Aspies and handwriting

[Night Elf]

My son is 15 years old and isn't comfortable with handwriting. Since all of his classes are online, he hasn't actually needed to write very much at all. Everything is typed. DH and I feel like this is something he should practice though, and we tried to get him to take some notes in math. I'm talking about a couple of sentences and a formula. He hated his handwriting. He thinks it is sloppy, which it is, and that it is a very laborious task. And then he had a few days where he didn't need to take any notes, and we forgot about it.

 

I still think it's important. He can use a laptop in a college class but not in a math class. And what if any type of job requires handwriting? He just seems too old for copy work. I did teach him cursive a very long time ago but he doesn't remember it at all. Right now though, he hates the idea of cursive. What would you do? Should I have him practice printing and just not think about cursive at all? We aren't religious so copy work wouldn't have any meaning like learning Bible verses. He would see it as a horrible chore and feel negative about it. It would be a battle, which I'm not happy about.

 

Oh, he wrote on college lined paper, and all of his letters and numbers are approximately the same size. Would this matter to you at all? I really think he should just learn to write without discomfort and not worry about strict letter size going halfway to the next blue line or whatever. And I certainly can't imagine him using any type of handwriting paper that little kids use when they are learning to write.

 

I also want him to learn to type properly. He can type fairly well with 2 fingers but I think touch typing is very important since he wants to use it as his main form of writing.

[Laurie4b]

I would prioritize the typing so that he can type proficiently. I can't think of too many jobs that would require handwriting; most would require keyboarding skills for computer use.

 

Can he write numbers well enough to be understood when doing math? Not sure why you'd need to take many notes in math class that aren't number oriented. You could try giving him graph paper for math/notes in math. That gives a lot of structure but is not babyish.

 

If he can sign his name, I wouldn't worry about other writing very much--certainly not enough to practice it for its own sake. My 15 yo ds with dysgraphia can take some notes (he's in outside classes) by hand but not many. We have him use a laptop in his outside classes.

[Night Elf]

Can he write numbers well enough to be understood when doing math? Not sure why you'd need to take many notes in math class that aren't number oriented.

 

I can mostly read his writing but I do need to help him write numbers and symbols clearly enough so a teacher can read it on a written test. Sometimes his equations look confusing because characters can be so alike and because he squeezes them together without much space in between. And what really drives me nuts is that he takes the entire dry erase board to do one equation. He'll write it in the middle then do some of the work underneath to the left or right. Then he moves the partially solved equation to the top and ends up with an answer squeezed to the side of the board. No matter how much I talk, he doesn't get how a linear progression of steps to solve an equation can be beneficial than partial solutions spread willy nilly on the board.

 

As for the notes, there aren't many at all. He's in Algebra 2 and on difficult concepts, I think it's nice to write out the definition and formula when he complains of something being too complicated to remember. He does all of his math work on a dry erase board and nothing on paper. As part of the writing, we were asking him to do just the first homework problem on paper, but he hates handwriting so much that he doesn't like to use paper. I guess the marker glides more easily on the dry erase board. Our thought was to gradually move him to doing all of his homework on notebook paper. I guess as long as he can write well to take notes and tests in a classroom, he'll be okay.

[Misty]

My 14yr old daughter is the same. I put her through a typing program when she was younger and she is very thankful that I did that.. She can get a lot done (including better quality work) with her laptop.. but ask her to handwrite something and it turns out dreadful.

[Guest oneplaceforspecialneeds]

Both my teens have sloppy handwriting. My son used to print neatly but now prints sloppily to keep up in class. Our school district does not teach cursive so I need to teach him to at least write his name. Both my kids learned how to type with correct hand positioning using a kids Garfield typing software. Here are some resources for handwriting that includes finger exercises that might help strengthen his hand for longer writing. http://bit.ly/oRDBsv

[Walking-Iris]

I would keep with the typing but wouldn't give up on legible handwriting too quickly.

 

I wouldn't necessarily think he was too old for copywork. Plenty of adults used to keep copy books of quotations etc.

 

You could ask for him to write down passages from his readings etc in a journal---and possibly ask him to keep a journal.

 

Handwriting may seem that it's going to be obsolete but there are really huge brain developmental benefits from putting pencil to paper---even for adults.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Could you add in some sort of journaling for practice?

[Finnella]

I know it's popular to say that Aspies don't need to be able to write by hand, but the skill isn't dead yet. I don't want my kid embarrassed about writing a simple note to tell the family he's gone out. (Just think how awkward that'll be once it's a roommate instead of family.) I'm trying to achieve confidence and legibility with my son.

 

In addition to the typing instruction, we've been working on cursive with HWT. At minimum, our children need to sign their names without difficulty.

 

I think that learning print versus cursive is a personal preference, beyond the need to sign one's name. I think print is fine, but my DS has preferred cursive. I think it's because he's had no bad experiences with it.

 

For the copywork, I'd go with the journal idea or passages from literature that he enjoys.