Hi My son was tested at school
\VMI score was 11%
Test of Motor Co-ordination was9%
Test of Visual Perception score was 80%.
ALl Scores in percentiles.
I took him this weekend for a private OT eval. She had him write his
name , print the letters and numbers, and cut with scissors. She said
his issues are mild in her opinion.
Now Im more confused than ever. Does anyone have a child with similar
issues and can u tell me if you tried vision therapy or tell me what
types of therapy were able to help your child?
My son’s issues all revolve around writing. Hes a good reader, a fair
math student but cannot print legibly, copy off the board accurately
nor produce written work that is on grade level.
Hes in 3rd grade and teachers and OT seem to be fine with his limited abilities. It really hit home for me when i was at school and looked at all the written work posted in the hall by other 3rd graders. There was a world of difference between what I saw there as age appropriate and what my son can do.
I am having another OT who has come highly recommended meet my
son and give me their opinion on his OT issues and how theycan help him,
Would love to hear from others about what has worked for you.
Thank you so much!
Re: VMI low scores and therapy
I’m not an OT, but, ditto on Handwriting without Tears—an excellent program.
Also for pre-writing - Waldorf School’s Form drawing. You can buy the pamphlet through the Rudolph Stiener Waldorf School Website (don’t have the link). Also, I think this helps with some of the VMI issues. In 3rd grade he may feel he is too old for this, but I am beginning it w/my first grade daughter—she just thinks it’s fun and doesn’t realize it has anything to do with handwriting.
My son (now 5th grade) had the same issues in 3rd. He is now pretty darn good—so don’t give up. OT, Handwriting Without Tears and IM helped immensely. I wish I would have known about form drawing then—he just wouldn’t bother with it now.
Re: VMI low scores and therapy
Callirobics by Liora Laufer is another option. Improve graphomotor skills listening to music. Hey, some kids love it. Don’t have website but ph number is (804) 293-7055.
Re: VMI low scores and therapy
Yes, form drawings done by my son’s ot is what worked for my son with visual motor issues. She also had him walk the forms. I have tried this with sidewalk chalk on the driveway when he was having difficulty drawing a cursive f, it worked. He went right in house and was able to do it.
She also did motor planning activities like obstacle courses.
His writing is quite legible and he can write several pages without getting tired but he is still working on gaining automaticity in script.
Re: VMI low scores and therapy
I did a search on web for form drawings and
came up blank.
Could u describe what form drawing is and possibly a phone
number or website to order?? Thank u for all the wonderful info
Re: VMI low scores and therapy
The link to the bookstore is: http://www.steinercollege.org/bookstorecatmath.html
The booklet is called something like Form Drawing For Better Handwriting, it is listed under the math and geometry sections….
I am pretty sure it is the right one.
Margo
Some kids with ADHD had handwriting problems
I don’t know if there is any reason to suspect ADHD in your child, but it is something to consider. In ADHD children, handwriting difficulties are very common and, as I recall, are more related to working memory problems than to fine motor skills. Either way, working with an OT, using Handwriting Without Tears, or some other program can make a huge difference. My child has ADHD and is dyspraxic. He worked for years with an OT and ended up being able to write legibly and reasonably automatically, though not very quickly. He still has trouble thinking and writing with a pencil at the same time and does better using a computer for most written assignment beyond fill-in-the-blank, short-answer type questions.
Andrea
We had the exact problem
Used HWT, and my daughter’s handwriting is pretty impressive at this stage. In fact, she’s so proud of it now, she wants to write instead of using the computer!. Too slow, though, and at least she does realize that the computer is the key to her keeping up, so she does use it.
She also takes ADD meds and IF she forgets them the writing is much, much worse. In fact, you can tell if she’s on or off meds just by looking at the handwriting alone. Don’t know the dynamics of it all, just personal experience.
As an OT, many times children test well and perform well on motor skills and have good perceptual skills but still have difficulty with handwritng. This is a graphomotor skill (read Mel Levine’s A Mind at A time), often times has nothing to do with fine motor or perceptual skill . I still see these children. If the child is willing to work hand to remediate handwritng ( at third grade this can be ify depending on the child) I do. I use the Handwritng without Tears method by Jan Olsen website: www.hwtears.com. If they hate handwritng and will not work (I find more children in this category after 5th grade). I will introduce keyboarding or suggest the child take a keyboarding class. Jump Start has a cute and interesting keyboarding program. I would try to remediate if possible for legibility.