My son will be 7 in June and he also has poor handwriting compared to the other children in his class. We practice printing at home daily for the last 3 months and I am starting to notice an improvement.
I have heard that this is common for ASD kids.
You know when you go to a doctor and he makes you cross you knees and he knocks one with a little hammer? Why does he do that? He's testing your neurological responses. There are some things that happen when a child's neurology is screwed up (as it is with autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder -- all the neurobiological disorders). There are physical manifestations of the fact that the connections in the brain are not "right." One of those manifestations is poor motor coordination, particularly poor fine motor coordination. The way to get this addressed is through occupational therapy.My 6 y/o son's handwriting is also very poor, even after 6 months of OT and trying to get him to hold a pencil properly and apply pressure to it. His OT'ist purchased a vibrating pen for him. He has to apply pressure in order to make a solid line. If he doesn't the line is formed with dashes. He traces/copies shapes and letters and the objective is to keep the lines solid. He is getting better at it so hopefully his handwriting will approve. He is already being teased by other kids at school. He was very upset in aftercare a few months ago when the counselor told all the kids to trace their foot. Well, Christian could not do this and when he handed in his blank paper the counselor told my son to stop wasting his time and the other kids poked fun at him. This really hurt my son and he had major anxiety about going back to aftercare. I spoke to this counselor who was sorry and said he did not know but thought there was something wrong b/c he didn't play with the other kids. I went to the school office and told them to make sure that everyone who comes into contact with my son needs to be aware of his issues.
If anyone is interested, here's a link to a vibrating pen: http://www.pfot.com/ShowSearchResult.php?ItemName=Squiggle++ Wiggle++Writer&CategoryName=Writing%2FClassroom+Tools
I feel for you, my sons handwriting is very poor. His art ability is poor also. He does use the computer with about 50-60% of his work. We have done OT at our costs, practice , theraputty w/ pennies, etc. The therapist Keith saw said he has learned to do it wrong - grip, pressure. He will have to really want to change at this point. He is 13.Tony, at 12, also has major handwriting issues. Several years ago, he had an OT eval and we were told his fine motor delays were within the same range as his global delays, and that "OT intervention" was not warranted as the delays would be address in the EC setting.
Fast forward to this year, I requested a new OT eval. Now the OT says it is too late to use therapy, he has to move on to another mode of written communication! So a laptop was assigned to him, but he only uses it for homework. He is still required to write all of his class work.
From my experience, I would highly recommend you push for OT therapy, either through school or private if you are able. If you have a home computer, perhaps you can start getting him familiar with a keyboard just for fun. That would be a start.
This is definitely a sore subject for me!
Mary
Try using a pencil grip , get tem at any stationary store. Also do as much work on their fingers. Hide pennies in clay and make them find them. Stuff like that.
Dorian has extremely bad handwriting but can draw very well. Different height letters and spacing problems never improved.
We keep explaining that drawing is like writing - lines put together to form something. We were told that writing is a mental task - writing and thinking about forming the letters, making words, copying, and/or getting the thought or answer on the paper - multi-tasking.
However Art is different, its something he wants to do. It is never right or wrong. And he controls whats on the paper.
Mirror image??? Yours, too?
Our school folks have NEVER dealt with it!!! T does mirror image leters, words, her own NAME ...
It is typical to have crappy fine motor and crappy handwriting, I know that ...
It is one of MY symptoms ... I always claimed my brain was ahead of my hand to get the words out.
I have heard that pretty much every asd kid has bad handwriting. It isSam just had his OT and PT assesment and it was recommened to use 1/2 lb wrist weights to give more feedback while primting. Sam has very low muscle tone and doesn't use the correct pressure - more like chicken scratches. He also "sketches" his letters. We are using the Sight Sound Printing Program which gives sounds to all the parts and shapes used to make letter. They practice whole body movements and work down to pencil and paper. I've seen more improvement with this program that anything else I've tried so far. Motivation to print have been a challenge for Sam.
Our SLP has put in an order of a laptop for Sam so that he can learn to type next year. He feels it important that Sam have an easier way to complete school work so that he is able to keep up with the class.
Mama to Sam 8yrs PDD NOS, OCD,ODD,PDD and Alex 2yrs
Hi Everyone,
My son's handwriting is very poor. It at times is hard to read although I give him credit for at least trying on a daily basis.
He uses an AlphaSmart at school. This years teacher helps by encouraging him to use the Alpha Smart for longer writing assignments and encourages his writing in everyway. She is a very patient teacher and has helped him in more ways than anyone can imagine.
Last years teacher didn't want him to use the Alphasmart and then had no patience when he struggled with writing assignments. When he brought things home to work on we had him type it as he can do this well. We figured if he was allowed and it was in his IEP to have use of the alphasmart why could he not type his assignments at home. She sent home a note saying she preferred him to write it so she knew he was doing it and resent the assignment home for him to do over. Trust me this did not go over big and I immediately tried to call her. Since she would not return my call I contacted the school counselor who agreed with me that he had every right to type the assignment and he did not have to redo the assignment. After that the teacher was a real witch to him. I was thankful when we moved out of the schools bounderies and we are in the school we are in now.
Yes his handwriting is still bad but as they get older will they really be writing much other than their handwriting and applications for jobs?
Bonnd,
I see your point, to a degree. I look at it that, when Tony is older, he may not need to write MUCH but WHAT he will need to write is very IMPORTANT! Hello.... an application for a job, poorly written, can close the door on a good job!
We hope to move out of state this summer. If the new school does not address this issue, I fully intend on seeking private OT. I think ability to write decently (not necessarily beatifully) is getting to be dangerously under-rated in this day and time!
Mary
As someone with notoriously poor handwriting, I can attest that in the current workplace, I NEVER use it! Partly b/c nobody CAN read it, and b/c ... I never NEED to!
With email and all else, it is easier not to.
Also, most places want you to apply ONLINE, anymore, not in handwriting or typing at all! So take heart ... it is not the end of the world!
-- I think that also is WHY some teachers are so stubborn about teaching it -- it is becoming a bit of a lost art!
I don't know why my kids have this problem. The physical therapist (I don't even know if an OT is available to us here in Norway) says his grip is just fine, but obviously his handwriting is not. He mirrors his numbers *a lot* even though he is in 3rd grade.
We discussed handwriting tips in March, and the topic is worth a look for anyone struggling with this issue. Here's the link:
http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13418&am p;KW=Light%2DBrite
Good luck with everything.