Advice on handwriting/OT issues

[Anonymous]

My 1st grade son has trouble writing legibly and drawing accurately. He also writes some letters/numbers backwards. His reading skills are excellent--probably 5th or 6th grade level. (Writing skills--other than the mechanics--are also above grade level, but not so high.) He doesn't exhibit any other fine motor problems that we observe--in fact one of his favorite activities is to spend hours playing with little legos--but it takes him a long time to write and his writing is often not very legible. His language arts teacher compensates by giving him extra time for tests and sometimes writing down the answers he dictates to her.

We raised this issue with his homeroom teachers and requested (several months ago) an assessment by the school's occupational therapist. On Tuesday, the school told us that, although my son failed his initial OT screening at the beginning of the year (something they had never told us before), his handwriting had improved since then. (I would say that it has improved, but marginally, and his language arts teacher--who was not at the meeting--still reports that that is what holds him back.) Moreover, the school social worker and OT kept saying that his handwriting issues had "no educational impact." When I objected and said that his language arts teacher says that it does have an educational impact, they clarified that what they mean is that it is not making him below grade level in any subject. In fact, he is above grade level in language arts, despite his issues with handwriting. The school says that unless he is below grade level in a subject, there is nothing they can do to provide him with extra support.

The school suggested that I look for "resources in the community." When I pushed them on what that meant exactly, they said see what your insurance will cover. Our insurance only covers occupational therapy related to an injury, so it will be no help in this case.

Can anyone shed light on this frustrating situation? My son is a very good student (in fact, he is being evaluated for the TAG program) so it is unlikely that he will ever be below grade level. But it doesn't make sense to me that the school can't address specific issues unless he is below grade level. When I was a kid, I was a great student who had trouble pronouncing Rs. I saw a speech therapist. It seems like this would be similar to me.

Is this "no OT support unless the student is below grade level" a common/universal policy? We haven't been impressed with this public school overall and so are planning to move to a better school district (from Alexandria to Arlington) this summer. Are we likely to get more support in Arlington? Should we look in to paying for an OT privately for our son, completely out of pocket? How much would that likely cost?

Thanks, everyone, for any insight/advice/experiences,

[Anonymous]

You could try Handwriting Without Tears program that many OT's use. Go to their website and buy the materials and work with him at home for ten minutes a day. If you got OT this is probably what the OT at school would use.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like your child has not been diagnosed with a disability and thus does not qualify for Iep or 504, which is how your son would qualify for or in schools. Virginia also will not put an writing goal on an Iep/ 504 unless there is a 25percent delay. It is actually very tough to get Ot in schools...my son gets it but he has multiple medical diagnoses and meets the 25 percent delay for the particular goal. I highly doubt you will hbe better luck in arlington.
Purchase theraputty for hand strengthening.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP. I have had the same problem with my older children. Both of their handwriting skills are just horrid. DD, in 3rd grade, was as you described your 1st grade DS. Please know that it is typical that your child writes letters and numbers backwards. That will resolve itself eventually.

As far as handwriting, you may consider asking any of the teachers at his school if they are willing to be a handwriting tutor over the summer. I did this for my kids for 1 summer. They went for 1 hour, together, to a reading resource teacher's house. She worked nicely with them.

For that time, their handwriting was beautiful. For us, however, it did not last. Both still write illegibly, at least that is my judgment.

Even so....find a teacher who is willing to take on an hour per week.

[Anonymous]

Keep at the school. Ask for another meeting with the language arts teacher ther.

You should look into a hand writing tutor or ot but don't tell the school. Double check with your insurance b/c pt is usually after an injury. OT is for activities of daily living.

[Anonymous]

I would go and get him privately evaluated with an OT and take that evaluation to the school as the basis for them to re-evaluate and reconsider services. I never rely on school evaluations. I consider many of these folks to be the gatekeepers to the services your child needs and may need in the future. Dysgraphia is a disability. I don't believe it will go away on it's own. As he gets older he made need additional time, class notes, or maybe even assistive technology (such as a laptop) to help him achieve his full potential. The OT's at the school can also assist with educating teachers as to his needs. I also agree with PP on Handwriting without Tears. You can buy it online or find someone certified to teach it to your soon. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would second handwriting without tears. You can get the workbooks or you can find a certified instructor who offers classes.

[Anonymous]

OP, any update?

I found this thread by doing a search because I am realizing similar prolbems with my (older) child.

He is identified as TAG is a very strong reader, and is smart. His writing is OK, but nowhere near the level it should be. He's in 4th grade, and is writing I guess as a basic 4th grade level -- but that takes him a lot of time and effort and he HATES it. If he dictates his essays to me, he uses long sentences with compound sentences and high level vocabulary -- but when he has to write it himself, he chooses sentences with four or five words and one syllable words to make it easier. If I read his dictation back to him he struggles to write the words, they are legible but just barely, and he HATES doing it.

His fine motor skills seem OK. As a younger child he really enjoyed playing with Legos. He has no problem cutting or working with tweezers on small projects. His problem seems to be eye-hand coordination, though.

How can you document that a child is 25% behind in a handwriting skill? Have you figured out any kind of help for your child?

[Anonymous]

Beery VMI - it's a motor skills test for visual motor skills. It's accepted by the SAT college board for accommodations. Most OT's will give it AND write a report for about $200.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beery VMI - it's a motor skills test for visual motor skills. It's accepted by the SAT college board for accommodations. Most OT's will give it AND write a report for about $200.

My kid took that test and scored 28th percentile which I was told was within the average range. What would "25% behind" mean on that test?

[Anonymous]

PP, I don't know for certain the answer to your question, but I think it goes like this: scores within a quartile of the 50th percentile are considered within average. So, that would be 25th percentile to 75th percentile. I believe above 75th percentile is high average, 90th percentile or so is superior and 98th or higher is very superior. Below 25th percentile is low average, then 10th percentile and below gets into areas of significant impairment and 2 or 1 percentile (or lower) is severe impairment.

Has the school commented on your DS' score? 28th percentile seems to be at the very low end of "average", or put differently, he is very close to being in the group that has a 25% or greater delay. If the fine motor impairment impacts his ability to access the curriculum, I'd think you still have a good argument that this area is below average and thus he needs services/accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I had outside testing done, so I don't know yet what the school thinks. I am just trying to figure things out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep at the school. Ask for another meeting with the language arts teacher ther.

You should look into a hand writing tutor or ot but don't tell the school. Double check with your insurance b/c pt is usually after an injury. OT is for activities of daily living.

No, no, sweetheart. OTs work on handwriting. Most handwriting tutors are probably OTs as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would go and get him privately evaluated with an OT and take that evaluation to the school as the basis for them to re-evaluate and reconsider services. I never rely on school evaluations. I consider many of these folks to be the gatekeepers to the services your child needs and may need in the future. Dysgraphia is a disability. I don't believe it will go away on it's own. As he gets older he made need additional time, class notes, or maybe even assistive technology (such as a laptop) to help him achieve his full potential. The OT's at the school can also assist with educating teachers as to his needs. I also agree with PP on Handwriting without Tears. You can buy it online or find someone certified to teach it to your soon. Good luck!

I agree. My son was denied an IEP or a 504 but I had him evaluated privately and the OT found weakness in his hands and arm, poor pencil grip, and overall lack of coordination. He has been doing exercises to strengthen his hand, and she corrected his grip/posture. Little by little.

We saw an OT at ITS in Kensington - Susan Tieche. She is terrific.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if you can qualify for assistance or not. But, especially in these situations where the school/county thinks they can get away without offering help, it may be a good time to ask an education consultant. They are well versed in the exact verbiage required to legally get help. You can even have an outside therapist act as a reference with their findings if it differs with the school. In some cases lawyers are used to get the maximum benefits for children. Although, usually a well written letter by you and/or the education consultant is enough to let the county know that you are aware of your rights.