Dysgraphia?

[NJMomma]

I suspect my DD (nearly 8) might have this. Our developmental pediatrician said it was still too early to tell for sure.

She has a great deal of trouble writing, but no other fine motor issues. She can tie her shoes, play the piano, draw but she struggles to write - the physical act of writing seems hard for her. There are reversals, size variations. Her pencil grip isn't exactly a tripod grasp either - I have shared my concerns about this at school. The consensus at school is to let her hold the pencil however she needs to; that the forced correction of the grasp slows her down to the point were she can't keep up. She was previously diagnosed with ADHD.

Does anyone out there have experience with this? I have done some reading and read conflicting reports as to how effective OT is for helping this.

Thanks for any input

 

[bookwormde]

If you can find a really good clinicain who specializes in this area there are good therapies that are effective (though not a "cure") in a large percentage of kids.

I have a quick "research question", has your child shown indication of lack of left right hand preference at any point?

bookwormde

 

[brat]

Both my older brother and I are dysgraphic. My brothers only trouble with writting as an adult is messy penmanship.My penmanship is better than my brothers but it is much slower.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

My oldest son has dysgraphia and honestly my OT wished that she got her hands on him MUCH earlier. She used Loops and Groups handwriting with him plus some hand strengthening exercises and a myriad of other things. I wouldn't wait much longer to get a diagnosis. I have dysgraphia and it is physically uncomfortable to write and has been my whole life. Additionally, there is great stigma attached to being a female with poor handwriting. I remember it stunk growing up having bad handwriting. All the girls had this pretty flowing penmanship and mine was humiliatingly awful. Don't wait. Enlist the help of an OT as soon as possible.

 

[nhpgator]

Get help as early as you can - I coached a young man in 7th grade - who should have been in 9th grade but had just failed because he had not been diagnosed and no one had tried to help him- the work (writing and thus almost everything in school) became too much for him - he hated it all - once we found out the challenges - the light went on and he did better - was it still work for him yes- was it still hard - yes - but he knew it wasn't just "because he was lazy" which is what so many people had told him

And yes your other fine motor skills can be wonderful- this young man was a college caliber basketball player with the softest most beautiful shot - it was an amazing testament to what can be done to see him play the sport!

 

[NJMomma]

Thanks everybody for the info!

Writing does seem to physical hurt her, that's was one of the red flags for me. I requested an evaluation from the school OT, still waiting for that. I am also looking a private OT.

 

[millerpjm]

Hi there - my 8 year old DS has ADHD and I am also suspecting he might have dysgraphia. His teacher has sort of downplayed my concern, saying it's "just a small motor issue".

My question - who diagnoses dysgraphia? Would I request an evaluation from the school, or get a private evaluation? My DS has already been turned down for an IEP based on his ADHD alone (OHI) and has a 504. The OT at school says she can't help him because he doesn't have an IEP. When we did the IEP process last year, he was not tested for any learning disabilities.

Thanks.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

I had an OT diagnose my eldest son's disability. I had the OT's letter(she couldn't make it to the child study meeting) when I met with the school and they were able to give him accomodations based on his dysgraphia and ADHD. This year is my son's first year in the public school system and I have found that the school is very reluctant to test him for anything. If you can't get your son tested by the school, I would get an independent OT evaluation as soon as possible. HTH!

 

[millerpjm]

I had an OT diagnose my eldest son's disability. I had the OT's letter(she couldn't make it to the child study meeting) when I met with the school and they were able to give him accomodations based on his dysgraphia and ADHD. This year is my son's first year in the public school system and I have found that the school is very reluctant to test him for anything. If you can't get your son tested by the school, I would get an independent OT evaluation as soon as possible. HTH!

Do you have an IEP or 504 for your son? Just curious....

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

My son has a 504. He has many accomodations in place for him that makes his life easier. He gets clean copies of notes to study with(we still make him attempt to take notes in class though), more time for written tests, and freedom to use an agenda of his choosing because the lines in the student agendas in the middle school are too small for him to write his assignments on. For his ADHD, he has copies of books at home so that if he forgets his books(he's just a wee bit distractible) and access to his teachers web pages so that he can check his assignments.

 

[Singledad]

I have disgraphia, I wish someone would have noticed and cared about it as soon as you are catching it in your child. DO NOT WAIT! The longer you wait to even try OT, the harder it will be to help 'retrain' the body to do what you need it to do. and if OT doesn't help, at least you tried.

as I got older, I was able to type *everything*. This is the sole reason I graduated. Physically painful to write more than a sentence and a half.

Kudos for even knowing about this.

 

[LMC]

My son has a 504. He has many accomodations in place for him that makes his life easier. He gets clean copies of notes to study with(we still make him attempt to take notes in class though), more time for written tests, and freedom to use an agenda of his choosing because the lines in the student agendas in the middle school are too small for him to write his assignments on. For his ADHD, he has copies of books at home so that if he forgets his books(he's just a wee bit distractible) and access to his teachers web pages so that he can check his assignments.

We do this too but have taken it to the next step. DS is in high school now so he still attempts notes but now he is to do it on the laptop. The school is to provide teacher notes, power points, copies of everything. We scan it to a flash drive into subject folders and he takes it back to school to use with the laptop. The only thing that is suppose to be in a notebook now is math. Well they failed on this so they are trying to get there before our IEP meeting in April. He also uses the calendar and syncs it with google to track his homework everyday. The teacher or an aide would write it in a log but he needs to learn how to do this so they are teaching him how to enter it on a calendar then he syncs it to google and we can look at it from home every night. I can make entries too like turn in homework, turn in doctor's excuse, check out early etc.

I am going to get DS a small notebook that can go back and forth to school to help eliminate some confusion he has with how to find his documents.
This is how his life will be post high school (college or work) so he has to start learning how to organize a life with this method now. I can't wait until he gets out in two more years!

 

[CHICKENLEG]

There are these spiffy pencils called "Twist n Write" that are wishbone shaped. They sort of hug your finger & then your hand falls into a natural tripod grip. They have helped one of the kiddos in the classroom I help in. We order them from amazon.

It certainly won't cure all of your issues, but every little bit helps, right?