Gosh -- NP here, but I'm also struggling with newly diagnosed 3rd grader in AAP -- and specifically the WRITING!!! The last post was very helpful to me... and I'm generally concerned that 1) he's not doing enough writing with enough guidance at school to make much meaningful progress in this area; 2) what strategies should we use to help him outside of class; and 3) how do we get those strategies to translate into school work?

If anyone has any additional thoughts about the challenges of teaching writing to young-ish ADHD kids -- I'd love to hear them. We're already investing in a tutor (once a week). We may need more, but I HATE the notion of having him do an extra hour of "school" each day -- 7 hours is enough! Are there any fun computer programs that anyone has found? He needs help with writing "organization" (among other things).

OP, I could have written your original post word-for-word. My daughter has been working on writing outside of school using a combination of online coaching/tutoring and at home short writing exercises. She does ok on these, when she's focused she can turn out great stuff, otherwise no. Funny thing is the writing skills that she appears to be improving on at home are not showing up in classroom work, and absolutely nothing comes home as homework except for an occasional math worksheet or study guide.

I did a check-in with teacher early November because I wanted to see if there was any indication that medication was warranted (daughter has not been medicated for ADHD to date). Other than what the teacher calls "manageable" distractibility, teacher spoke of extreme chattiness and sociability, which equates to lack of focus on the task at hand. Academically she tests well and seems to be absorbing the material. But writing pieces still show a lot of room for improvement. So I'm debating whether to postpone upcoming doctor's appointment until about February, by which time I'd have had another chance to check in with the teacher.

504 is in place but I haven't really made any special requests other than having the teacher keep her on task as best she can. The only other thing I can think of is to ask that in-progress writing (pieces written over several classroom sessions) be sent home to be reviewed. Is that a reasonable request? I don't want to do the work for her but I do want the opportunity to ask pointed questions and encourage self-critique. I don't think my kid can focus enough in school to self-critique something she feels is a finished product, especially when she is relieved to be done.

We didn't find FCPS helpful at all so we just handled the writing issues on our own. DC did well in school with no complaints from the teachers other than disorganization, but we noticed many other issues. Over time they've been getting better, but it's a slow process. We had to medicate because of behavior and energy levels, but would have waited on the medication if we only had had to deal with academic issues.

Thanks all - I really appreciate it. OP here. At the annual 504 meeting we discussed trying a few things / various graphic organizers and talk to text and see how that goes & reassessing around winter break so this reminded me to ping the teacher and check in before winter break.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 4th grader in AAP (since last year) who was diagnosed as 2E with ADHD (combined type, but it's mainly inattentive and fidgeting) - and thus far the child has not been medicated.
The child already has a tutor once a week for a writing but continues to have writing issues (and it's ONLY writing issues - the child is above grade level in both math and reading, and no behavior issues). The writing issues are both form (hard to read) and content (totally disorganized).

I am just really struggling on whether I should medicate for only these writing issues, and wondered if anyone else had experience. I don't know that there is anything else short of medicated that we can do - I feel we've reached the end of other options.

I have a fifth grader who has been diagnosed with ADHD since kindergarten, and also medicated since then. His trouble area is also writing - his handwriting is atrocious, and he can't organize his thoughts. Like another poster, the school has been working to find a good solution, and we found that a diction program helps a lot, esp. for assignments at home. He does not want to stand out in his classroom, but is open to it at home.

We are starting medication in 7th. Hit the wall this year.

Another parent with an ADHD kid who is succeeding at TJ. We held off medicating until 7th, when he could not manage the class switching. I now really regret not medicating sooner. Looking back, he struggled more than he should have. Once he started medication he looked at me and said that he felt better than he had in years, and why did we wait so long when he could have felt better. That was like a dagger to the heart. Now that he is on the meds, and I have seen how much better he is, I don’t have a great answer for him.

His sister is also ADHD and we started her sooner. She has had a much easier time than DS did.

BTW— DS has always been a great writer. But his illegible handwriting goynebecame neat overnight on meds. Strange.

I have a 2E 5th grader with a similar profile. He has an IEP with goals for writing.

We medicated this year and we are seeing a significant improvement in his ability to organize his written thoughts on paper. He also writes willingly now. Prior to meds, he resisted writing and would write very little. Volume has increased significantly.

The meds did not help with remembering to use capital letters or periods. Also didn't help with handwriting, which had improved slowly over the years.

Overall we saw significant improvement. However, I don't know if we would have medicated if writing was the only issue. We medicated for other reasons and the improvement in writing was a nice bonus.

If your son unhappy about the writing? Stressed? How much is it impacting him? Have you met with his teachers? Is it time for a writing program such as Step Up to Writing? Or an IEP?

Yep. ADHD Ds went through AAP. Now succeeding at Tj. We put off medicating until MS, when we had no choice because of a big grade drop. He felt so much better and it was obvious. And was like, Mom— my life is so much better. Why could I not have started medication sooner. That was a terrible I failed my kid feeling.

My 2e with ADHD Inattentive is in 3rd grade AAP. We decided to medicate because math is a non-preferred activity for him and his lack of focus was completely impacting his potential. He also has writing problems- gorgeous handwriting but very slow to get thoughts on paper, perfectionist with spelling which dumbs down his writing. Anyway, the meds help dramatically with math- he knocks out math problems 10x faster than without. With writing, meds do not make that much of a difference. The support of speech to text does and using the computer. Personally I wouldn’t medicate just for writing issues, I don’t there more issues at play than focus and therefore you won’t see much of a result. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. My child *is* a [left-handed] boy, FWIW.
He does have a 504.
I'm sure he does have dysgraphia - but PP, do you have any specific tips that help with that? For the most part, most of the organization and content writing issues are still there even when typing - except that it is somewhat easier to read legibility-wise.

My Child with ADHD was just diagnosed with dysgraphia also. Have you looked into that?

Also, I would maybe get a 504 before starting meds that allows him to type stuff up and then make sure he learns keyboarding. Tutoring for organizing thoughts is probably a good idea and should continue as well as work on legibility.

Our 2E went through AAP undiagnosed ADHD combo. If your DK is a boy, please know that the majority of boys develop as writers much later - this is normal unless his teacher is very concerned, I wouldn't get too worked up yet.

Our son couldn't get his thoughts down on paper as fast as his brain was spitting them out and like most kids, especially boys, could care less about revisions/editing. We allowed him to use voice software for assignments completed at home and that helped. We did this without knowing he had ADHD. Now in HS he's a much stronger writer. And is on medication after being diagnosed sophomore year.

I would have preferred knowing by Jr high and starting meds then.

I have a 4th grader in AAP (since last year) who was diagnosed as 2E with ADHD (combined type, but it's mainly inattentive and fidgeting) - and thus far the child has not been medicated.
The child already has a tutor once a week for a writing but continues to have writing issues (and it's ONLY writing issues - the child is above grade level in both math and reading, and no behavior issues). The writing issues are both form (hard to read) and content (totally disorganized).

I am just really struggling on whether I should medicate for only these writing issues, and wondered if anyone else had experience. I don't know that there is anything else short of medicated that we can do - I feel we've reached the end of other options.