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7 yr old son.....is he just struggling, or something else?

4 replies

singarainbow · 21/09/2013 22:39

My son is an August birthday, so always the youngest in his year. He has always been within the top handful for maths, reading and spelling, and has a vast general knowledge and yearning to learn. His handwriting though has always been "not of the same level" as his other abilities. As a toddler he did not want to pick up a pen, brush, crayon, and still doesn't now, voluntarily! During his reception year he switched between right and left hand so much that his teacher had him down as a left handed child. He settled on writing with his right hand. During year 1 his teacher mentioned that she was a bit concerned about his writing, but allowed for his age etc etc. His year 2 teacher advised he needed to work on his writing but did not want him too stress too much about it, and often commented on how he would watch our son write standing up at 45 degrees to the desk and would never just sit and write...and it would take him forever to write anything. It just seems such an effort for him to write ANYTHING.
Now he is a year 3 and I am concerned that the gap is widening between his ability to think and his ability to put pen to paper, and the gap between him and his peers is widening. I am worried that there is something else going on, I have read about dysgraphia, and have no idea if this is whats going on, or is he just a bit slower on the writing side of things? We do not know whether to do nothing, or should be doing something. He is getting frustrated and is aware of his ability compared to his peers, and we don't know how to handle this best for him.
Any advice is welcome, thanks.

OP posts:
KOKOagainandagain · 22/09/2013 08:55

Has he had OT assessment. In my area you need a GP referral and OT then send a questionnaire to both the home and the school. OT will assess fine and gross motor skills, visual perception, proprioception etc and mine also use a sensory questionnaire.

OT has made recommendations for DS2 and visits him in school.

Ineedmorepatience · 22/09/2013 10:43

Agree with keep In my area school SENCO's can refer to OT so obviously it varies across the country as do the waiting lists. We waited about 10 weeks but that included the summer holiday, I have friends in the next LA who have waited nearly a year.

If there is a long waiting list would you be able to go private? It would be money well spent.

Ask school to try different pens and pencils to see if he feels more comfortable and also ask them to try a move and sit cushion. If he is constantly moving he is probably sensory seeking and the cushion can really help with this.

Good luck Smile

AgnesDiPesto · 22/09/2013 10:50

Agree with the above and don't forget if there is a problem then reasonable adjustments eg use of a laptop, voice to text software, use of a scribe etc can be made. Writing rather than typing is fast becoming an outdated skill in the work world anyway.

singarainbow · 23/09/2013 06:32

Thanks for your suggestions, I will need to find out if the OT referral is done via the school, or GP.

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