TIPS ON HANDWRITING

There's some great ideas here, thanks everyone.

I'd love to get my 9 yo son to use the computer and become more familiar with the keyboard.  His mind is already working hard to think of what he is writing, never mind having to concentrate on writing neatly as well!

He finds computers very frustrating and prefers to avoid them altogether.  Does anyone know of some good programs that would get him interested and teach him about the keyboard?

Rae70 wrote:  wonder if you can get a child size keyboard for computers - for little fingers.

I do know that big toy stores have computers geared towards the age of the children whereas the different computers teach educational skills and its usually done through a game so it holds the childs attention and in the mean time, they learn to use the keyboard. Thats how my son started out. Below are some examples.

Amazon.com: Imaginarium.com: Disney Princess Laptop

Amazon.com: Imaginarium.com: Hot Wheels Accelerator Learning Computer

Amazon.com: Imaginarium.com: Hot Wheels Quick Start Laptop

I am very new to this as my son has just been diagnosed with ADHD.He is in 2nd grade and his handwriting is terrible. I do  not believe that he has to "fit" into the mold. I could care less what the teachers want to a degree. What i care about is his emotional welfare, his social welfare in terms of relationships (he is having oppositional issues with me, his teacher etc.) helping him become less frustrated and helping him reach his potential (he tested gifted along with the ADHD)

So here are my 2 questions:

1) do you think that we should have them learn to use the computer at an early age for writing as they have some real physical limitation

2) or do you think that they really do need occupational therapy? this is interesting. I am so happy to find this chat site. I feel that you learn the most from other parents and am so happy to finally find a group!. i haven't asked the psychologist this nor have they recommended it. but if he needed it, i would get it through our insurance for him. does it help? Jodi

ISo here are my 2 questions:

1) do you think that we should have them learn to use the computer at an early age for writing as they have some real physical limitation Yes they do have a physical limitation - my brother is 38 and his writing is still shocking.  I think they need to continue to practice writing and they get this at school, but I think they should be able to also learn keyboard, as this keeps up with their thinking if they get fast enough.  Looking ahead for later school years, keyboard is very important.

2) or do you think that they really do need occupational therapy? Get occupational therapy and if it helps great - but if it doesnt dont feel demoralised by it either.  Handwriting is not everything - Doctors have the worst!  and they are succeeding okay

this is interesting. I am so happy to find this chat site. I feel that you learn the most from other parents and am so happy to finally find a group!. i haven't asked the psychologist this nor have they recommended it. but if he needed it, i would get it through our insurance for him. does it help? Jodiand welcome!!!!!

Iyardie

I can totally relate !!  My son is in the 2nd grade and his handwriting is so terrible that on every paper he brings home the teacher has written on it, "sloppy" "messy" "unreadable" "unacceptable"

It is so frustrating.  I look at the stuff he writes for his homework and its like he is writing in a foreign language.  I have to literally sit on him to get him to write at least halfway legible.  When he does his homework, I always have to erase it and tell him to do it over (even if it is correct, if I can't read it, then the teacher can't read it and will mark it wrong)   He gets so frustrated.  Sometimes I have to erase it 2-3 times.  You would think after re-writing it 2-3 times he would think about it and realize that if he does it neat the first time he wouldn't have to do it over and over (which makes him very upset)

I'm so glad you opened up this topic.  I will be curious as to any helpful hints myself.

-Susan

Before you read this, I personally believe that ADHD children have poor handwriting because it just takes to darn long for their hands to keep up with their brains. They have so much to say, but it is hard to focus & get it all out.   If they could just slow down.......  Also, it is always the lowest grade on my son's report card, & I couldn't care less!

Handwriting difficulties are caused by a variety of problems including dysgraphia; non-verbal learning disabilities; attention deficits; orthopedic conditions limiting position, strength or posture; development of poor handwriting habits; and a variety of other causes of fine motor deficit.  Up to 20% of children in school are affected by handwriting dysfunctions, boys being more commonly affected.  Occupational therapy is offered at many schools now to help these kids.  Unfortunately rock-bottom school budgets and rural locations may make this unavailable or too infrequent enough to have a significant impact.  This, along with individuals who often don't understand or aren't aware of how devastating illegible handwriting and ineffective interventions can be, can make helping these kids a daunting task!

Here are some things to watch and actions to take:

1. Watch your child's grades.  A child that can't show how much they know on paper will get lower grades, even if the knowledge is there!  If knowledge and grades don't match, it's time to take a good look at their writing speed, accuracy and spelling.
2. Talk with your child's pediatrician, occupational therapist and teacher(s).  They may have already begun some interventions that you should be aware of.
3. Find out what help is available in your area or school.  Specifically, find out WHAT assistance they can offer and WHY they feel that will be adequate for your child.  Make sure the help offered protects your child's self esteem.
4. Educate yourself.  Learn all you can about the causes or potential causes for your child's difficulties with writing.  Knowledge is power.  Know what's available to help and what current OT practice recommends.  What was commonly done a few years ago may not be consistent with current practice standards or the latest, proven interventions and strategies.
5. Become your child's strongest advocate.  You may have to bring possible solutions to your child's school.  Unfortunately, financial constraints often limit what can be made available through the school systems.  Let them know what solutions you would like to employ - make an IEP or 504 work for your child! 
6. Protect your child's self esteem, confidence and desire to learn.  If the focus is always on their deficiencies they will eventually give up.  That would be worse than never being able to write a single word!

Practical Tips for Home and School

Here are some things you can do to help your child's writing and fine motor skills to develop correctly:

1. FIT THE DESK AND CHAIR - this may mean no homework at the kitchen counter or table.  Make sure your child is sitting at a chair and desk that are at the correct heights.  Use the 90-90-90 rule:  90-degree angles at the feet, hips and elbows when sitting at a desk - feet flat on the floor.
2. BREAK THOSE CRAYONS!  No chunky-sized crayons, just the regular ones broken into thirds (about 1 to 1-1/2 inch sized pieces).  It's almost impossible to hold these crayons with anything other than a good tripod grip!
3. SMALL PENCILS - like the ones at your local miniature golf course!  Smaller diameter, short pencils are easier to manage and again, make dysfunctional grips more difficult to maintain.
4. PENCIL GRIPS - we recommend "The Pencil Grip".  It keeps the fingers in the correct position comfortably, better than any other available (and carried on our web site store).
5. RAISED-LINE PAPER - now even available at some WalMarts!  This paper provides a great tactile guide to letter sizing!
6. MEANINGFUL WORK - kids know when you're giving them 'practice work' - the message is that they need improvement.  Practice is fine, but repeating a single letter(s) line after line is not the same as having them generate a story or use shapes to make pictures.  It must have purpose and promote success, not just repetition!
7. EASLE AND CHALK - work at the easel helps strengthen and stabilize shoulder muscles; essential for further fine motor control.  Small pieces of chalk, like the crayons, help fingers grip correctly while working at the easel.  Have them paint at the easel with fingers, tiny pieces of sponge, feathers, mini-stamps.

http://www.writeease.com/specifications.htm

I find that I type everything.  I type at 90wpm.  I hate handwriting !  Because I cannot write fast enough and I forget what I am thinking b4 I get to write it down.  However I learnt to type fast and I now express myself much more clearly in written (typed) form.

Teach them to type at a young age.

If they can learn to play keyboard or piano at 7 - they should be able to type.  Heaps of kids learn these instruments as soon as their hands are big enough.

I wonder if you can get a child size keyboard for computers - for little fingers.

I find that I type everything.  I type at 90wpm.  I hate handwriting !  Because I cannot write fast enough and I forget what I am thinking b4 I get to write it down.  However I learnt to type fast and I now express myself much more clearly in written (typed) form.

Teach them to type at a young age.

[QUOTE=cocogirl100]My son is nine, is he ready to start typing?

[/QUOTE]

My son has been typing his reports since the second grade.  There are fun typing softwere programs available that will help him learn.

[QUOTE=cocogirl100]My son is nine, is he ready to start typing?

[/QUOTE]

My son has been typing his reports since the second grade.  There are fun typing softwere programs available that will help him learn.

My son is 6 years old w/ADHD, Language and speech disorders. I really have a hard time with the hand writing thing. I do the hand over hand with  his homework. I have to really watch him cause he will start looking off and I end up doing the work. So it is a challenge to do this. Another thing I have noticed is my son is very strong with math he can tell you 5 + 2 = 7 but when he writes it down it is either 8 or 9 . It's like his brain can't  relay the message to his hands. Some letters and numbers are backwards. Home work time to very hard on the entire household. I had to  quit work so I would and the patience to work with him. My son has just be dignosed last week I meet with the doctors this week for the plan of action. So I am sure ya'll will hear more from me.

yevette

Iyardie

My 8yr old son also has terrible hand writing. I think it is a trait of ADHD and is possibly connected to the impulsive side of ADHD e.g running before they can walk. They think that they can write correctly with out practise. Writing comes with practise so when i can sit Dan down long enough i try and give him every opportunity to write. Now is an excellent time because he likes to write out christmas cards, also shopping lists. Dan also gets his letters the wrong way round for e.g. his 's' , 'g' and he is adamant that his way is the right way. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this i feel that Dan has some dyslexia which i have been told is also connected to ADHD??

Good Luck and Happy hand writing  

Handwriting is something our daughter struggles with too.  The O/T who is working with her is using the Handwriting Without Tears method that Kyme referenced in her post and it seems to be easier than the D'Nealian method that her peers are learning.  For those unfamiliar with D'Nealian, it's kind of a cross between printing and cursive. The Handwriting Without Tears is good old Ball and Stick printing...much easier for someone like our daughter who has some fine motor skills delays.

The other thing that has helped is just plain old practice.  It has been difficult to sit next to her and watch her make the same mistakes over and over again, but we are now making progress and she is showing improvements.

Read more about the Handwriting Without Tears at:

http://www.hwtears.com/

The magnitude of the problem with writing can be large in a school setting because when the kids take a test or have to do a composition, if the wriiting is not legible it can cause them to get a failing grade. Of course as adults it makes no difference but if our childrens handwriting isnt legible and/or sloppy it reflects in their grades To answer your question lovemysunshine. below is some information about sensory integration.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

My son just turned 6 and was diagnosed with ADHD about 8 months ago. He is hyperactive and had trouble controlling his impulses. He is also very bright and fits the general description repeated a lot on this forum.

His handwriting was terrible and he avoided writing in Kindergarten. When he colored it was very messy. After diagnosis and all the research, we started him on Adderall XR. Within two days on the medication, his handwriting was 5 times improved and coloring was almost all within the lines. It was night and day.

We checked on this with his tester, and she said this was very common. Writing and coloring require focus, concentration, and calmness. Without med's, this is exactly what ADHD children struggle with. I would say poor writing skills are a by product of the ADHD disorder. Practice and OT plans certainly make a big difference with the child. But to me, they will always struggle with penmanship. I have lousy penmanship, and I have to remind myself to relax and take my time. I don't have ADHD, (as far as I know), so imagine how much harder it would be for someone with ADHD.

My son is now in first grade and his writing is very consistant with his peers. At 6, they still write a lot of letters backwards, don't space the words properly, spell phonetically, ect....   But from September to now, we and his teacher have seen tremendous improvement from the practice he gets every day in school. One of his "essays" was put up on the bulletin board outside of the class (along with several other student's) and we were very proud of it. His overall writing skills were middle of the pack, which is a tremendous improvement from where he was last year. He seems to be doing so well that the school doesn't feel he needs writing OT at this time. 

It's very true that most ADHD kids have horrible handwriting. Yes we can write neatly and legibly if we slow down and really concentrate. Of course since we have so much trouble concentrating to begin with any extra effort we put into handwriting has to be taken from someplace else. Pretty much we can do it correctly or we can do it neatly but never both.

I remember my mother taking my homework and making me redo it several times because it was sloppy. The more I redid it the more errors that started popping up. Then of course she would start yelling at me to pay attention and telling me I'm not getting up from the table until I do it right. LOL of course tears or temper tantrums usually followed.  Of course she didn't know (or at least acknowledge) that I had ADHD. She just thought I was lazy when it came to schoolwork.

My handwriting is still pretty bad today. Luckily you never really have to write anything out by hand anymore. Everything is on computers now the only thing you hand write is shopping lists and christmas cards. LOL some probably even use the computer for that.

My suggestion to all the parents struggling with your kids handwriting is to not worry to much about it. Of course it's good to work on anything your child has trouble with but there are a lot of uphill battles ADDers have to face. Handwriting is pretty much the least important on that list. Besides by the time your kid gets to High School the only thing they will be handwriting is reminders to themselves and notes to friends.

I find that I type everything.  I type at 90wpm.  I hate handwriting !  Because I cannot write fast enough and I forget what I am thinking b4 I get to write it down.  However I learnt to type fast and I now express myself much more clearly in written (typed) form.

Teach them to type at a young age.

My son is 5 and has such a hard time even printing his name unless his support worker puts her hand over his... it's almost like he has no control over what his hands are doing?  When I try to get him to print at home, it just ends up in a battle and we are both frustrated?  Although he can get on the computer and use a mouse with no problems?  When he does try to print it's like he wants to just scribble all over the page (hard) and when he does actually print... it's so light you can hardly see it?

Kari-lee

Kari-lee wrote:
When he does try to print it's like he wants to just scribble all over the page (hard) and when he does actually print... it's so light you can hardly see it?

Many ADHD'ers have what is commonly known as dysgraphia and below is a link that will explain it in more detail.

dysgraphia

I haven't read all the post but I wanted to add that I have bad handwriting.  I am an adult with ADHD.  I didn't even realize that my bad handwriting was a result of ADHD.  I am with Rae70.  I enjoy typing and can type faster then the average Joe.  People are always amazed at how fast I can type.  I hate writing by hand.  I type everything out at work. I am more productive this way. 

The fact is that my hand can not keep up with my thoughts.  Even something simple like writing my name is difficult.

Have your son screened via IRLEN.  My son's handwriting/reading issues were caused by visual distortions related to the glare from white paper.  Schools normally will do IRLEN screening along with Dyslexia test.  The fix is to use see-through colored overlays/filters.  When writing...the school gives him colored paper to write on.  www.irlen.com

I have been able to take my son off of all ADD (inattentive type) meds since this was found....

Handwriting:Needs to work on a lot. Anyone who in my opinion says no longer important tha's crazy. Typing is necessary too. Both are needed. Not all teachers will let type until get older. Technology is great. I feel is causing this generation to no longe think.What if a storm happens nocks power out. No school then.Kids should know it all I think.Dysgraphia is true in effecting handwriting problems.I struggled with both things.Still don't type well.Visual processing effects this also.

Handwriting without Tears great program by a OT.rshn

taperecorders for older kids so can replay lessons.This helped me at home when forgot imformation.

[QUOTE=tnm29]Tape recorders? I do not believe a 6 year old child has any buisness taking one to school. He has no since of responsibility. Maybe at an older age if that specific teacher allows it. But this "quick fix" attitude is not a solution. If the children are taught to write neatly then they will have that for the rest of their lives and they can ask the teacher for help on any missed notes if they aren't able to keep up. I am not saying that tape recorders are a bad idea, but just not suited for a 6 year old. Not to mention I think MY child would be more likely to play with the recorder than use it for learning. So just take the extra time out of your busy schedule to teach your child to write properly. They will surely benifit from it in the long run. When filling out an application for collage or a job, or when "love letters". It just helps. I don't want to read a letter fom someone that I am unable to comprehend due to poor handwritting. Or for that matter poor grammar. [/QUOTE]

You originally talked about taking notes in higher grades which is WHY I said bring a tape recorder.  No one would expect a 6 year old to bring a tape recorder to school, no 6 year old I know takes notes in class.

Handwriting tips: It bothers me today that computers/typing is bascialley over riding old ways. What if they stop working?

Great handwriting program:Handwriting with out tears.Written by a OT therapist.

[QUOTE=tnm29]While our children will need to be effecient typers due to the "computer age" Please don't leave handwriting out. This is veryimportant. When they get in higher grades, trhey have to take notes by hand, they need to be able to read their own writting.  [/QUOTE]

While I agree with that, you can also bring a small tape recorder to the class to help with note taking.  My sons teachers, he is in the 4th grade, have mentioned that to us, along with suggesting that he get a good typing program.  Unfortunately, they didn't have one that they recomended.

Handwriting tips: It bothers me today that computers/typing is bascialley over riding old ways. What if they stop working?[/QUOTE]

Why should it bother you, it is called progress.  If you computer breaks, then borrow your friends, neighbors, the local library, stay after school & work in the computer lab.  There are ways around that problem.  Get an old fashioned typewriter.

The one thing Americans students do need good handwriting for is the new SAT's.  They need to write for 25 minutes by developing a well-constructed written argument off the top of their heads, starting from a blank piece of paper. I know that spelling, & grammer count I would imagine it needs to be legible, I do not know if they grade on handwriting, but the graders need to be able to read it in order to grade it.   

well, I teach at a university, and the ADHD students here are given extra time to complete all timed written work including tests.  They also are given a notetaker for the class (another students who gets paid to provide notes).  ALSO, some students now are opting to bring laptops to class and take notes on those.  In the very near future, all students will be required to have laptops. 

I never could write, and my printing is barely legible.  It was a problem when I was younger, and we didn't have computers then, but in the end they gave me a degree anyway, even though I can't write!

I just finished reading this posting and wow did another light bulb just go off in my head.  Tiffany was dianosed as many of you now know a week ago with ADHD.  She is 6, and as many hear have said, her handwriting has always been a sight to see.  Before the diagnosis, her papers came home with holes in them from erasing so much, and notes to "slow down" or "take your time" or "messy paper."  She was definetly writing before she formulated the right answer, thus all the erasing.  Now I know why the horrible handwriting.  I hadn't even thought of that in terms of the ADHD.  Her teacher did even comment this week in her communication notebook (we started daily communication on Tiff's progress) that her handwriting is better, she can actually read what Tiffany had written.  I am going to check out some of the other tips that others have posted.

THANKS!

Laura