technology to help dysgraphia 7-year-old

[fastcarrot]

Hey! - my first ever post on Mumsnet. Hope I'm in the right place!

Can you help me to help my son. He's 7 (year 3) bright, loves reading but can't write. Still on NC level 1. School are supportive but will probs take a while to get help he needs. Getting frustrated (him, not me). Some problems with motor skills, too.

School doubt he will ever write well enough to keep up. Spelling is hard, too.

He's learning to touch-type and we think this is the way forward for him. I'd love to hear some of your tried and tested uses of technology for kids like him who are strong readers but can't write. Any software? laptop? tablet? What do you do that works? Have you used voice recognition software in the classroom?

ps. we're not giving up on his handwriting yet, this is just to help free him up sometimes so he can be creative in literacy, which is something he really enjoys.

Thank you!

Hello there fastcarrot

I have a strong feeling that my child has the same difficulty. Can you tell me how you got to this conclusion or where I can go to look for some answers. We have similar difficulties with writing and spelling...... it's such hard work. Fifteen minutes max homework has taken two hours! :o(

The offer on the table currently it for our child to repeat this year again. So instead of moving up a year, to remain in yr 1 and hopefully be able to catch up. Reading, like your child, is fine. Possible link to some speech difficulty in the past that is so much better but still needs work. Is your child in a fee paying school? It's nice that they are supportive. Any advice would be really welcome! Thanks so much.

I'm not sure why there is a smiley grin there. I put an unhappy face, in typed characters.

hey Happydays

Poor you - sympathy. I post a crisp into DS's mouth for each word he writes. It's like pulling teeth isn't it? DS has struggled with writing since go, but still now in Y3 his written work looks like it could be that of an alien and we realised we had to do something!

A couple of pieces of advice that have been helping us, for what they're worth...

Our son's self-esteem took a hit in Y3 when he realised he couldn't write like the rest. Lots of positive encouragement and praise. Encourage him to love books. Look at what he can do well and is passionate about and work out from there instead of focusing on what he can't do. We are learning to touch-type (LearntoType) and using voice recognition software (Dragonspeak). Having to repeat a year might not be great for self-esteem. Once he's really tried at his homework for 15mins, offer to scribe for him. Otherwise it will drag you all down.

Try and work out exactly WHAT part of writing he struggles with. We have had a private tutor to help us with this. Have a look at Write from the Start (Teodorescu) - this has been brill and DS enjoys it. DS pegs out socks, barbecues (using tongs, weather permitting) and has a stress ball.

School (State Primary) are supportive and make modifications and allowances for him but don't really have time or resources for him. We've organised a private ed psych assessment so we can really get to the bottom of what he needs ASAP.

Hope this helps, sorry for being long...

oh, one more thing, I have 3 other DS's and they were all rubbish at writing until year 2 when they suddenly got to grips with it. Might just need a little more time to develop.

Dear Fastcarrot

It was really kind of you to write back. Much appreciated as I found your reply so helpful. Thanks. I've bought some memory skill books and Toe to Toe, that I thought we'd start in the holidays. Happy to buy the Write from the Start too if you think it's good.

Have you heard of the Lindamood-Bell centre of learning? They have a discount until the end of this month on assessments. It is not a diagnosis as such, but a way forward in discovering how best your child learns and what are the gaps that need building on and a personalised programme of sessions. (I've just heard about this last week..... so, we are going to give this a try for the assessment session and feedback session only) Hoping that this will provide us some clues of how to make learning a joy.

Have put the repeating year offer on hold last week until I find out a bit more. Maybe our child can be offered some additional support in Yr 2?? That might be a way forward too.

I also thought that it might take a bit of time. I've noticed that out child often catches on 6 months later in some instances.

Many thanks.