Poor Handwriting? Not Anymore! | ADHD Information

That's terrific!  Pat's handwriting is getting better and I guess his algebra teacher can read his papers.  I'll be on the lookout for that jump, however, even though it's a few years off.  What kind of writing book did you put together?  Can you give me more info about it? Like many ADHDers ds has always had poor handwriting, altho he was only diagnosed disgraphic two years ago at age 16.  Throughout school he has always printed, forming about half the letters incorrectly, irratic spacing etc etc  In fifth grade he was told to abandon cursive because it was too hard to read.  Having an accommodation for a word processor in high school, he also uses an Alphasmart for notetaking which has served him well.  Through an appeal to College Board we were even able to get a computer accommodation (quite rare) for SAT and AP tests.

Last spring an OT said that between ages 17-22 there is a jump in small motor development.  She also mentioned a writing program called Loops and Other Groups.

I figured that this was my last shot before he goes off to college.  So last month, I made up writing books for my sons (it can't hurt his younger brother).  Guess what, my son is developing lovely flowing cursive writing, completely different than his attempts of one year ago!  The other day he came home from school and said, "Mom, you should be proud, because I used cursive in a timed write today."  And I am!


jfla239110.0292013889Thanks for sharing. You are welcome Jilette!

Susieb and lillian,

I am so glad you found this post, not only because I am so thrilled about his progress, but because I always enjoy reading your posts, look for them and am always interested in how your children are doing.   At about age 17 he decided that he wanted to have a signature and so he worked at that until he had something acceptable.  This was the first indication of any interest in cursive.  The signature didn't have the crude forced appearance as in the past. 

I am happy to pass on anything that might help.  I put this together based on the Loops and Other Groups font style, OT articles on the internet and my own teaching experience.  Each boy has a spiral notebook where I wrote by hand all of the writing practice.  The following is from my post on another Adhd board in their LD section:


I am glad that my post might help some parents and kids out there. The following links have information on Loops and Other Groups. I chose not to spend the for the whole program because I couldn't see exactly what was included and figured I could put something together that would be effective. It is available through Amazon.com.

I like Loops and Groups because not only do they present the letters in groups of similar formation, but all of the lower case letters start on the lower line. This is important, because it lessens the need for memory and a decision on the child's part of where to put their pencil to start making the letter. They know that they always start at the bottom.

http://www.allthewritenews.com/loopandotgro.html

http://www.abilitiesinfo.com/therapy_loopsgroups.html

http://www.otideas.com/Items/handwriting.htm

This provides a sample of the cursive style:
http://www.educationalfontware.com/LG_style.html


The approach I’ve used for my boys is very individual in the sense that they are high school teenage boys striving for greater independence and want to avoid doing things that seem too juvenile. I try to remain sensitive to this, since most people learned to write cursive properly in elementary school. I provide a page of letters in a particular developmental sequence for them to practice, but I decided not to judge their approach. I ignore all complaints.  If it is messy, so be it. Sometimes it is messy and sometimes not. I consider myself lucky that they will do it at all. I trust that one day they will develop a sense of pride in their work. As one teacher said, if they write in a journal every day, you will see improvement after a year.  (They don't know it yet but that's what i have planned after they complete all upper and lowercase letters.)  During a writing session I only check to see that they do not have a tight grip on the pen, are forming the letters properly and are seated appropriately. I do make a couple casual positive comments about the better letters or words and save any attention  to specific letters for the next day.   I’ve also started doing it after dinner because they are already at a table, their tummies are full and they are definitely not in a hurry to do kitchen chores!

General Guidelines:
1- About six lines of writing per page (spiral notebook)
2- Double spaced.  See example below.  There is a space between the sample and the line of dots where they will write.
3- Dots on the line show where they are to start their letter. The sample to copy is directly above the dot. The dot is in a different color ink.
4- Correct for pencil grip, pressure and body position. If I can snatch the pencil easily out of their grip then it is not too tight.
5- Provide enough repetition for practice but not in a way that is too repetitous so that they lose interest.
6- Present letter/words in a developmental approach that builds on what they have previously learned.
7- Writing sessions started out very short (one minute or less so it was not too painful)
8- Writing sessions start out with a warm up of about four lines of continuous overlapping circles and loops clockwise and counter clockwise. Also repeated i's without the dots.
9- Brief correction and supplemental practice of one or two letters from yesterday.   I have saved this brief corrective session until they showed a positive interest in sessions.

Developmental Model
1- Practice the first stroke of the letter. (reserved for some letters)
2- Include the second and third stroke.
3- Repeat copying the letter in isolation.
4- If the letter is sometimes doubled in words, copy that.
5- Common two letter combinations/words with previous letters learned
     a. Letter in the initial position with a vowel following
     b. Letter in the final position with a vowel preceding
     c. Common combinations with previously learned letters
6- Common three letter combinations/words with previous letters learned
     a. Same as 5a-c
     b. Add letter in middle position and/or double letters
7- Common four letter combinations; same as above after eight letters are learned
8- Review
    a. Isolated letter practice
    b. Word practice

Example:
Sail the Seas with “S” (Thirteenth letter in Loops and Other Groups sequence)

s  s  s  s  s  s  s  s  

.  .   .  .   .  .  .   .

ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss

.   .  .   .   .   .   .   .

sa sa sa si si si su su su

.   .   .   .  .  .  .   .   .

sc sp st sw as ds gs cs is

.   .   .   .    .   .   .  .    .

us ws ts ps rs sip sup sap sit sat

.    .   .  .   .   .   .    .     .    .

stirs stairs swats scats spurs spits

.      .       .        .       .       .


Since they are getting used to the idea of these exercises I might appeal to their sense of fun with writing in flour, shaving cream etc.  they may go for it now.

So what do you think?  Questions? Suggestions? Considerations?  I am open to all input.
jfla239110.7929861111That is great news!!!  I was told last year by an OT that handwriting rarely improves past the age of thirteen, so I am thrilled to hear an example proving this false, especially from a reputable source, like you, Jfla2.  As you may know, when tested privately, my son scored a standard score of 55 on handwriting, which is less than 1% of the population, and at least sixty points lower than his IQ.  Yikes!  He, too, has assistive technology for handwriting anything a paragraph or longer.  Like susieb, I would be interested in any info you have on the system you have used to help your son.  Thanks!Where did you find the info/materials for loops and groups? bumpHi emergent,

After the OT mentioned Loops and Other Groups, I just did a search on the internet for any information and came up with the links above.  I did not purchase the materials, although I probably would have if my son were younger.  I used the site which shows the font as a model for my own exercise books.  I hope that helps.

I bet a friendly conversation with your schools OT might help with more information, ideas and materials to borrow.  It can't hurt to ask.  
Oh yeah, I see that it is also available from amazon.com

AI hope this helps.