Dysgraphia | Imamother

amother

Tue, Feb 21 2023, 8:17 am

So I just read about dysgraphia for the the first time on a discussion here today.
I was curious and ended up diving into a sea of information.
What I’m reading sounds a lot like my son. One of his top complaints about school is that there is too much writing. He has very messy handwriting, his spelling is not great, neither is his grammar and punctuation.
He is a great kid with and an awesome personality, a creative thinker and does pretty well in school. An average student who is BH well behaved.

I think I will start by reaching out to an OT, but I would love to hear from anyone if they have experience helping a kid with dysgraphia.
What support were you able to provide that helped them?

amother

Peachpuff

Tue, Feb 21 2023, 10:44 am

I have a middle school son with this diagnosis. We did educational testing with him- honesty looking to see if we would get an add diagnosis- and came out with this. It was a lightbulb moment for my husband and I when the tester explained dysgraphia to us. It explained so much of my son’s struggles in school.

You don’t say how old your son is. My son managed in school ok until around 5th or 6th grade. He is bright with a good memory and just made it work. As he’s gotten into middle school it’s much harder bc of the expectations to take their own notes and a much more writing for tests/ assignments. Also, some teachers are just better at reading his only somewhat legible handwriting then others.

He has been in OT for a few years. His OT has taught him to write in script which is much more legible. She also works with him on endurance which he definitely needs as he gets older and is expected to write in longer stretches at school.

amother

Tue, Feb 21 2023, 6:16 pm

Thanks for the responses

So my son is 11. He did see an OT for 1-2 years when he was a bit younger. By the end of the second year she said he was done.
But we kept feeling something just wasn’t right, his teachers have never complained or commented, but he’s not happy.
My husband has ADD so we did take him to see someone, but the dr was pretty sure it’s not ADD.

Dysgraphia just ticks so many boxes, I’ve never heard of it before and I no one has ever mentioned it.

Just thinking back, even to the time he was in kindergarten (3 and 4 year old) he was never interested in the fine motor or craft activities, he didn’t have a clear right or left handed preference till quite late, and he didn’t really develops his own interest in writing - printing his own name etc - like my other kids did.
I remember speaking to his teacher about it (who is notorious for sending kids to therapies) but she didn’t think it was a problem, just he was going at his own pace.

Because things were never major problems, he’s a really sweet well behaved kid, and he’s one of the youngest in his class his teachers were always happy with him. I guess everything is still within the ‘normal’ range.

But my gut has always been telling me there is something more we can do for him. He can be happier and feel better about himself in school.

BH on his weekly gemoroh test he does very well, he knows the content, participates in discussions etc but he is just not happy about going to school.

I would love to hear if anyone has seen improvements with their kids after getting help.

I’m reading that some people find it easier to type than write. We are thinking that may be an option

amother

Amber

Tue, Feb 21 2023, 7:14 pm

You probably read threads I wrote about dysgraphia. My daughter is in high school and having dysgraphia is very hard. She has spent years in OT and at one point we realized that this is how it will be and we just have to make her feel good about herself. Typing is an excellent idea but my daughter’s school does not allow it so although we encourage her to type at home it has not helped her in school. Sometimes a teacher will be kind and allow her to tell her the answers verbally but that usually happens after my daughter struggled writing answers on a test that the teacher couldn’t read.
School has been very hard for her mostly because of writing assignments and taking tests. At this point we are not pressuring her to improve her handwriting just like you wouldn’t pressure someone who has dyslexia to read better. We have tried to advocate for her behind the scenes but she is older now and very socially aware and in high school it’s looked down upon when parents do the talking for the student. I still mention something at pta. Our goal is to make her feel confident and happy with herself despite the writing difficulty. School is all about writing so it’s very hard.
I’m thinking about her future and there will probably be very little writing she’ll have to do as the world progresses in technology. She can type everything aside for signing her name (I hope her signature will improve) and writing mitzvah notes for her kids one day. There is no real cure for dysgraphia. Fine motor skills can improve but handwriting only very slightly.

amother

Peachpuff

Tue, Feb 21 2023, 8:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

There are a lot of parallels here to my son. He also had OT much younger. He had (still has?) a weaker core strength. I think dysgraphia can’t be picked up on that young which is why they end up being done with OT.

Just fyi- dysgraphia is a learning disability and even though it is related to physical writing, it has other components. For my son I tell his teachers that he can’t think and write at the same time. For us the diagnosis has been helpful because it has pushed the school to meet him where he is. Like pp said- his handwriting is only going to be so legible regardless of the effort we and his OT put in and we’re only going to drive him so crazy.

In terms of typing- we live in a community where that is an option but honestly after dealing with technology during covid, I am not pushing him to use it. Also, interestingly he doesn’t want to use it because he doesn’t like to be different. Some teachers manage, others have him stay after school and read his answers to them. Also you should know that out tester for him did say that kids with dysgraphia can have trouble typing too so it may not be helpful enough.

There are definitely improvements that we’ve seen both with OT and with accommodations suggested in his evaluation report but they’re not what you seem to be hoping for. There really isn’t a fix but more of a how can he live his best life with this.

amother

Midnight

Mon, Jun 26 2023, 7:54 pm

Has anyone had success with specific types of therapy for dysgraphia? I only recently realized my DS (young teen) has this issue. For years we blamed it on laziness and ADHD, but I really think he has a deeper issue with his handwriting. His writing is so horrible, completely illegible. We've gotten some teachers to make accomodations over the years, oral testing, typing up notes, but there are always some things you can't make accomodations for. For example, writing thank you notes.
I recently heard about MNRI being used for dysgraphia. Does anyone have experience with this?

amother

Midnight

Mon, Jun 26 2023, 10:52 pm

amother Amber wrote:

My daughter who has severe dysgraphia never had good handwriting. She is a teen now. It effects her on a daily basis. It’s really sad.

My son (also a teen) who has adhd used to have decent handwriting but it became pretty bad over the years. I do not think he has dysgraphia. He just has no patience and doesn’t care to put in any effort. I do believe that at this point he is truly not capable of correcting his handwriting now.

Interesting. My DS never had GOOD handwriting, but it was at least legible in 1st grade-3rd grade. Now in middle school, it's a lot worse. I have a feeling my son's issue may be similar to your son's... he doesn't care to put in any effort into it (this applies to all his schoolwork, as well). So I wonder if it's a waste of time (and $) to pursue OT or MNRI.
My question is, has anyone successfully overcome this? And what was it that helped? (Aside from making accommodations, that is).
OP, sorry I hijacked your thread. Did you ever pursue help for your child? And did it make a difference?