Do you have to qualify for OT to get just accomodations???

I think kindergarten is too young to start accomodations. You still have time to address the actual deficit.
I also think kindergarten is to young to have to write 4 sentences. Did I read that correctly?

I think if that is correct he should have his writing reduced but so should the whole class!

I’m getting into methods of teaching writing over on the reading board — look at my old posts there (or email me and ask for a download) for suggestions on how to get writing on track.

He shouldn’t be using a pencil or anything that requires force and pressure to make a mark. Little kids’ hands are not that strong, and the demand of pressing down at the same time as you make fine muscle movements is a recipe for PAIN.

I strongly suggest the following tactics:
Start with a *large* wipe-off marker and a white-board. Re-teach him to move his hand freely with *no* pressure — starting with a vertical board and moving to a horizontal one can help.
Get his left arm out from under his chest and get him on his rear, not his knees — no, I’m not spying on your kitchen, this is just the posture *all* these poor kids get into while they try to get their weight behind the pencil.
Teach him to make smooth, *quick* circles and lines, making sure at the same time he’s following directionality left-to-right and top-to-bottom and circles counterclockwise. Then teach him to form the letters of the alphabet, *smooth*, *fast*, and *large* on the whiteboard.
Get a good printing guide and follow directionality absolutely. Use a system with as few pen lifts as possible — for example, h is made by a tall line top to bottom, slide halfway up, and over the bump; w is down-up-down-up; the system of picking up the pencil and drawing separate parts has been proved to be inefficient and unnecessary. It will be a fight for a month now — and save three years of tears over writing later so it is a huge profit.
If he learns directionality well the first time, good printing turns instantly into cursive by just not lifting the pen — so you’ve just saved two years of trouble down the road, too.
Teach **lower-case** first! Reason (1): 95% and more of writing is lower-case (look at these sentences here for examples) so you must have lower-case in order to read or write anything more adv anced than a stop sign. Reason (2): Despite what you hear from people who don’t know anything about the subject, capital letters are NOT easier, Lower-case letters can be formed systematically and flowing, following a consistent set of rules: always left to right, always top to bottom, and entering circles always clockwise. Capitals are more complicated and not rule-based. Some people think the straight lines are “easier” — but if you look at your kid’s drawings, curves and circles are more common, so this reasoning is fallacious.
Once he can print adequately large and loose, get medium-sized markers and a heap of white paper (You can get a hundred sheets for a dollar or so, and this is an investment in your kid.) A side note: I am not garbage, my kid is not garbage, and our work is not garbage — so don’t try to save paper by fishing it out of the trash, which sends absolutely the wrong message. At this stage of pre-K and K, letters a good inch high are fine. If he needs a notebook or journal, get those three-pin duotang or similar folders, also cheap from dollar store or WalMart. Encourage him to a feeling of freedom in his writing — the worst thing is for it to be tight and forced. (This is unfortunately contrary to what many schools teach — and why is writing such a problem for them, especially when they try to get to cursive?)
As he gets smooth and confident in writing, get super-fine markers or rolling writers and drop the size two two standard lines high; capitals and tall letters like b and t go from top to bottom, two lines high, tailed letters go from middle under the base, also two lines high, and short letters like a and o go from middle line to bottom. This is perfectly adequate into Grade 1.

Now, if he goes into K able to shape all his lower-case letters appropriately and able to write flowingly and without all the fatigue, he should be able to keep up with the demands. Provide him with the fine markers or rolling writers and the booklet full of paper to do his class writing. If his teacher is of the “creative” reinvent the wheel kind, she should accept this as being as good as crayon on newsprint. If the teacher is hung up on yellow pencils and small lines, you can work hard to get this as an accomodation — he does the school’s writing, just a little larger at first, and using a black fine marker rather than a pencil. If they have primary notebooks with the big double lines, he can use that, good. But try NOT to let them force him back to writing with crayons and pencils — stress to him that this is NOT “the right way” and that adults use pens, and you want him to keep using his pen. Really, considering five-year-olds, I cannot imagine that there is a whole class anywhere who can write tiny and neat, so you shouldn’t have a problem. If ll else fails, refer the teacher to me as your consultant — I have MA in Education and can get snooty back.

I am an OT with a masters degree who works in the school system and has a daughter with LD and ADD. In our state you do not need scores to qualify for OT but only need to qualify for special ed. or speech. If there is a functional problem in the classroom that impeds learning a child can receive OT services no matter what thier OT eval standarized scores are. the tests are only one tool to give me information about where the problems may lie. classroom observation, parent and teacher interview are usually the best tool. If your state is heavy into testing. The accomodations maybe helpful for that reason and also to modify or possibly shorten assignments, you can also get modifications if you have an IEP in place with or without OT services.
I reccomend the handwritng without tears program. Website: www.hwtears.com. It has research behind it, it’s developmentally appropriate, functional and easy to incorporate in the classroom or as a home program. My daughter and tons of other children I serve have been successful using this program. Good luck.

Thank you all so much for answering. Marycas was kind enough to post this inquiry on my behalf. I am now much more hopeful that we can make some progress on printing before September so that kindergarten won’t be quite so painful. Again, I really appreciate all of your information, ideas and observations. - Suzanne