• Replies 4 replies
  • Subscribers 65 subscribers
  • Views 663 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Handwriting assistance

Reah

Has anyone had any experience in getting help for handwriting issues? My 10 year old son has been diagnosed with ASD. He has always struggled with his handwriting which is very hard to read. This is currently holding him back, as although he can answer questions correctly he struggles putting his answers down. Has anyone had any experience of getting help from an occupational therapist or having a computer in school to type with? He does not have a statement but has an action plan + most of the contents however are around behaviour and emotions not about his actual education.

  • OT did help a bit with my children but laptops have proved a godsend.  My son has Aspergers, Dyspraxia and severe ADHD and my daughter also has ADHD and Dyslexia as well as hypermobility.  Both have atrocious handwriting, which can be nigh on illegible when they are under stress ie. exams!  They both now have laptops in school for different reasons.  My son is very bright, but needs the laptop not only for writing legibility but also to help order his thoughts.  My daughter, who is ten years old, has been taught touchtyping as handwriting is just too laborious for her.  The good thing is, if you start now with implementing a laptop, is that when it comes to exams, SATS or GCSEs, you can prove use.  This is an enormous help albeit an enormous expense, but I would really, really recommend it.  Make sure he is taught to touch type properly too, because it can help with spelling as they are inclined to read back what they have written - not something that happens when handwriting!!  Hope this helps xx

  • At his age he's not too old to benefit from some OT input, but the outcome may not be profoundly improved. Ask your GP for an OT referal for a Full Assessment of his OT needs. There is quite a waiting time, but you can go private if you wish. Consider a statement/EHC plan if his needs are that significant. Generally, SA+ is not sufficient to support a child with ASD and co-morbid conditions, unless the School is specialist or extremely good with support. Additionally; at Secondary, the goal posts move and greater support maybe needed, so it maybe an idea to put an action plan in place now. Primary Schools don't often offer the statement route by default and this can severely damage your childs chances of targeted early support.

    This short video highligts some of the issues faced by parents and ASD individuals who have not always had the correct early intervention.

    www.facebook.com/.../

    You may like to look at assistive software to help your son on the computer.

    My sons have both ASD & Dyslexia as well as fine and gross motor difficulties. This makes handwriting impossible to read. They have both had OT assessments, but the input was too late for them and no disearnable improvement was seen with the delayed OT Intervention.

    Eventually, we gave up and adopted support through Dragon naturally speaking 12 and Claroread pro 6. One of my lads got on with them well, the other didn't do quite so well with the Dragon. The trouble with Dragon is that it needs a quiet room. Having said that it's excellent with less training than before and fewer errors. Dragon helps individuals produce work using 'speach to text' technology.

    Claroread is available on free trial and helps with reading the finished article back to you after it's writen. Your child may not have reading difficulties but the process is quick, speeds output and gives greater independance for the written process. It will also highlight any errors.

    www.clarosoftware.com/claroread

    It's worth mentioning that the programs require a good spec computer to run them. i5 or i7 IS ideal.

    www.software4students.co.uk/products

    Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

    Coogybear

  • I have heard of children having computers at school - there shd be posts on this site.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Duplicate post - please see reply on pother copy of thread