9yo can’t write - I don’t know where to turn next

[CurlsLDN]

My DS is 9. He struggles hugely with the physical act of writing - he can read and spell very well but his writing is illegible.

school flagged that there was something going on right from year 1 and have been supportive, referring him to the local SEN centre.

since his referral came through he has attended the centre for some 121 physio sessions and assessments with occupational therapists, and some group handwriting sessions.

the OT spotted that he is hypermobile and has muscular weakness in his arms and grip.

at his last appointment they assessed him for dyspraxia (negative) and he did the DASH test which showed he has significant difficulty and needs support. The OT said ‘I can’t imagine him improving much. I don’t see writing being his main form of recording in future. There’s not really anything else I can do, so shall we discharge him now?’

so what now? I feel hopeless, I just want to help him get his bright brain down on paper so that he can succeed at school.
he could use a laptop but is very slow at typing too. It seems that’s our only hope.

are there any other conditions this could be? Should I push for further support/diagnosis from the SEN centre? What can I ask if school that might help?

Is there no SEN support at his school?!

50 years ago this would have been very bad news

now with the advent of so much of school and work being computer based - much less so

School can get something like Clicker in place for him to use instead.

Hypermobility can cause handwriting difficulties. There may not be anything beyond that, but if you want a second opinion you could ask the GP for another referral. What are DS’s fine and gross motor skills like more widely?

If typing isn’t working you could look at scribing or speech to text software, either instead of typing or whilst DS improves his typing (is he using a typing programme?). The school should be providing support. Are they? Are they limiting what DS has to copy by providing notes? Has DS tried a writing slope, different pens and pencil grips? If motor skills more widely are a problem do they offer anything like the Jump Ahead or Fizzy programme?

There is, and I had a meeting with her, but she said there’s not much she can do without a clear diagnosis

Sorry that was to @Nuttyroche

@openupmyeagereyes i haven’t heard of clicker, will Google, thanks

A diagnosis isn’t required, support in schools is based on needs rather than diagnosis. However, hypermobility can be the diagnosis.

@OvertakenByLego thankyou.
yes we’re trying to do regular practice on nessy typing to get his speed up but it’s slow going.

he has a writing slope, stabilo easy pen and wobble cushion at school, all recommended by the SEN centre and provided by me. He finds these do help make it more comfortable.

his fine and gross motor skills are all over the place, very weak in some areas, hence the dyspraxia assessment but he didn’t meet the threshold for that as some areas are strong.

i have met with his class teachers a few times a year every school year. At the last meeting just before school hols his teacher said that although his brain is fast and he’s very intelligent there’s nothing more the teacher could do to help him get it on paper. He also said it’s not improving and pretty much shrugged and said he has no further ideas.

the SEN centre did recommend he take part in something like jump ahead but school said they don’t do it.

im meeting with his new class teacher on Friday so would love to go in with some suggestions of ways we could work together in school and at home to help him improve but I’m at a loss.

@OvertakenByLego thats interesting Thankyou. Perhaps if I frame my Comms to school as ‘he has a diagnosis of hyper mobility, how can we support him so his physical needs don’t prevent his learning’ that might get me a bit further?

there’s nothing more the teacher could do to help him get it on paper.

Do you have this in writing? This really isn’t correct. Speech to text software, a scribe or something like clicker (or other software) could all be tried. Have you spoken to the SENCO as well as the teacher? If the school doesn’t currently offer jump ahead or similar, ask if they can look into providing it. There will be other pupils who would benefit. If the school is saying they can’t meet DS’s needs currently, have you considered requesting an EHCNA? A diagnosis shouldn’t be necessary, but yes, you should inform the school.

This school sounds very reactive and, well, shit

Thank you these are all really helpful comments, it sounds like I can and should push for more from the school then. Tbh they haven’t done anything after referring him elsewhere, they haven’t implemented any of the recommendations on the 4 different reports the OT sent them, so I did what I could myself

DD had severe dyspraxia. As pp have said, she was given

1. physiotherapy to improve her core strength in her shoulders and pelvis
2. writing slope
3. this program to go through https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Write-from-the-Start-Book-1-by-Ion-Teodorescu-Lois-M-Addy/9781855032453
4. Clicker 4 (as it was then)
5. type to learn (age 10) to teach her to touch type
6. OT up to about 16 (although that was in specialist schools) - her OT told us, with intensive practice at physical skills like say ball throwing and catching, she could be average

We took her to Riding for the Disabled to improve her core strength as per the physiotherapist.

She had lovely writing by her teens, although she could touch type faster!

have you considered a specific hand therapist? I have hypermobile hands, and the hand therapist I saw showed me how to change the grip on the pen (to one called the 'monks' grip' or 'adaptive tripod' or various other names (d'nealian grip is another name I think), which if you google, you'll see photos. This helped a lot with the pressure that I was gripping the pen with, although as an adult it took me a while to stop tensing so many muscles to write. She also made a splint to help keep my thumb in the right place.

Too many small movements can be hard before the muscles and co-ordination are well developed so using larger spaced exercise books and pens can also help, even if others in the class have moved on to smaller lines, and developing the feeling of 'flow' with mark-making, not even specific letters, is good to do first - lines, loops, patterns, etc that just flow without tension - sometimes doing it to music to get a rhythm going - and learn the feeling of moving the hand/wrist/elbow/shoulder in a relaxed way.

Worth trying out various pens and pencils to see what works best - ones that make marks very easily are good for children who put too much pressure on, whereas ones that need a little pressure and friction are good for children who need the feedback, and the needs might change as he gets better at it.

But realistically, typing or other adaptive communication format is likely to be the most useful thing to learn

@Quisquam thankyou it’s great to hear you were able to support such a great development! I will look at all your recommendations

@MapleSyrupWaffles i didn’t know a hand therapist was a thing! But sounds great, I’ll see if there are any in our area

There are OTs who specialise in handwriting too.

Yes, I forgot as per pp, we bought her pencil grips (probably from WH Smith’s), and special triangle shaped pencils and crayons, as recommended by the OT. They were about 50% thicker than normal ones. You also need a triangle shaped sharpener!

I used to get these from SEN catalogues; but you can get them now from Amazon or Hobbycraft now.