Quiver0f10 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 My 15 yo son has horrible penmanship. We have tried HWT as well as having him just copy things I wrote with no improvement. I had been having him use block writing and that is still illegible. I have him typing all his school work now, but I worry about when he goes off to college and that won't be an option in a classroom. Any suggestions on what I can use with him? He reads well but can't spell so I think he has dyslexia as well, but he hasn't been officially diagnosed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Just so that you know, the Scottish Rite Learning Centers perform free dyslexia screenings to everyone. Cursive is supposedly easier to write than manuscript. I prefer Getty-Dubay because there are no loops or weird flourishes. Typing...Can your son type? If not, get that boy typing ASAP. When my son was in 4th grade, he started using a Neo AlphaSmart because I didn't want him to have access to my computer. You can purchase one used, and they will print directly to an All in One HP printer via a USB cable. DS has also used Dragon Speak which is a voice to text software. You will need to have your child tested by a PhD Neuropsychologist if you want him to have accommodations in college. Good luck, Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 How horrible is horrible? A lot of 15 yo boys (and many people in general) have messy writing. I'm not excusing it, but just pointing that out. Does he care about how his writing looks or is he just trying to get the assignment done? If he slows down, is he able to write legibly? Has his writing always been bad? What's his grip like? Is there anything else that's unusual, like a weird grip, inappropriate force, c/o hand hurting, etc? If you really think there's something going on that's unusual, you might contact an OT for an evaluation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katiejane Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 How horrible is horrible? A lot of 15 yo boys (and many people in general) have messy writing. I'm not excusing it, but just pointing that out. Does he care about how his writing looks or is he just trying to get the assignment done? If he slows down, is he able to write legibly? Has his writing always been bad? What's his grip like? Is there anything else that's unusual, like a weird grip, inappropriate force, c/o hand hurting, etc? If you really think there's something going on that's unusual, you might contact an OT for an evaluation. WSS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 How horrible is horrible? A lot of 15 yo boys (and many people in general) have messy writing. I'm not excusing it, but just pointing that out. Does he care about how his writing looks or is he just trying to get the assignment done? If he slows down, is he able to write legibly? Has his writing always been bad? What's his grip like? Is there anything else that's unusual, like a weird grip, inappropriate force, c/o hand hurting, etc? If you really think there's something going on that's unusual, you might contact an OT for an evaluation. Well I can't read it a lot of the time. He can write neater if he slows down, but it's still not by any means neat. It does bother him and we have been working on it. There is some improvement but I'd like to help him more if I can. I don't think he has a weird grip or inappropriate with the way he holds the pencil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Well I can't read it a lot of the time. He can write neater if he slows down, but it's still not by any means neat. It does bother him and we have been working on it. There is some improvement but I'd like to help him more if I can. I don't think he has a weird grip or inappropriate with the way he holds the pencil. If he can shape the letters correctly, apply correct pressure, hold the pencil properly and if you don't think there's any actual problem with his hand muscles, there may be some things you can do at home to help his writing look better. Some qualities make writing look either messy or neat. Good rhythm makes writing look neater. That means the space and size is roughly the same in each zone, the slant is relatively consistent, and it flows pleasantly on the line. Changing slant and size makes writing look messy--and cleaning that up makes it look neater. You might want to look at a program called Calirobics and/or do some reading about how they used to teach penmanship many years ago. Calirobics does some of the types of penmanship exercises done years ago, but puts them to music in a more modern way. I found it on an ot website as it's sometimes used by ot. My middlers have done both original and advanced Calirobics. It's fairly easy and only takes about 10 weeks, unless you want to repeat it or move onto another level. I bought additional workbooks so all mine did it at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 If he can shape the letters correctly, apply correct pressure, hold the pencil properly and if you don't think there's any actual problem with his hand muscles, there may be some things you can do at home to help his writing look better. Some qualities make writing look either messy or neat. Good rhythm makes writing look neater. That means the space and size is roughly the same in each zone, the slant is relatively consistent, and it flows pleasantly on the line. Changing slant and size makes writing look messy--and cleaning that up makes it look neater. You might want to look at a program called Calirobics and/or do some reading about how they used to teach penmanship many years ago. Calirobics does some of the types of penmanship exercises done years ago, but puts them to music in a more modern way. I found it on an ot website as it's sometimes used by ot. My middlers have done both original and advanced Calirobics. It's fairly easy and only takes about 10 weeks, unless you want to repeat it or move onto another level. I bought additional workbooks so all mine did it at once. Thanks! I will take a look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbeach Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 EVERY day my 11yo guy and I sit down together and he writes the upper and lowercase alphabet in cursive. Every.Day. It's a relaxing time for us, even with mistakes, and a bonding time for me and my big guy :) But we have also found that daily math (7days) and this daily writing, both work for him. Actually, daily math and this daily writing exercise works for all 3 of my kids. I don't show him a copy of the cursive alphabet, he writes what he can from memory. I think this is a take on Craft's Writing 8. http://www.diannecraft.org/tutor3.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 EVERY day my 11yo guy and I sit down together and he writes the upper and lowercase alphabet in cursive. Every.Day. It's a relaxing time for us, even with mistakes, and a bonding time for me and my big guy :) But we have also found that daily math (7days) and this daily writing, both work for him. Actually, daily math and this daily writing exercise works for all 3 of my kids. I don't show him a copy of the cursive alphabet, he writes what he can from memory. I think this is a take on Craft's Writing 8. http://www.diannecraft.org/tutor3.htm Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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