Not sure what to do and needing help!

Try audiblox dysgraphia program. My son has been mostly remediated for his LD’s but the writing issue is the toughest nut to crack.

I have had success in the past with going after underlying deficits and that I what I think audiblox does.

www.audiblox2000.com

Can he formulate his ideas orally? I have been considering letting one of my students formulate his ideas, perhaps through sketches, then dictate them into a tape. I want to see if this helps him. He can produce very nice, grammatically correct sentences orally, but his written sentences are a mess.

I would also suggest that he obviously needs to learn keyboarding. Have you considered something like Inspiration software for the home computer for him to use? I don’t think it is too pricey.

Hi, Linda,

I am a little frustrated at myself for losing my post to you while I was trying to get links for you!

What I will say is, I agree that your son still needs pull-out writing help. Putting him back in class with accommodations remediates nothing!

If you feel that the resource teacher was making progress and uses good strategies, then just insist that since the goal was not reached, he still needs pull-out.

I was getting you the link for Kidspiration (the elementary version of Inspiration which Anitya mentioned) when I lost my post.

http://www.kidspiration.com/home.cfm

Finding a good writing tutor may be very hard. But if you wanted to work on it yourself (or give it as a gift to the resource teacher!), Step Up to Writing is a often recommended program.

Janis

It’s been recommended before but the combination of Step Up to Writing and Inspiration is a really good pairing. I think that Step Up…is very, very concrete which is what he needs. I haven’t yet found anything that’s so specific and so concrete. You can do this yourself with your son. Frankly, from what you describe, I doubt I’d leave it to the school to follow-through. Even if you could get them to start it, they likely won’t follow-through.

I think if your son had daily Step Up lessons and practice, he’d be able to make solid improvement.

Janis, our school looked at Kidspiration but ultimately decided that Inspiration really was fine for grades 4 and above. Kidspiration seemed too childish for them.

That’s great to know, Joan. It will save people from buying one that the child would outgrow very soon. Our system has site licenses for Kidspiration for K-5, but I am sure that was a decision based on economics.

Joan, are you by chance using the elementary Step Up to Writing? Does it start with teaching how to write complete sentences? My students are generally very low in langauge and need VERY basic skills before writing of paragraphs. I’ve been afraid to order it since most of the people I know who use it (like Shay) teach older kids.

Thanks,
Janis

DOes anyone know cost to purchase home use copy of kidspiration?

Couldnt find price quote on website

Thanks

It is offered by other software companies. You may want to do a search to compare prices. I am seeing @ $57 to be typical. Here’s one link:

http://smartkidssoftware.com/cdisp6f.htm

Janis

Thank you Janis !!!!!!

I downloaded the free kidspiration and thought it a bit childish for my 9 year old third grader.

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already but I have a few more suggestions. First, there is nothing wrong with having your child dicate to you if he is not able to think and write at the same time. Second, for a 9 year old gifted child, I think Inspiration would be more appropriate than Kidspiration, but obviously, it depends on the child. Third, I think your child would benefit from typing his work. Many dysgraphic children can learn to write reasonably well with a pencil, but it so taxes their attention and memory that they simply have nothing left for generating thoughts. That is what I mean when I refer to not being able to think and write at the same time. Typing uses a different part of the brain than does handwriting, and can really lift the burden for kids. So can using word prediction software such as Co: Writer, which you can find at http://www.donjohnston.com/catalog/catalog.htm In third grade, my son had many of the difficulties your child has. After learning to type, using Co: Writer and another program called Write Outloud, that read back to him what he had typed, along with Inspiration, he now is becoming a proficient writer. He is currently in 6th grade and is making As in his composition class. He only uses Microsoft Word now, because it underlines typos and grammar errors. Don’t despair. It is possible for your child’s writing to improve, but it will take a lot of support and, quite possibly, will require that he make typing his main way of communicating via the written word. I hope this helps.

Andrea

… Third grade and writing six sentence paragraphs?

First, no, I”m *not* saying he doesn’t need accommodations and services — keep going with that! — … but just to ease your mind a little —
I have college kids who are right about at that level, and still need prompting — granted, they are in the pre-college-skills classes, but even if his other language and learning skills are ‘way over his age, writing is so much mroe sophisticated that it takes longer to put together.

I think we paid only about $30-$35 for Kidspiration. www.inspiration.com.

I wish I had boutht Inspiration instead. Jami thinks it’s too babyish.

My gifted/LD daughter started using co-writer in 2nd grade and Inspiration. She now uses a laptop and attends the gifted classroom. She has alot of the same problems as your son, and typing made a world of difference.

Stay on top of it mom and give him many opportunities. Jami also uses draftbuilder which has an auditory spellcheck and works well. We are asking for ESY for training this Summer.

It is funny but in one place it said K-3 and another it said K-5, so I suppose it would be wise to download the sample. Those on the borderline should probably go on and get the Inspiration. It’s great that it is relatively inexpensive for the home version! That was a nice surprise!

Janis

One caveat:
I often see Inspiration software recommended and it is important to remember that this is another tool, a great tool if used effectively. What I mean by that is, don’t expect that just because you install it, that your child will be able to use it. Having someone set up a customized graphic organizer with color coding helps tremendously. Often students with LD issues benefit from linear graphic organizers so it’s helpful to keep that in mind. Get some training or have the school send home the graphic organizer on disc that you can work from. Then you can use a split screen so that one side is the organizer and the other side of the screen is your word processing program. This often seems to facilitate the writing process in sequential fashion. But it does require someone to set it up. Work with the school’s “expert” on the use of Inspiration. Just my two cents.

Hi Linda,
We thought our dyslexic son was also dysgraphic - turns out his anxiety about his LD’s were locking him up so much he couldn’t put pencil to paper. Once we started him in therapy, and with a tutor, he relaxed enough and the words started to come. Its not an area of strength, but he’s clearly not dysgraphic.

So my point is that when you have an anxious intelligent LD child you have to address this piece of it too. We specifically hired a reading tutor who is a psychologist so she could work with the anxiety that comes up when he’s reading.

Good luck!

My 10 year old dyslexic/dysgraphic son has the same problem w/ getting his thoughts down on paper. We have been struggling since 3rd grade. The private schools would not address his issues and just called him “defiant”. We switched to public and have been pleased w/ his progress. But as w/ all good things, I have to KNOW what he needs b/f each ARD and get it into his IEP.

He can dictate sentences. Therefore, I have been his “transcriber” both in writing out his answers on homework and typing his book reports. We taped his oral reports to play back to his class. This was acceptable to his 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers. Meanwhile he has been learning keyboarding … slowly.

Also we have found that the Assistant Technology specialist informative. I had to PUSH for this evaluation but we got it. I am awaiting a dictating software for his Dell laptop computer. I was told that it does not function on Compac. I will keep you posted. Kidspiration as well as Inspiration were available at the school and we are downloading onto his computer. We have tried to keep our expectations “high” regarding his performance. Keyboarding is the key to “independence” from Mom.

Keep plugging. I know your frustration!!!! His 5th grade teacher was the most helpful. She has a writing process that I will explain later. Need to run.