I have one son in special ed for reading, english and spelling. My question is my other son, a year younger, seems to read ok but I think he can use some help, he is getting by but displays some type of LD in that his handwriting still looks like a kindergartners, he seems to spell words correctly for a test but later misspells them, he seems to be able to read a word and not be able to spell it, he still draws people as stick people, etc. He is 9 yrs old and in 3rd grade. His teacher last year said he needed to work with an Occupational Therapist for his handwriting and said I needed a Dr. note for that well I guess I misunderstood because the OT told me he has to have a diagnosis for her to be able to work with him. She suggested we use Handwriting without Tears at home and in the classroom.His grades are good and his teacher doesn’t mind his writing which he tends to run the words together too. After saying all that, my question is, if I request for him to be tested through the school will they test for writing disorders,too? are they suppose to? I think he is going to need an IEP sooner or later, maybe just indirect services but you have to have a diagnosis to get and IEP, right?
Thanks
Re: testing
I would definitely submit in writing a request to have them test your child for learning disabilities. Look for sample letters for this request out on the web.
Our son had the same profile as yours and they were able to identify a written language disability (plus other issues). Our district doesn’t use diagnostic labels, but you can find more information about it by searching for the term “dysgraphia.” Here are some links I had bookmarked:
http://www.margaretkay.com/Dysgraphia.htm
http://www.global2000.net/handwritingrepair/KateHwR.html
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/writing.html
When you request the testing try to think of other issues you might not have considered before. Did he have speech delays? Are his reading skills delayed? Is he unable to recognize difference in sounds or similarities (rhyming)in sounds? If so, mention these in request, too, because they may actually be more important than the handwriting itself.
For us, it was really just one manifestation of a bigger language-based problem (which I call dyslexia) even if they won’t. A brain struggling so hard to process language that it can’t focus on the appropriate muscle movements for a very complex physical task we all just take for granted. Perhaps your son simply needs the OT the teacher mentioned, but you won’t know until they actually test. Our son did not qualify for OT because his issues were language-based ; an OT evaluation was eventually done but only after it was specifically requested as an outcome of the psych/ed eval.
If it turns out to be a written-language disability, your best avenue is to research all possible accommations and take every accommodation you can get them to implement. He dictates to you, you write. Shortened assignments. No deductions for spelling, capitilization, spacing, or neatness. Alphasmart as an alternative. It is pretty hard to remediate, and spending time on remediating it may not be the best use of your son’s time if he has other language-based issues. I was told the worst thing to do was to reinforce the frustration by forcing him to do handwriting practice over and over.
Re: testing
I will say, tho, that Handwriting without Tears is an excellent program. Also, although I’m not a professional, it sounds like possibly a little visual processing problem. I’m sure there are profs who will chime in with their expertise.
If you think something is wrong, bring it up with his teacher. They will come up with a child study team that will decide if they see something wrong. Then they will test his through a battery of tests and determine if he is eligible. Then an IEP will be made that will discuss all of the goals and accommodations that he needs. Such as work on handwriting using ….(goal) and do not count off for handwriting (accomodation)