Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 22:26     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Our DS has a similar problem. he was great at speaking, unable to put a sentence down on paper, horrible handwriting, could not spell, homework took hours and hours. 6th grade was a nightmare. Finally got a full neuro-psych. evaluation --he has severe dysgraphia, mild ADHD, and processing speed and executive functioning issues. What helped: as PPs said, in 6th grade he dictated his assignments and typed them. Then he took typing lessons and learned how to type well. He has had a 504 plan that allows him to bring a laptop to school. This was probably the best and most liberating thing for him in terms of writing. He is still not the greatest writer in the world (but, again, as PPs said, good writing is hard for most people). But he did really well in middle school and is now in high school (magnet school that required an entrance exam including an essay). In
general, most things are getting easier for him with age. The psychologist who evaluated him said not to bother with handwriting as it will never improve. In any case-- with some mild accommodations and a lot of support at home, your child will be fine!
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 21:38     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
For my ADHD, HFA, 8 year old, his IEP team recommended writing practice, both on set subjects and creative journaling. I also made him do reading comprehension workbooks this summer.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 21:07     Subject: Re:DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
My DS also has this problem. He's been learning to do Mind Mapping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map . We learned about it through an ADHD support group. It looks complex but it seems to work for people who have problems organizing their thoughts.

(We also do/have done a lot of the things people on here have suggested and have accommodations in his IEP for many of them).
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 16:58     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Dragon dictation is a free app on the iPad. My son's school reccomended it and it has made a huge difference. Like your son, my DS is an avid reader so has the decoding all down. Written expression disorder is a function of encoding which is a different brain activity. Getting the thoughts down was an important first step. We are working on the editing part now.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 16:53     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Anonymous wrote:MY 9 year old DC loves to read, and is able to intelligently discuss books he read alone or together with me. The books range from Roman history to the 39 clues.
He has a very high verbal IQ, slow processing speed, sometimes complains that his thoughts are all jumbled up in his head.
He is unable to put a sentence down on paper. We took him to a psychologist for testing, and she predicted then that his written output would not match his intelligence.
I am unsure if it is poor fine motor skills or if it something else.
Anyone else in this situation? What did you do to help your DC?

Thanks !


Look, writing is hard. Just because your kid is articulate and has difficulty writing doesn't mean there's a disorder. Some things are just hard and take time.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 16:51     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Anonymous wrote:so for our 9 yo we use siri on the iphone. he records his thoughts in an email. we send the email to laptop, download and edit. we start w introduction, topic sentence, first para etc. it works like a dream! thinking about investing in dragon voice recognition however for now this is working well!


Sounds great!
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2013 16:51     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Try this:

Keep on top of all english assignments and get them done early.

Then, look at the assignment with your kid and talk it through. No pen in child's hand, only yours.

Take some quick notes on the main points.

Go over the notes together.

Then have kid do the assignment, with spell check off.

Then go over together, if necessary, back with another discussion and notes you take. Help him break the assignment into pieces.

This handles a lot of the issues with getting stuff down. He may very well have a problem, but it also the case that learning to write is just plain hard work and everyone feels "jumbled" when they are learning.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 23:41     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
so for our 9 yo we use siri on the iphone. he records his thoughts in an email. we send the email to laptop, download and edit. we start w introduction, topic sentence, first para etc. it works like a dream! thinking about investing in dragon voice recognition however for now this is working well!
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 22:15     Subject: Re:DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
OP, there's also tutoring available to help kids learn these kinds of skills, which can also be related to executive functioning skills:

http://www.labschool.org/services/tutoring

http://stixrudtutoring.com/
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 21:17     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
We have same problems with now 8th grader. Highly recommend graphic organizers. I also have him dictate to me. We got him computer in 4th grade which helped. DC has inattentive ADD, dysgraphia, dyslexia. He has problems breaking things down due to slow processing speed and executive functioning. He's considered GT yet has the learning disabilities. Took 5 hours last night to write 4 paragraphs of 5 sentances each (and this was the modified homework - sigh). We too would recommend a full work up of neuropsych and speech/language evaluation. Once you know what happening, you can get the support he needs in the way he needs it. GL OP! Hang in there...
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 21:14     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
17:54 here. Should have mentioned that handwriting was a huge issue for DC too. Interesting how these things so often seem to go together. Handwriting suddenly got much better in 4th grade.

DC also has lots of anxiety, and finding ways to breaK things down and reduce stress was a big help.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 20:28     Subject: DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have him record his thoughts into a tape recorder. Then transcribe for him. Have this process approved for an IEP or something, so it's teacher approved.


To have this in an IEP, you have to have a diagnosis that shows educational impact. OP, have you had a neuropsych evaluation for him yet? It will help suss out any learning disabilities or possibly ADHD.


He is a quiet child, exceedingly prone to day dreaming. I don't know if that qualifies as ADHD? He was evaluated for WISC, but the full neuropsych was not recommended. Will look into it.
Thank you, PP.


could be ADHD inattentive type. My DS has this (event though he doesn't appear to be daydreaming a lot) and slow processing as well as "executive dysfunction" and horrible spelling and handwriting and "mixed expressive-receptive language disorder". I share all this because problems writing can be due to any or all of these problems. My child is 9 and can barely get a legible sentence out, let alone with appropriate spelling, punctuation and grammar. If he does manage to do so, it certainly took him a long time, all of which together makes him totally not functional in the classroom. Even by 2nd grade it was clear he was behind peers. By 3rd grade his problems writing made it necessary to get an IEP.

For us, having both a full neuropsych evaluation and a comprehensive speech and language evaluation really made the problems clear. Writing is a complicated process. Sometimes giving a kid access to a computer is enough, but often they need much more, both in terms of accommodation and remediation.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2013 13:46     Subject: Re:DC is unable to put his thoughts on paper
Anonymous wrote:You might be able to get a 504 plan to allow the accomodation of typing.

Make sure your son learns how to write cursive. Teach him yourself if your school won't.

Regular sentence dictation helps a great deal. Don't start at his current reading level, but at his current writing level. Dictate simple sentences and have him write them down.

If that means "The fat cat sat on the mat" then that is fine. Whatever he can easily write.

For class assignments, have him dictate the answers to you. You write them down. Then take a break, and later you dictate them back to him, and he writes them down. (don't have him copy them except as a stopgap measure.)

Basically, break the components of writing down and help him improve each part. He needs to build writing stamina. ALso it is hard to think up your ideas at the same time you are writing them, if writing is hard for you. Better to brainstorm first, and dictate; then do the process of transcribing separately, until the process becomes more automatic.

ALso -- use of an erasable gel pen is highly recommended for reluctant writers!


I am close to tears, with all the helpful posts. Thank you all !