Dysgraphia

[starry0ne]

Has anyone else had a child been diagnosed with Dysgraphia. My Dc was diagnosed this week and interested what support other childrens have had from school

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Anyone?

My daughter has this along with Dyslexia which causes some processing problems. The school is doing nothing to help and seems very vague about what can be done. My DC is also very reluctant to do any work on her writing because she finds it such a challenge. None of the methods I've tried so far have helped so interested in anything you dig out.

Just been informed by year teacher for DS that they suspect he has dsygraphia too.

I'd never heard of it before so interested in knowing more about it

Hello there, I am a teacher who has experience working with children who have Special Educational Needs or SENs.

I am going to assume you know nothing, not to be patronising but to ensure you don't miss anything that could be of vital importance.

Fundamentally, Dysgraphia is a learning difficulty that effects a person's ability to write and for how long they can write. It has a massive effect on handwriting as holding a pen or pencil for a prolonged amount of time is difficult.

In fact, you can often see a noted decrease in the quality of a child's writing the further down the page you go as they become more fatigued. This can cause children with Dysgraphia to hate writing.

What can you do? One thing I love to do with SEN children who have difficulties with writing is to either have them type it on a laptop or have them dictate their work to an Ipad using dictation software. If the school that your child attends isn't using those then I'd speak to them about implementing them as they're literally life savers.

Thanks jamieson90. The school have started allowing him to use an iPad rather than writing so that's a good start.

I'm just concerned about him not being able to write well enough for future requirements in life.

We are waiting to have DS tested for it too.
Writing causes him pain if he writes for more than a couple of minutes and as well as the physical difficulties in forming the letters, he has trouble processing and organising his thoughts onto paper.

A private paediatrician who diagnosed his ASD suggested we have him tested for dysgraphia but school haven't been too proactive in the dysgraphia bit....only getting the Ed.psych to come and assess his needs at school, but I guess that's better than nothing.

You will be entitled for your DD to have longer times during tests and exams and even if she isn't using a keyboard or laptop or iPad all the time, a writing slope may help a lot.

I am not sure whether DS has Dysgraphia, but he has Aspergers and has always had difficulty writing. His secondary school dealt with this by teaching him to touch type, which he is very good at.
However at 21 we still have to fill in forms for him if there is not an option to fill in online. We have been surprised at how many forms still have to be filled in by hand. His writing is virtually illegible and he still mixes upper and lower case letters. (He was tested for Dyslexia by a specialist and is not Dyslexic). It is worthwhile, in my opinion, to at least continue developing the ability to do basic printing as an alternative to cursive script.
We were told that he wouldn't really need handwriting in adult life, but it has not turned out to be true.

Can I just check how you got the Dysgraphia diagnosis as this is something we are pursuing with DS (12).

We've just had a parents evening where every subject was the same comment - bright, enthusiastic, quick to understand subject, but cannot write enough or legibly enough to demonstrate understanding or make grades. handwriting is a massive problem for him. It's possible there are other co-ordination issues/dyspraxia, but there's no problem reading or spelling.

We now have a referral to OT from our GP - we are going to chase up a private OT to avoid the 12+ month waiting list in our area. School have also referred to OT in the neighbouring trust, but this has gone quiet. But should an educational psychiatrist or any other specialist be involved. I don't want to get down the line and find we've not seen the right person.

TBH I think a mini-laptop/netbook would be ideal for him and his keyboarding skills are quite reasonable, he has produced good homework on the home computer. Can I just send him in with one if school won't supply? Then he can concentrate on developing enough handwriting skills for small bits of writing like maths, form filling etc.

I have a meeting with the SENCO tomorrow, I'm a bit concerned at lack of progress since issue was identified in November. What should I be asking?

RaisingSteam you need to get a clear idea about the school's policy on the use of computers in the classroom. It seems clear that your child would benefit enormously from using one. If they are hesitant then a statement of need would be most useful. The best help we received was from an Educational Psychologist because they give a full account of what your child is good at as well as where they struggle. They give a great deal of detail about ways in which your child can be supported but there are NOT cheap. An OT is also very useful if what you need is a statement of need. Getting a statement can be a door-opener and a relief because your child can often feel that their inability reflects their general intelligence. If they have something that explains, clearly, that the limitations are few, then they can feel much braver about their strengths (this was our experience). In short, if you can afford it then it could be worth accelerating the process. If not, try to get the computer use in school ASAP. A statement will help long term in exams because children can get extra time with assessments etc so always keep pushing for that. Good luck,

Raising steam.. MY DS got his diagnosis which came froma dyslexia assessment.
He had been given a laptop prior to diagnosis as he was struggling so much as previous poster said my DS hated writing.

He is now has physio to strengthen muscles they are weak in his writing hand and also has hypermobility which doesn't help

He is definitely much happier at school since diagnosis and making great progress

Hi there. Perhaps try Rhythmic Movement Therapy. It has had some good results Find them on the Internet. They have a list of practitioners.

We have similar issues with handwriting - formation of letters, spacing, stamina is low and he complains its painful and is reluctant writer who finds it hard to organise thoughts. He is 10. Our son has dyspraxia and dyslexia and ADD so these all interact. It is possible to have dysgraphia as a stand alone but would be aware of co-occuring things just in case.

Things we and school do - Gross and Fine motor movements (writing involves things like shoulder and pelvis stability to fix points to work from a stable base). Wrists and elbows also come into play along with, finally the fingers and how the hand grips the pen - can be too tight (sometimes if they are a little hypermobile in finger joints this hurts them when writing) or grip too close to nib of pen/pencil.

Things to try - warm up hands with play dough or other finger exercises- rip paper, paper hole punch, etc before writing. How are scissor skills?

Movement breaks in between writing to flex hands and then go back to it.

Handwriting programmes like start write stay right are often used by schools. Or you can buy online. We offer incentives such as lego comic for x pages done. Little and often is key.

National Handwriting Association, pintrest and OT assessment of handwriting and drawing shapes useful. You can get an assessment privately if long wait via school/NHS. You can also get handwriting tutor for home if you have the means. I have seen good progress for kids with poor handwriting via this route - before and after pics on FB for dyspraxia groups.

We made a small spaceman for gaps between words and use magic lines to help tall/small letters make sense.

How old is your DC?

Interventions best started young alongside use of tech as poster mentioned above - lap tops with word banks, speech to txt software and so on.

Its harder as they get older and they feel they have repeatedly failed to master writing and then it becomes a hangup where they feel unmotivated to persevere. It can really get better with the right kind of interventions - DS does touch type with TA and handwriting x 2 week for 15 mins. Over a year or two his writing has improved a lot. Still like a drunken spider has been at the ink but is sobering up nicely!

PM me if you want any more specifics. I would also echo other poster who said print is fine, if it increases legibility and he/she finds it easier - well lets not make life hard with a million cursive wiggles eh?

Multi sensory can help too - 'write' in the air (big moves), on each others backs/hands, on velvet, carpet etc then in flour, paint, glitter etc Advantage of invisable writing is that they are not confronted with lines that are 'wrong' iyswim.

Write Dance good for this in kids up to 8 or 9. Its a Dutch Book in English - methods used internationally. Pre Writing patterns essential to practice if the child has difficulty with shapes in letters - W O diagonal strokes as in K - if you google pre writing patterns you will see what I mean.

Hope all that helps. Make it low stress and as fun as poss.

Start with couple of mins and work up as they get more confident.