My Son

Dysgraphia Evaluation

Dysgraphia Evaluation
Neuropsychology of Dysgraphia
Steven G. Feifer, Ed.S, NCSP
Philip A. Defina, Ph.D., ABPdN

http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/dysgraphia_evaluation.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEP_guide/

It sounds as if your son might be dysgraphic which means that he has trouble ‘translating’ his thoughts into writing. I’d suggest he start to learn to type as that can sometimes help dysgraphic children to learn to write and it can certainly relieve some of their frustration. There is a fairly inexpensive typewriter than can be taken to school called an Alphasmart that you might want to look into.

While it is possible that your son may have an LD it is equally possible that he does not. Left handedness is a challenge all on it’s own- I know- I, along with my son and daughter, am a lefty- and I hated learning to write(my handwriting is quite good now though). LD in children your son’s age-even the more dysgraphic sorts of LD- generally show up more as difficulty learning to read. Since that piece seems to be fine I would be inclined to wait a bit before burning a lot of energy worrying. You should also keep in mind the fact that he is very young and children’s development at this age is marked by dramatic peaks and surges as well as periods of level progress. One of the benefits to being alert to your child’s development in the way you are is that you CAN wait a bit and see how he progresses.
Robin

The family history of LDs may indicate an issue — but having trouble writing at 5 could just mean the motor skills aren’t as far advanced as the thinking is.
All Kinds of Minds features writing in this month’s newsletter — http://www.allkindsofminds.org/library/challenges/GTPIntro.htm and http://www.allkindsofminds.org/library/articles/IgnitingTheirWriting.htm

Elizabeth,
You are wise to be aware of your son’s potential for learning issues, but you must also bear in mind that many many non-LD boys (in particular) have difficulty getting thoughts down on paper well in to elementary school. My son is in class with a bunch of boys (ages 8-9) that can’t write nearly as well as they can speak or think, and this is a group of “normal ” boys. Be patient with him.

Liz,’

I have a K who is similar to yours. He is weak in handwriting and is also perfectionistic (so keeps erasing). He is behind other kids in K. But he is picking up reading and math just fine. I also have an LD (reading, writing) son who had problems with handwriting in K. For him, handwriting was part of a whole package. On the other hand, my oldest, a girl, also had issues with handwriting but she is a top student. Now in 7th grade, she types everything.

So the difficulties now could end up manifesting themselves in a learning disability, as others have said, but it also can just be a quirk that will cause life to be a little more difficult. This is the case for my daughter. She had trouble keeping up with math notes last year because of her slow writing. (On the other hand, she is on the math team for her school).

This is what I am doing with my K to try to strengthen his skills and prevent future problems. There is a program called Callibrobics (www.callirobics.com) that an OT used with a someone on this board’s child. It is doing drawing to music in preparation for writing. It takes only five minutes a day and costs about $20 for the book and the CD. I am going to over Christmas start working with my son using Handwriting without Tears. This is the way OTs teach kids to write and I figure it can’t hurt my son.

On the other hand, I didn’t know enough to do anything to help my daughter (the LD one is younger than her) and she pretty much has outgrown her difficulties.

Beth

You’re right to question. We had the same thing with our son in kindergarten. He repeated because his small motor skills were so far behind. He was a young K. So we went along with the teacher at the time. We were changing schools, so there wouldn’t be the stigma of seeing classmates move up. Anyway, he continued to struggle and have writing problems. In 2nd, we requested an evaluation. They (school psych, principal) couldn’t understand why. His report cards were very good. His teacher was concerned with his reading comprehension and so he was evaluated. His reading (and comp) were well above the 4th grade level and his writing skills were equal to a 5 yr old. He was diagnosed with a visual perceptual problem and dysgraphia. Because he is a strong reader and a great auditory memory, he wasn’t failing enough to qualify for special education; however, because he was dx with a LD, he is getting accomodations under a 504 Plan.

I would recommend going with your gut instincts. That is pay close attention to how your son is doing in all aspects of school. Talk regularly with teacher(s) and your son. Being aware is the first step.

I can’t say that left handness would slow down the ability to write. I’m left handed and although it may have the ‘sloppiness’ look of the left handed, I wouldn’t say that it made it harder for me to write it down. An issue of getting it onto the paper and neatness are two different issues in my opinion.

We took the don’t over-react, he’s young, his motor-skills are slow approach. I wish we would have advocated stronger, sooner. I would say you’re taking a great approach. You are aware, watching and gathering the information. Best wishes!

Hi
thanks for your advice,
I think at the mment I’m going watch and not push, give him intill after christmas and then ask he’s teacher what we can do to make writing “fun”, if that doesn’t work I’ll be on at them to help he in class.
I just thought I would tell you this,
I was trying to get him to write last night this is a battle, he said “I write with my stupid hand”, I said “you don’t” he said “it was stupid” He isn’t daft and he knows he write with he’s left hand.
That’s also thanks on the thoughts on what could be the problem.
Liz