What should I scribe for dysgraphic son?

[southernm]

My 7yo DS is 2E with dyslexia/dysgraphia. So far our curriculum has minimal handwriting. We are doing:

AAS 1

WWE 2 (using as handwriting practice too)

FLL 2

Math Mammoth

SOTW

NOEO

Typing

 

He seems to be functioning ok so far with everything but math. It kills him to answer math problems. He can get the answer immediately but shows true frustration with writing the answer. Should I just let him orally answer and move on? We are trying MM on the Ipad with a stylus which seems to be easier than pencil and paper. DH feels like DS needs to get used to answering problems himself for when he gets to higher math and can't do everything in his head. Thoughts? I'm thinking about giving him a shot at HWOT cursive as well.

[dbmamaz]

My son loves math and hates writing. First grade he did a lot of math on the computer (Time4learning) and most of the rest verbally. We have done a combination of him doing it verbally and him writing on the ipad.

 

My dh (who has several degrees in math) covered for me one day, but I mostly only left them math and chores. He was THRILLED at how my teen wrote down all his work, and annoyed with hour our younger son wouldnt write.

 

But you know, when I got my teen out of school at end of 7th, he wouldnt write down much work either. and now he does a great job.

 

My son has not been dx'd with anything, but writing has been really hard for him, so i'm going at the pace that works for him. If you force him to write, that might slow down his ability to learn math. If you write it for him, he WILL catch up eventually.

 

It kinda reminds me of the cosleeping line - i'm sure he'll get out of my bed before he goes to college . .. he's only a year old!

 

So why insist they do something YEARS before they need it, just because they will need it then?

 

JMO

[FairProspects]

That would be way too much writing for my dysgraphic 8 y.o. The only thing I make him write for is AAS (and even that I don't do everyday).

 

SOTW - we don't do any writing at all, we either have a discussion or he draws a picture and sometimes adds a title.

 

WWE - we gave this up, but ds types all his writing work. If it is a workbook, I write or re-write the sentences, but he tells me what to write.

 

FLL 2 - we gave this up too, but there is not a lot of writing anyway, and personally I would just tweak it to drop the copywork or have him type it

 

MM - I do all the writing in math, but I do give ds the choice, sometimes he writes it, sometimes he doesn't - when he chooses to write it is almost always in math, the subject with which he is most comfortable

 

Noeo - ds types his science work, but most is project-based with a presentation anyway, not sure how this would work with a worksheet-based program

[Heathermomster]

Check out the following WTM thread and focus on response #6:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=355736&highlight=dysgraphia

 

You should continue to practice hw'ing. I pushed italics as the manuscript and cursive are very similar. There are many thoughts about this..

 

Eta: For math, DS uses metric graph paper. If your child can show mastery, don't kill him with a massive number of problems. For math facts, DS used the 10 keypad on our keyboard to input answers using software. I taught DS to type in 5th grade. He types most assignments now, but started to take more ownership with his writing during 6th grade.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Heathermomster

[EKS]

I scribed for my older son (dyslexia and related dysgraphia) in math until he was in 6th grade. I made him tell me each step as a condition of me scribing. I have also allowed my younger son to do all math work on a whiteboard.

 

With a child your son's age, I would scribe for everything except handwriting practice and possibly AAS.

[southernm]

Ok thank you so much. I should clarify that we do not do the writing in FLL or SOTW. I've just started with AAS and he did ok with the letters today but I know I will modify later on. He just has very little ability to sound anything out. And even though he can read above grade level words, he can't write simple words at. all. I feel better about writing everything after all the responses. I know I have to move forward in math and not require repetition but the teacher in me fights that!

[Tiramisu]

I scribe for dd12 (who has sensory issues that muddle up the writing process) when she does math, not all the time, but sometimes. It is a difference for her of maybe an hour and a half to a half an hour or even less. Maybe because math requires more of her when it comes to working memory, it's the subject where scribing helps the most. I still worry about dd being able to do the writing for math, so I don't do it everyday. At the same time, I will make a special point of scribing math when I see she's already having a hard time that morning and things are off, because I know will make all the difference for her and the rest of us to just get that math done without a meltdown or without eating up all the time she needs for her other work.

 

One thing with scribing math is that you make sure you don't prompt unless you are prompting on purpose. Write exactly what he tells you to, where he tells you, too. I think this is important.

 

We do a lot of work like history and science aloud. If she has to write for these subjects, she will usually prefer to use the computer.

 

Her writing for writing is also done on the computer almost exclusively now. She hated writing before and now the frustration is just not there. Choice of curriculum has played a part here, too.

 

She's going to be using a couple of workbooks this year, so she'll be writing in bits on a daily basis, but all extended writing will be on the computer.

 

Hope this helps you feel okay about what you're doing and envisioning where you'll be in a few years--not that what I'm doing is the best method but it seems to be working well enough!

[southernm]

That does help! It is hard for me to envision what his academic future will be like. I feel like there is such a fine line between helping and hindering him especially in the future. I just want to do what's absolutely best for him while teaching him how to manage the dysgraphia himself!

[dsmith]

With math ds will write on a whiteboard without much difficulty if I write the problems. We recently switched to CLE math and he can handle about 2 pages of writing in the book. His other subjects I will write about 30 - 50% of his work, and prompt him for spelling of difficult words. I am planning on having him type out answers for most of his work eventually, after noticing how quickly he types while chatting with online friends. We had done this for a bit last year for spelling tests and short writing assignments but I would like to add more and more as the year progresses. I tend to avoid curriculum that involves too much copying from a text, like Saxon math or Rod and Staff English. I want the focus to be on learning without obstacles like copying out problems slowing us down.

[dbmamaz]

Yes, you have to help him learn to overcome it . . .but that doesnt mean having expectation that he perform within a grade level of his age if that makes sense. Keep working on copy work, and occasionally try to make him write more, and judge by his reaction if he's ready. He will keep getting better. You just have to keep on that sweet spot of nudging without overwhelming

[MomatHWTK]

I scribed for my older son (dyslexia and related dysgraphia) in math until he was in 6th grade. I made him tell me each step as a condition of me scribing. I have also allowed my younger son to do all math work on a whiteboard.

 

With a child your son's age, I would scribe for everything except handwriting practice and possibly AAS.

:iagree:

[Heathermomster]

I just had a thought. My DD uses number 1" tall number stamps. I picked them up at a craft store. She sometimes uses those when we review math together because her math is better than her writing.