Poor hand writing

[nwLondonDad]

My 14 year old has extremely poor hand writing, that their teacher brought it to our attention. They have always had poor hand writing. Some words are illegible but in context you can probably make out what it says.

Given we are in 2021 and nobody needs to write with their hands anymore, I can only see this as an issue for teachers trying to assess homework but a really big issue for exams in school, uni and professional qualifications.

They are extremely bright, achieve good grades, fantastic sportsperson so they have coordination.

Anybody experienced anything similar or have any suggestions?

I just saw this pop up in active - I am not a parent but I am a lecturer and I promise you would be astonished how many students have illegible hand-writing! I can decipher pretty much anything. Spelling is also a huge issue in written work because everyone is so used to auto-correct and spell checker. So no advice for your child, but they are in the majority in my experience.

We have stopped all paper based work since Covid came on the scene and I am not sure it will ever return tbh.

The majority of doctors I deal with have illegible handwriting, one set of notes I ended up going through 3 med secs before someone could read it. It's def not a sign of intelligence!

And thats from fy1 to full on Prof Consultants!

Make sure school carries out assessment so they can use keyboard in exams.

@titchy

Make sure school carries out assessment so they can use keyboard in exams.

Thanks, what sort of assessment?

Their teacher suggested their mind works faster than their hands so their writing is rushed. They are always in a race to be the first to complete an exercise or test. Same applies in sports or anything with a competitive edge.

I was just concerned that exams would be an issue. But glad to hear the feedback so far.

You'd have to ask the exams officer. They'd be doing the test within exam board guidelines. It's quite common. Ds for example did one where he had to write a legible paragraph in one minute and then write at his normal speed in one minute. He wrote sufficiently little when writing legibly that he was able to use a keyboard in his exams.

My DS has illegible handwriting, his History teacher and I were the only ones who could read it
Just before his exams, I think in year 10, they assess them to see what access arrangements they will get for their GCSEs. My DS was allowed extra time and a scribe. But him being quite shy the thought of speaking to a stranger who would write for him was too embarrassing, so the school said he could use a keyboard. As it turned out he never sat his GCSEs last year because of covid.

Speak to the SEND department at his school and they should be able to sort him out.

Also as a side note, have you had him assessed for dyslexia? My DS has dyslexia and you're right the quicker they think the worse the writing - he has to write things down before he forgets them as his working memory is so bad. His reading is perfectly fine and as a result his dyslexia was missed for a very long time.

I'm dyspraxic and my handwriting is god awful. Writing physically hurts, so maybe ask about pain?
Ball point pens with a soft grippy bit help me. I really struggle with other pens.
My mind works far faster than my hands and I'm also dyslexic so I try to scribble everything down before it gets muddled and lost in my head.

My handwriting is illegible, I used to get in trouble for it. At 34, I was finally diagnosed as being hypermobile and it all began to make sense. Could this be it?

An examiner won't sit and work it out though. School needs to assess whether he would be better with a scribe, laptop, rest breaks or if he can slow down his writing enough to be legible. If you start the process now any access arrangements can be in place for gcses. It may be a processing issue, physical such as hypermobility, or Specific Learning Difficulty such as dyspraxia. In meantime try using a writing slope(A4 folder on its side filled with paper), check posture with feet flat on floor and good chair, soft grip pen etc.

Ds handwriting is so bad he is allowed to use a laptop for exams, he was assessed by an OT as he is autistic & he doesn't have the muscle tone for his hand to be able to write clearly, he got a diagnosis of hypotonia not long after, he can't tie shoelaces either & is nearly 18, nomatter how many times I show him, he can't stop them coming undone. He can build the most intricate things out of lego but can't do simple things like write, wring cloths out, struggles to cut food up & tie shoelaces.

I used handwriting books and made my DS go back to basics (year 1 type!). Need effort but it worked.

I'm a teacher and have a very able son with very poor handwriting. For him to be able to use a laptop in exams the school just need to show it's his or her normal way of working. There's no test. I was very relieved when ds started being given a laptop for assessments in Y10 - knew exactly why the school was doing it!

Dd is autistic and this is how her mind works too. She performed badly in exams where she had to handwrite as she can't slow her thoughts down. It shows in her speech too. She is also hypermobile.

She was able to type in her exams and ended up with A & A* for her A levels.

Ds on the other hand s also autistic but has a slower processing speed and is hypermobile. The concentrated effort it takes to handwrite means he uses up all his brain power so cannot then formulate his thoughts. His school were not so good in organising laptops etc but now he is at college he is doing much better.

My 11yo DS has also always had slow and poor/illegible handwriting. He's academically capable and there seemed to be a disconnect between brain output and what he can write down.

I did some google research and came across dysgraphia. Through an Ed Pysch DS did a 'DASH' test (Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting) and he met the criteria for dysgraphia and is now able to use a laptop for most written activities at school and has 25% extra time in exams.

DS found this a huge relief and the pressure of illegibility of handwriting has been lifted.

Thank you all for your messages and contributing. I have learnt a lot and lots of time for us to assess what could be the issue. The shoelaces was also most interesting, as in every match I watch he has shoe lace issues.

My son used magic link handwriting which basically goes back to basics and start from scratch. Even down to having the correct pencil/pen and how to sit and hold it properly.
The school had started to teach my son cursive before he was forming his letters correctly so it was never going to work!
Last summer during lockdown we did stages 1-20 and his handwriting has been completely transformed.
He can still be very messy some am times but he forms his letters correctly so they flow and when he puts his mind to it his writing is fantastic.
Really recommended it. If you google you can see before and after examples. It looks like all ages do it.

I can also highly recommend magic link. My daughter's writing was transformed.

Using a word processor for public exams does not count as an access arrangement (which is hard to get and needs lots of evidence), a school has the power to say a student can use a pc (it does have to be their 'usual way of working' so they'd have to use a laptop all the time). Schools are reluctant to allow this as they couldn't do it for everyone but if you push for it they can allow it. I've known students use pcs for reasons like lots of writing on a level mocks gave them blisters on their fingers! It's a massive advantage if you're doing essay subjects so I would look into it.

I spent years bringing my daughter around to various experts and I spent many hours, with her while she practiced handwriting - which only got worse. I brought her to several different medical specialists, an army of Occupational Therapists and physiotherapy. I bought the slopes, the writing aids, the fancy pens, the grips, the hand putty, the “handwriting without tears” books - and we used them all as I sat with her for hours practicing. Eventually, she was allowed accommodations for her handwriting difficulties. It is only recently that the physical reason for her extreme dysgraphia became apparent (Ehlers Danlos).

I was too ready to defer uncritically to the the opinions of professionals. This is not to say they wouldn’t have worked well with a child with a different problem. It is just that medical consultants and health care professionals can be very “siloed” with the result that they don’t know what they don’t know (the “unknown unknowns”). Some children will never be able to improve their handwriting beyond a certain point and the reason may not be determined for a long time, if ever. I’m glad I didn’t give out to or lose patience with my daughter, but I’m sorry I wasted so much of her time. Also, writing can be painful for people with Ehlers Danlos and as time went on I found she could manage very little time handwriting without discomfort. Now she has the lightest possible laptop for school which works well although she wouldn’t be able to type fast enough to complete an exam within the allotted time, so she will need additional accommodations.