Around the time my son started to talk, his speech therapist noticed that his hands trembled whenever he tried to color with crayons, drink from a cup, put food in his mouth or grasp small objects. An MRI showed everything was fine and we were told that these hand tremors or what we called, “shaky hands,” were here to stay.
I quickly accepted that my son probably would never become a neurosurgeon but I didn’t realize the effect that poor fine motor skills and “shaky hands” would have in the classroom. Writing is tiring and mostly illegible. Over the past 10 years, the schools have tried to help and I’ve sought help from outside professionals but the problems persist and handwriting remains his biggest obstacle in the classroom.
Poor Handwriting (dysgraphia)
What’s worked – Using an AlphaSmart or small portable keyboard. I bought him one in third grade, he’s now in sixth and he’s finally accepting that it’s his friend. (www.alphasmart.com)
What hasn’t – A well-meaning occupational therapist with the school district tried placing a weight on his wrist to steady the shaking. It didn’t work at all and was painful! She also tried a contraption made of string that made him hold the pencil differently, also ineffective and very distracting.
What's worked – Cursive. Despite being told by his third grade teacher that he’d never write cursive, his private school requires it. Using cursive, he has no letter reversals and there is space between his words. He still tires easily and it’s not always legible but it’s an improvement over his manuscript writing. Handwriting Without Tears has a good program for teaching handwriting at home. (www.hwtears.com)
What hasn’t – Big pencils, small pencils, mechanical pencils, triangular pencils, pencils with squishy grips, pencils without squishy grips, paper with raised lines, paper without raised lines, graph paper, paper with huge spaces, paper with regular lines, blank paper.
Thankfully, my son has adapted very well to using a computer and type, type, typing away. I keep telling him that the day will come when no one sees his handwriting. After all, when was the last time any of us wrote a note by hand?
anne...thank you so much for writing....my son (6 yr old 1st grade) was diagnosed with dysgraphia this year. An audiologist also did the noisy/quiet discrepency test, which he failed, but would not do the full auditory processing disorder testing until he was 7....he is doing handwriting without tears with an OT and has progressed a little....but I have soooo many unanswered questions and concerns...does your son have both??? And what about ADHD??? APD and ADHD are so closely related and misdiagnosed...see.....so many thoughts and questions..I find myself getting stuck on this computer researching for hours...I would appreciate any other tips or advice...it has been a rough year....thanks for your time...
ReplyDeleteYes, my son has all of the above-- auditory processing disorder, ADHD, dysgraphia and dyslexia. I've also been stuck on the computer for hours, mostly when he was younger. Now, I'm more focused on getting him to use the tools he's learned, like the AlphaSmart.
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time when he was younger reteaching him the school material when he would get home. In a large classroom, he missed a lot so we would go through everything again at home.
Does your son have an IEP? After first grade, ours included modifications for handwriting including shortening assignments and not having points taken off for legibility. Starting in third grade, keyboarding was added.
He is in a private school...so i don't think they have iep's in private schools....
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of interactive metronome??
What about self esteem??? Next Monday my little man will find out that he is having to repeat first grade...(the principal is going to ask for "forgiveness" saying he was not supposed to actually go to first grade last year because his bday is in July ((won't be 7 til July))..that the school made a mistake)..He already feels a little different this year...any experiences you've had would be helpful....
Is it a private school for kids with learning differences? That's been our savior, a school just for kids like mine. The kids have to have a documented learning disability and an average or above average IQ.
ReplyDeleteI've never considered holding my son back because he's so tall for his age. He would stand out and yes, self-esteem would be an issue. However, I know many, many kids in his school who repeated kindergarten or first grade and are doing just fine as 5th or 6th graders. I would not look at that as a failure on anyone's part. With a July birthday, he'll fit in just fine if he repeats the year. If he hasn't learned what you think he needs to know to do well in second grade, it's almost setting him up for failure by moving him forward. If he can make up the lost ground at his young age, I would think that would be beneficial. We didn't catch up until this year, sixth grade, and my son still lags behind in writing and spelling.
I've heard of interactive metronome, it was offered to us by the place that administered the listening therapy. I passed. To be honest, I got to a point where all I wanted was my son to feel normal, to not have any more extra therapy. We got that in fourth grade and he feels much better about himself. Or at least, that's what I tell myself!
I do think that many kids, including mine, learn coping skills as they get older. Maturity has been an issue for us and the older he gets, the more he understands about effort and responsibility.
I would like to add one thing -- try the pencil grips, raised-lined paper and all the things an OT might recommend. The pencil grips sometimes made his grip more comfortable and while I never saw a huge improvement, the investment was small and worth the time and effort. (www.pfot.com was my source for all that kind of stuff!)
ReplyDeleteIt's a private Catholic School....I pay out of pocket for OT...but the school has been very helpful and willing to do anything...
ReplyDeleteWhat helped the most with spacing issues....copying...etc...Hand writing without tears??? cursive???
I am trying to decide what to do about OT during the summer...should I teach him handwriting myself....or continue over the summer with the OT...he HATES writing...or stop the OT and give him a break...??? what to do....what to do????
I'm just so thankful to find someone to talk to about this...
Just my opinion, but if you think he needs a break, he probably does. If he's definitely repeating first grade then you have some time without adding the pressure over the summer.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of games you can play which help with fine motor skills -- pick up sticks and jacks are just a few. My son LOVED playing pick up sticks but didn't have the motor coordination to do very well at jacks. He really had to work hard to keep his hands from shaking to pick up the sticks without moving the others.
He also loved for me to hide objects in therapy puddy. I don't know if it helped, but I felt like it kept his hands working and he enjoyed it.
I also tried using markers that change color when you write over them a second time. You could draw pictures or write his name and he could trace over to see the color change. If you skip OT over the summer, you can play these games at home.
There are also a lot of computer games that help with keyboarding. I started those around age 7. It was a start!
I haven't posted it yet but I'm also a huge believer in martial arts for young kids. It helps with self-esteem, strength, coordination, balance, attention and gross motor skills. If there's a good program in your area and your son isn't into other sports, you might look at one of the martial arts.
WOW!!! I am loving you!!! I wish I still lived in Plano and you would have a new best friend (whether you liked it or not...ha!) I so much appreciate all your advice....and I am loving the pfot website....thank you...thank you...thank you!
ReplyDeleteOne last questions...Alex has no understanding of the concept of time...what day it is...how long 10 minutes is...etc...did yours have issues with this???
I wish you lived in Plano too! I need more friends! My son has never had problems with time issues. We moved a lot before landing here so he understood concepts like time zones and telling time earlier than most kids.
ReplyDeleteMy son has excelled with some subjects like geography and basic math facts. Maybe because he likes them, I don't know. Or maybe he's always just been a little obsessive about some things, like long it takes to get places and whether we'll be on time. He has a bit of anxiety to deal with as well!
Thanks for all your posts!