He just got in the water and swam front and back 10 meters really well and co ordinated!!! Got his 10 meter badge and been moved to deep end!!!

Not sure where this came from but will be interested to see if this improvement in coordination affects his writing.