My 11ds's handwriting. Does this mean anything? (Quirky)

[1pageatatime]

Okay, so my ds has this quirky way of writing.

 

From early on, I really tried getting him to start his strokes from the proper position(mostly from the bottom) and he would have none of it.

 

I gave up on this battle a few years ago, because he had extremely neat writing. (Dare I say, especially for a boy?)

 

However, I noticed at times he sort of...."Sketches" his letters & numbers. VERY hard to explain.

 

If he's writing the letter A, he will go over and over it, as if he is sketching. So, one side of the A is sort of scribbled/sketched, while the other is a neat, straight line.

 

If he's writing a 3 or 0, he will continue to circle over and over-again, as if he's sketching the number.

 

I have brought this to his attention-especially in math as that is the particular area where it becomes troublesome due to the messiness and confusion of which number was written.

 

Does this sound familiar? Is it just nothing and I shouldn't think anything of it?

[Barb_]

Does he have any other related odd behaviors? That sounds unusual. Handwriting to a certain extent reflects development and state of mind. For example, my oldest spent 3 months in school during 4th grade. It was a horrible experience for her. During that time her penmanship grew so tiny and cramped most adults would have been hard-pressed to decode it. Maybe it's just a habit, but I wonder if he could be anxious or OCD or have mild neurological damage. The fact that you mention only one side of the letters are quirky is particularly interesting/worrisome. Damage in one hemisphere can cause strange attentional deficits or emphasis on the opposite side of objects. You may want to ask for an OT or developmental neuro evaluation just for peace mind.

[Farrar]

It sounds like maybe it's just his method of doodling?

 

Also, isn't the "proper" way usually from the top? Like the HWT song says?

[1pageatatime]

Does he have any other related odd behaviors? That sounds unusual. Handwriting to a certain extent reflects development and state of mind. For example, my oldest spent 3 months in school during 4th grade. It was a horrible experience for her. During that time her penmanship grew so tiny and cramped most adults would have been hard-pressed to decode it. Maybe it's just a habit, but I wonder if he could be anxious or OCD or have mild neurological damage. The fact that you mention only one side of the letters are quirky is particularly interesting/worrisome. Damage in one hemisphere can cause strange attentional deficits or emphasis on the opposite side of objects. You may want to ask for an OT or developmental neuro evaluation just for peace mind.

 

 

Well, yes, many of his behaviors are odd. :tongue_smilie: As far as handwriting, he tends to write very small. Same with his numbers-many times he writes so tiny I've had to make him rewrite his work.

 

He does have anxiety as well as OCD, though is not medicated.

 

As far as possible damage, I'm not seeing any signs whatsoever, other than his random quirkiness. Developmentally, he's always been slightly ahead or way ahead of schedules. Academically, he has always struggled with math and is currently "behind" his grade.

 

 

It sounds like maybe it's just his method of doodling?

 

Also, isn't the "proper" way usually from the top? Like the HWT song says?

 

 

You are correct! My mistake. Yes, he writes from the bottom upwards.

[Tracy]

My dd8 does this (the re-tracing of letters/numbers). I haven't had her tested yet (we are looking into it), but in her case I believe that it is a product of slow processing. I think it takes her some time to figure out where to go for the next letter, especially if she is not happy with the previous letter.