Handwriting | ADHD Information

Try a mechanical pencil. My son had OT for this for years.

DS is now almost 12, and writes so much better with the mechanical. He also types assignements.

If you have a 504/IEP, ask to have your son type his assignments. I had teachers in my son's IEP meeting when he was in second grade telling/advising us to do this. and that because of typing my son would be fine with writing, not to worry.

Hang in there!!

My child's handwriting improved immensely when he started ADHD meds, and there's a big difference between his handwriting while the stimulant is in his system vs. after it's worn off. 

Yes he takes Ritalin.  Now that you mention it, I have noticed that his handwriting is a little better when he does his spelling tests in the morning while meds are in full swing.  After school, when the meds have worn off it is not so good again.

Should the occupational therapist have caught any dysgraphia?  I have often thought of that myself but she has not brought it up.

I'd bring up your concerns to the therapist. It's possible she's working on
general gross and fine motor skills and hasn't focused specifically on
handwriting. It could be it's not her expertise so she's just deferred it. It
could also be that she doesn't see the problem, if he's writing better at
school than at home. And it could be that she did check into it and decided
he doesn't have it and never brought it up to you. Worth a shot to find out
what's going on. I bring up all my concerns about my son with anyone who
has contact with him - they could see something I don't and can let me
know about it, and if there's something that jolted his system I want them to
know so they aren't surprised if he acts differently.
gdaymom,
It seems to be very common for kids with ADHD to have trouble with handwriting. Both my kids (one with ADHD, one without) had terrible handwriting. For both, it has improved to the point that it is acceptable, but still not great by any means!
I also think, in general, that far less time is spent teaching handwriting now than in the past.
In some situations you may want to "scribe" for your child at home. My daughter's fourth grade teacher suggested that I do this for her with math homework to keep her moving along at a reasonable pace and not lose focus on the math problem because of the difficulty of having to write down all the information. I also did this for my son when he was in 2nd grade and had to write lots of stories for homework.
Writing is a very complex operation involving complicated thought processes and physical coordination, so it is a stumbling block for many.
I think Corina has some excellent suggestions.
Best of luck!

My 8 yr old has been in occupational therapy since Sept and he was in it for a year when he was 5 going on 6.  I'm not seeing a huge change in his handwriting.  It is terrible.  Does anyone else see poor handwriting with their ADHD'er?  What else besides OT are you doing to help them?

I will probably head to a teacher store this week to get some handwriting books.  I had hoped that with the writing he was doing at school now plus the OT, that I'd see a significant change but I'm not seeing it now.

Is he medicated? My son started medication and had a huge jump in his
handwriting. It was so bad that when he broke his arm and wrote with the
non-dominant one I couldn't tell the difference. Now - in 2 months - it's
nearly the same as his classmates.

He could have dysgraphia. If so with a diagnosis he can use a computer to
write with. Get him touch typing lessons. Focus on writing his numbers,
because there are fewer of them and he'll use that more in the future.