DS just had an assessment of writing and came in at the 4th percentile. What next?

[Donki]

That's it really. DS (yr 5) had an OT assessment of his handwriting after I pushed and pushed (and waited and waited on a very long waiting list). He has been assessed as being at the 4th centile due to a physical problem that no-one had picked up on. Up until now school have just said that he is slow/lazy/reluctant and done nothing to help him. [Poor boy, no wonder he hates school, even trying his best was never good enough]

What should I push for next? OT has suggested he be taught to type, and be allowed to use a computer so that is the obvious thing to go for. School are concerned that he has to write in his SATs next year.

(utter bollocks - if he usually uses a computer/word processor in lessons, he can use on for the SATs so long as spelling/grammar checks are off).

My Ds is also Y5, and came out at

Can school looking into a scribe for him for SATs, especially now he has this dx in writing.

The OT's only suggestion was learning to type...
I looked at the special arrangements for SATs and those say that a scribe should be the last resort, only if the student can't type. So I suppose we have to try and teach him to type first.

If he needs a scribe I will have to try and get a statement for him - if they still exist by the time we churn through the process - so that he would get a 1 to 1 to scribe for lessons as well. (Was that a pig that just flew past?) Typing would make him more independent so I think that is the first thing to try.

But I am still keen to know of any other useful ideas or strategies.

Handwriting is at the top of a 'pyramid' of fine motor skills, underlaid by core strength, visual motor integration, visual perception, shoulder stability, stamina and a host of other skills.

A good OT assessment of handwriting would indicate where and why your DS is having that extent of difficulty.

So it is likely that not only does he have difficulty with handwriting but he might also find things like buttons, opening tight packets, manipulating small objects, difficult too.

While typing is undoubtedly an excellent skill for him to learn, it does not address the 'cause'.

Ideally, an OT programme would identify exactly what is causing him the difficulty. Then aim to improve on it.
So, for example, if his handwriting speed is 20 letters per minute, then the therapy goal would be to get him up to 30 letters per min after 12 weeks of weekly input with daily 15mins home programme. (The average for his age goup depends where you look but would be about 50 letters per minute).

The problem will be getting local OT service to address what is to them (probably- I'm surmising from your OP) a low priority.

My first step would be to get a detailed assessment report from the OT, giving the standardised assessments used, the scores, their observations and plan for DS.

PS Lois Addy is an OT who has written lots of books on handwriting speed....the
Speed Up programme is one I've used.

Learning to type I think is key, while not forgetting to continue to develope handwriting.
For DS (year 3) he is just about to start to learn to type (we are going to do a program at Emerson house) , alongside still doing oT to improve his co-ordination and strengthen things like his shoulder girdle and hand strength. He will also at some stage do another specialist handwriting course at with his OT. Senco at DS school is doing the speed up program with DS.
FYI DS has fine motor dyspraxia and his fine motor skills assessed on 6th percentile I think.
His handwriting is still noticeably worse than his classmates - but now will try and write , and will compete written tasks.
I am hoping he will start typing at school next year, as work put up on walls - his writing still stands out and I think (if not already) he will start to be embarrassed about the difference. Plus he is slow, apparently they can learn to type much faster than the can write - which gives more opportunity for them too focus there energy on content , rather than the dynamics of writing.

I am talking to the OT again next week when she is back from holiday, and then to the SENCO (Mrs "your son is just a reluctant writer").
Meanwhile I am getting a typing programme called Englishtype to help DS learn to type that comes highly recommended.

Thankyou Porridge - and everyone else for your replies.

This article has been very helpful for us, and because it deals not only with Developmental Coordination Disorder (dyspraxia) but any physical challenge it very well describes the rationale behind access to technology (in this case, typing).

In Y3, DS was assessed in the 2nd %ile for fine motor skills - and we were told it was not a significant enough impairment to warrant services (because he was a bright child, being held back

In Y6, DS finally was given consistent access to a computer to type his work. At the end of Y7, the school gave him his own computer for lessons (which was a boat anchor - slow, underpowered and a right royal piece of garbage). I found a good notebook computer for a very good sale price and gave him his own computer at the end of Y8 - he uses this at school, knowing that if it gets damaged, he'll either have to go back to the school one or replace it with his own savings.

Now, in Y9, he types an accurate 120 words a minute (far better than I can) and the quality of his work has skyrocketed. He still writes for maths, but everything else is typed, and what has been gained in reduced time and (unnecessary) effort has translated to far better quality of work - not only in complexity of the finished product, but in spelling and grammar as well.

Bee, on the other hand, has had access to tech constantly. At almost 8, with a pencil and a special molded grip she can nearly write her first name (it looks like a child in nursery would write) but types all her school work (and I have been told she is working on writing a book at school). She uses predictive software (so she types the first few letters of a word, then chooses the correct word from a list) and a touch-screen laptop computer. With these support methods, Bee is performing at the appropriate year level for language.

Frankly, as tech becomes more and more a way of life - the ability to type accurately and quickly is a very important skill. As for "learning" to type - unless your school demands it, "touch typing" lessons are not absolutely necessary. Your child will figure out what hand placement and key stroke patterns work best for them. DS here never "learned" to type - he just did what worked for him. What feels natural for the child, especially if they have any sort of physical challenge, is what will work best for them.

Beemom, I totally agree with all your points about typing.

At the same time, I would also look at the component parts of the handwriting difficulty. IME a child with poor shoulder stability/core strength issues/ muscle weakness/lack of stamina will have those issues work against them while typing also.

So, while they may be able to produce a more age appropriate quantity of work with typing, their posture may be poor, or they have fatigue in their forearms and wrists (which would have been thumb/hand pain and fatigue while pencil writing).

Best to attack the problem from both sides, I think.