Do Asperger's kids have terrible handwriting?

[Julie in MO]

Hi all,

Still trying to learn all I can since it was suggested DD (age 12) might have Asperger's. Her handwriting has always been terrible - even after multiple writing programs, offers of rewards, etc. It's so tiny it is often unreadable, even by her. Is that common?

Thanks,

Julie

[MamaSheep]

Handwriting has been a BIG issue with my Aspie. From what I've gathered from other Aspie parents, as well as the nice people who used to work with him when he was in public school, this is very common. In fact, the public school folks told me they don't bother trying to teach Aspie kids cursive writing because they struggle so much just with print. (We did teach ds cursive at home, and his cursive writing is actually neater than his print, though he is faster at print and therefore prefers it. But most of his written work is typed on the computer.)

[Julie in MO]

I try to choose my "battles" wisely and had given up that one already. I had her use Typing Instructor Deluxe for two years getting faster at typing and that's helped (except with math...can't read her numbers). She misses answers because of it. Sometimes I just have her do math orally, when the problem permits that.

Thanks,

Julie

[MamaSheep]

Yeah, it's not a hill I'm dying on either. Typing is happy! I do still make him do a page of Handwriting Without Tears every day, and his handwriting (and attitude about it) is slowly improving, but I no longer hold out hopes for anything beyond basic legibility. "Neatness" is a pipe dream with this one. But I do want him to be able to do a little handwriting in those real-life scenarios that require it, so I keep plugging away at it.

[HeidiD]

Hi all,

Still trying to learn all I can since it was suggested DD (age 12) might have Asperger's. Her handwriting has always been terrible - even after multiple writing programs, offers of rewards, etc. It's so tiny it is often unreadable, even by her. Is that common?

Thanks,

Julie

 

It's funny - my daughter with Aspergers has nice handwriting (and she's a lefty, to boot), while another of my children who is not on the spectrum writes ridiculously small. :tongue_smilie:

 

And my neurotypical husband's writing is totally illegible - so bad that we don't let him fill out forms anymore due to the mix-ups his horrible handwriting has caused. :lol:

[MamaSheep]

It's funny - my daughter with Aspergers has nice handwriting (and she's a lefty, to boot), while another of my children who is not on the spectrum writes ridiculously small. :tongue_smilie:

 

And my neurotypical husband's writing is totally illegible - so bad that we don't let him fill out forms anymore due to the mix-ups his horrible handwriting has caused. :lol:

:lol: Which just goes to show. Autism disorders are so individual.

[elise1mds]

My son's handwriting is huge and was totally illegible before I brought him home. It's a slow, tedious process for him now, but he is able to do it. I'm teaching him to type, though, because he'll never be able to write fast enough and have it be legible enough to take notes during a lecture in college.

[Guest]

In a word, yes, it's common among Aspies. Dd was officially diagnosed with dysgraphia at age eleven; a family friend commented that she could barely spell "cat" and her writing was nearly almost illegible.

 

The changes since then have been just about miraculous. First she went through a phase of experimentation with different fonts and scripts, making 3-D letters, pictograms, runes, etc. Then she began keeping a commonplace book of quotations from her favorite books and musicals, so she got a lot of practice with sheer physical handwriting without having to also think about spelling, punctuation, organizing her thoughts, and making an argument all at the same time (we worked on these skills separately, often orally). And finally, she took riding lessons; eventually the infatuation with horses included not only the lessons (much balancing and core strengthening) but also fine motor work (tacking up, buckling bridles, holding reins) and heavy work (shoveling out stalls, carrying feed buckets, grooming, learning to lunge a horse on a lead line, putting sawdust into stalls).

 

This combination has been magical for her, along with whatever developmental "clicks" seem to happen for many Aspies in their early teens. She now has, when she is interested and concentrating, absolutely standard writing -- sometimes it's even lovely. If she's not interested, everything looks as though it's been written by a disoriented kindergartner. But I am beginning to feel as though she will be able to write legible exams in college after all!

 

Typing is uphill work for dd, since her collection of issues includes finger agnosia, a problem with the nerves in the fingers sending messages about pressure, texture, etc. to the brain. She has trouble with everything from pencil grips to opening jars to typing to clapping rhythms and playing an instrument. This will never physiologically improve. But she is learning, within her limits, to type with two and sometimes four fingers. Her father, also an Aspie, types this way and has become quite speedy over the years, so I'm beginning also to trust that dd will make this work for her even if it's not technically correct or desirable.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

my aspie son is almost 8 and I'd say this is the only "subject" he struggles with---handwriting....OH MY!! we're still in basic printing (no where near ready for cursive) and he has the hardest time getting it on/between the lines correctly.....oh boy--yes!

[cindergretta]

My Aspie's writing is pretty bad. God bless him, he tries. But he uses capitals almost exclusively, writes kind of "big," the spacing is crazy, and it just isn't "neat." Instead of working on printing with him, (for the moment) we are working on crocheting, modeling with beeswax, beading, lacing, etc. He prints a little each day, but I don't get too into how it looks, kwim?

[Julie in MO]

I am learning so much already from this board. I had not thought about increasing the fine motor activities (crochet, etc.) And never even considered horse riding - we have a therapeutic riding club here that she might qualify for (if we ever get connected into the *system*). It's nice to know that the handwriting is not something to worry about.

Blessings,

Julie

[HeidiD]

I am learning so much already from this board. I had not thought about increasing the fine motor activities (crochet, etc.) And never even considered horse riding - we have a therapeutic riding club here that she might qualify for (if we ever get connected into the *system*). It's nice to know that the handwriting is not something to worry about.

Blessings,

Julie

 

We're in the "Keyboarding Age" :) - handwriting is at most, a peripheral skill to master (as long as you can at least read their math problems :)).

 

Also, fine motor problems aren't always the culprit. Mixed dominance (left-handed, right-eyed, or vice versa) can also play a role.

 

My husband and I both have mixed hand-eye dominance. His writing is atrocious; mine is neat.

 

It appears that the difference is caused by positioning. He uses the standard writing posture he was taught in school (and which is recommended in most of the writing programs I've tried with the kids). I write with the paper at much more of an angle and closest to my dominant eye rather than my dominant hand.

 

Mixed dominance is definitely worth investigating when someone is having trouble producing legible writing. Some people with this profile may make automatic adjustments in order to produce clear handwriting, and others might benefit from a little coaching.

[Guest]

Also, fine motor problems aren't always the culprit. Mixed dominance (left-handed, right-eyed, or vice versa) can also play a role.

 

 

This is a good reminder to have any vision/spatial problems sorted out if you can. Dd had nearly a year of sports vision therapy which included a lot of work coordinating hands and eyes: ripping paper in particular patterns, throwing beanbags at a target while jumping on a trampoline, standing on a balance board while touching lights that lit up in a pattern, etc.

 

VT did not seem to have a direct impact on her writing, although it certainly did marvels in terms of other things such as being able to throw, catch, and dodge a ball; it also helped in terms of raising the speed with which she could physically respond to visual cues. But indirectly I'm sure that it helped set up the conditions for her eventual progress.

[HeidiD]

This is a good reminder to have any vision/spatial problems sorted out if you can. Dd had nearly a year of sports vision therapy which included a lot of work coordinating hands and eyes: ripping paper in particular patterns, throwing beanbags at a target while jumping on a trampoline, standing on a balance board while touching lights that lit up in a pattern, etc.

 

 

 

This sounds really good. What kind of provider would we need to look for? Did your insurance cover it?

 

I've used an in-home version (Balametrics - http://www.balametrics.com/products/index.htm ) and there were definite improvements.

[Guest]

This sounds really good. What kind of provider would we need to look for? Did your insurance cover it?

 

I've used an in-home version (Balametrics - http://www.balametrics.com/products/index.htm ) and there were definite improvements.

 

Insurance did not cover it, which is so infuriating; it's not considered a medical problem. The local school district covers basic vision therapy, but it is paper-based pretty well exclusively and centers on reading issues, which dd does not have. We were on our own, as with just about everything else we've done with dd over the years. In this case, it was really worth while.

 

We lucked into our therapist; I found out about him through a local Asperger's support group, which featured him as a speaker. You can look through his web site and see what kinds of things he recommends, at

http://www.sandiegocenterforvisioncare.com

 

There is a recent book describing many of the exercises my dd did there, called Fixing My Gaze, by Susan Barry.

[HeidiD]

Insurance did not cover it, which is so infuriating; it's not considered a medical problem. The local school district covers basic vision therapy, but it is paper-based pretty well exclusively and centers on reading issues, which dd does not have. We were on our own, as with just about everything else we've done with dd over the years. In this case, it was really worth while.

 

We lucked into our therapist; I found out about him through a local Asperger's support group, which featured him as a speaker. You can look through his web site and see what kinds of things he recommends, at

www.sandiegocenterforvisioncare.com

 

There is a recent book describing many of the exercises my dd did there, called Fixing My Gaze, by Susan Barry.

 

Thanks, KarenAnne. :)

[Misty]

Yes, Aspies almost always have poor handwriting. I have a 13yr old daughter who is "Aspie-ish" and her handwriting is horrible. I tried for years to improve her handwriting, but nothing.