Need help with handwriting..

[Kate in Arabia]

My 10 year old ds has terrible handwriting. I have been thinking for some time whether something deeper is at work here (dysgraphia?), but it is becoming more stark to me as my youngest (6 yrs) is getting into regular schoolwork at 1st grade and her handwriting is better than his. He is left handed, a good reader, and super-creative linguistically, but has a really hard time getting these amazing ideas down on paper.

 

Already I have switched spelling programs, he is not a natural speller at all. We struggled with SWO for two years, then switched to AAS. He has had steady improvement using that series. With handwriting, we have always used Zaner-Bloser. Sometimes I guess it takes a brick to the head for me, but clearly after five years (he started it in KG) this program is not working for him. He is now working through the cursive books (grade 4), and while he can do the work and his writing comes out ok with much effort, he does not like to use cursive in his everday writing. Yet the block letters (some lower case, some upper case) he uses are not at all at a level with his age and cognitive abilities, kwim? I mean, I print a lot of my letters, but I can write quickly and legibly, which he cannot.

 

My options are somewhat limited here, but I was considering whether switching to the Getty-Dubay program, or something similar, would be a good idea? I see that the Charlotte-Mason workbook is available in PDF format, which is really helpful for me (otherwise I have to have shipped overseas - expensive).

 

Am I looking in the right directions?

 

TIA for any help.

[Alveraz]

From a purely handwriting perspective, my kid had poor handwriting too. We started HWT and his writing has dramatically improved in just under a month. Just an idea if you haven't tried it yet.

[nansk]

I see that the Charlotte-Mason workbook is available in PDF format...

 

Are you referring to Penny Gardner's Italics ebook? If yes, please search this forum for reviews. It has helped most people who've posted, but not helped some. I have it and I like it.

 

He is left handed...

Would any of the links at the bottom of this page help?

I will post back with another link tomorrow. It is on another computer.

 

EDIT: Robin's Wood Press in the UK sells Italic-based workbooks meant for left handers. I can't see from the samples what special instructions they include but every page has an arrow that helps to position the page properly. I put an arrow like that at the bottom right of a page and then tried to write with my left hand. It really did make a difference.

 

 

BTW does he do typing practice? That might help with narration and composition.

Edited September 7, 2011 by nansk
Added the second link.

[PeterPan]

I don't know if you can do this where you are, but I'd get an OT evaluation. He could have more going on, and switching handwriting programs won't help you sort that out. OT is what you need. They can help you target exactly what's going on and work to fix it. It's also good to get his eyes checked (my standard recommendation for all things, because it made SUCH a difference for us). But definitely the OT. If you pursue the eyes, look for a developmental optometrist (again, if you can find them where you are). That way if there's anything vision affecting his writing, they can catch it. My dd needed both OT and the eyes (VT) for her handwriting issues. With the eyes, he could be seeing double and all sorts of things you don't realize and that don't show up on a regular exam.

Edited September 7, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[Dolphin]

We switched to Getty-Dubay and it has made a world of difference. We made the switch last year, 3rd grade. We are now if 4th grade and might start cursive in the next week or 2.

 

I know he is "behind" but I figured I would rather neat print than illegible cursive.

 

I read somewhere that manuscript is most often used as most kids have success with that, but there is a small amount, mostly boys, who do better with italic. We noticed a difference within 2 weeks.

[Hedgehog]

... Robin's Wood Press in the UK sells Italic-based workbooks meant for left handers. I can't see from the samples what special instructions they include but every page has an arrow that helps to position the page properly. I put an arrow like that at the bottom right of a page and then tried to write with my left hand. It really did make a difference.

 

Another cursive penmanship program is Cursive Writing Skills for Left-Handed Students. (Scroll down the page a little to select the book from the list.) My dd11 used this successfully.

 

BTW does he do typing practice? That might help with narration and composition.

 

:iagree:

[Kate in Arabia]

Thanks for everyone's responses. I searched the forum for the Charlotte Mason book but didn't find a huge amount of discussion on it, maybe my searching is off (am I missing something obvious/important?). I'm thinking, as a start, to use that because I can download it and he can use it next week.

 

This year he is starting taking notes in history from an encyclopedia in addition to writing summaries. Day one he did the summary, and there were tears and general upsetness when I told him this year that I needed to edit what he wrote for spelling errors and he'd need to rewrite it to be more legible. Day two he did the notes and I sat next to him as he read through it; with this he seemed to focus more on the handwriting, used the book to check for spelling errors and asked me when he had questions as to spelling. No tears, thankfully. So now I'm wondering whether part of the problem is in the past I haven't sat with him to guide him through this whole process (I came to the same conclusion with spelling). When he does his handwriting he focuses, but in other subjects not so much.

 

It is still more laborious for him than it should be, and the output doesn't look at-level to me. I'll be looking at some typing programs to see whether that gives him a greater opportunity to explore his creative writing. He loves to write, he just needs the tools to help him get it on paper.

 

Thanks again.

[singing mom]

What you describe sounds very much like my daughter. I don't know if you're a member of HSLDA but a woman by the name of Dianne Craft is a consultant with them. I heard her speak a few years ago at a conference. She had some wonderful advice for people with kids who had difficulties in writing. These kids tend to have the same issues...mixing capitol and small letters (for example: HOusE), physically writing them incorrectly (for instance, instead of writing an 'O' counter clock wise, it's written clock wise), letters like 'g' and 'j' are squashed above the line rather than hanging down (Hope that that makes sense!), and quickly becoming tired after writing for just a brief time. Mrs. Craft gave a VERY simple and cheap method to overcome these obstacles. I don't know if the info is available on the HSLDA site, though? Doing the exercise was not something DD enjoyed but it dramatically improved her writing skills! Hope all this helps and makes some sense! :-)

[sewgirlie]

:iagree: about Dianne Craft.

 

My DD11 did writing 8's this Summer and her willingness to write has improved dramatically, even though she claims it didn't make a difference. Last Spring I had to fight to get her to write a paragraph and this year she whips out a page like it's no big deal!

[stripe]

This is a brief description

http://www.diannecraft.org/article-003.htm

[NotSoObvious]

My daughter has dysgraphia and vision issues. I always use the paper with the dotted line in the middle. She's had a really hard time writing her letters with the right proportions and staying with the lined paper has helped a LOT. I spent all of last year (our first year hsing) working really hard on this. We did very little writing that wasn't copywork or supervised dictation. I had to undo a LOT of bad habits from school. I wanted everything she did to be correct (correct, not perfect) so she'd retrain her brain.

It helped sooooo much. This year, in 4th grade, she is able to do a lot more writing.

We haven't even touched cursive yet and that's just fine with me. We'll start in the next few months. She's asking to do it.

 

She still has trouble with b/d and s/z, but she catches herself a lot more now. I'm so grateful I slowed down last year. It really paid off.

 

Good luck. For us the trick was not letting her make mistakes without correcting them immediately. (FWIW, if it is dysgraphia, it's recommended you don't make them copy things over again. Just be there to offer support for the first draft. It's like making the slow kid run his laps again and expecting a faster time. It's just painful and humiliating. This has been hard for me to learn because I like to push her, but I'm finally accepting it.)