Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

My son is 8 and just started 3rd grade. He is a voracious reader, always reading well above hes grade level and all the time. His spelling is excellent- he is one of those people who just KNOW how to spell correctly. Probably inherited this ability from my husband. He is very good at math. He speech is very eloquent and intelligent. He is a very smart boy.

I am not writing all this to brag but rather to paint a picture and point out how strange it is that with all his intelligence and love of written word, we are having so many issues with his writing skills. Because we have a HUGE issue with it!

Basically, it seems that it is very difficult for him to translate all his very intelligent and perfectly composed thoughts into writing of equal quality. He will say something like "So, we recently went to my cousin's house and had a delicious meal of lamp chops and roasted potatoes. My uncle Stan is quite an accomplished cook, you know!" However, when asked to write a story about that same visit to his cousin's house he will write: "We went to my cousins' house. There we ate lamb chops. They were good. The end."
His handwriting is also pretty illegible, upper and lower case is all jumbled up: he will write half a word in upper and another half in lower case. Sometimes there are no spaces between words, or there are spaces in the middle of a words, where they obviously shouldn't be. He also seems to be incapable of staying on the line and even starting his line from the very left of the page. It seems like there is a line, visible only to him, in the middle of every page in all his notebooks because that's where he starts all his sentences.
Also, he is left handed and I was told by his 1st grade teacher that all left handed children have more difficulties writing than the right-handed ones...

Today I had a quick conversation with with his teacher and she briefly mentioned that while she is no neurologist, perhaps it might be a good idea to have him evaluated for any OT issues. I gave it a thought. However, it makes very little sense that he would need any occupational therapy because he has been putting together complicated Lego sets entirely by himself wince the age of 6.

I am sorry for mumbling on for so long but I am just trying to make sense of this issue and see if anyone is having a similar problem with their child. Maybe there are any Occupational Therapists here who can shine some light on the problem? Give any advice? Or another parent with a similar concern?



UPDATE: I got a note from my son's pediatrician requesting OT and am passing it on to his teacher tomorrow morning. I spoke to the school OT who told me that she will have check him out and see if help is needed but that the only way he will end up getting any services is if he has some serious medical issues... So, I guess it was all for nothing? Is this not how I was suppose to go about it?

Message edited 9/23/2013 10:12:22 PM.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

I don't really have advice, but perhaps your ped or the school nurse can offer additional insight for you? My 5yo is very bright and speaks with an impressive vocabulary for his age but he doesn't have the patience (or maybe attention span) to write things the way he says them. When he fills out a worksheet it's the bare minimum written and then when I ask him to tell me what he wrote, the sentences are much more detailed verbally. It's almost like his hands/writing ability can't keep up with his mind and he gets frustrated so he just writes the minimal amount required.

Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

OT is to work on fine motor skills. He probably has a weak grasp. My son's handwriting is atrocious. He can tell a story like you described, but also won't write that on paper. Maybe partly because it's a lot more writing, something he has trouble with. He gets OT to work on his fine motor (outside of school through insurance now). My son is also great at doing Legos, and has been doing so forever.

I should add that my son is 14. He was receiving OT from age 3 up until he was in 6th grade. His writing was neat while he was receiving OT. They took it away and he regressed dramatically. We are really struggling to get him back to where he was.

I would get an OT eval., it won't hurt!

Message edited 9/19/2013 12:45:43 PM.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

When he was a baby did he crawl a lot or walk more? I ask because for children that did not crawl much they in general have handwriting problems as they age. I would look for OT for his grip. My son did not crawl and so I had him work on his wrist/handwriting to improve his grip strength.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

Have him evaluated by the school. I forgot what it called but there is disconnect to what he in his head to what is written. I know a child like this. She struggled but with tutoring it really helped. She gets recourse room for tests now and it also started in 3rd grade

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

I am a pediatric OT and I work with children of all ages. I would definitely have an OT take a look at him. it can't hurt, even if he doesn't qualify, she can provide suggestions to the teacher and to you. OT in the school district looks at a variety of issues. Even if he is good with legos and puzzles, it doesn't mean he may not have a need in a different area.

If I was treating him, I would:
- first look at his grip on writing tools as he may need a pencil grip.
-the size of the lines of the paper makes a difference with writing letters and staying on the lines. He may need paper with lines that are smaller or larger then what he is using now, depending on the size of his letters. Also you can highlight the lines for him so he has a visual cue where to start and stop. Remind him that we don't float in the air or walk beneath the ground, so letters also can't.
-For the spacing, you can encourage him to use pinky space, or a pencil between each word.
-When writing a word, remind him that the letters in the words are friends and need to be next to each other , just like when he is standing behind or in front of someone in line at school.
-if he is not starting sentences at the left of the page, provide verbal reminders. Also I put wikki sticks on that side of the page for some of my kids, so he has a tactile and visual cue as to wear to start. You can also highlight the margin/left side too as a visual reminder.

I hope this helps a bit and if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message
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Message edited 9/19/2013 6:04:23 PM.

Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

What would he write if he typed it?

Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

He may be writing shorter sentences just because he doesn't like to write. I know my DS does that and I keep telling him the more your write, the easier it will get and the nicer your handwriting will get. I think the main question is whether or not it is just difficult for him so he doesn't want to bother or if there is really a physical issue that needs to be dealt with.

Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

My DD was the same way. She is at least 3 grades above in reading and spelling but her writing was awful. She gets OT and let me tell you within 6 months it has changed so much. She just wrote an 82 page book! Of course each page was only one or two sentences each but still lol. Definitely have him evaluated because if his grasp is weak it may be hard for him to write. Also like someone mentioned, see if he can type it out. If its the same also check if there is a processing issue. Sometimes kids need to be trained on getting their thoughts to paper. Good luck.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

That was me , exactly how you described your child. This was years ago , we didn't have as much information back then, they didn't do OT for kids with similar issues.
Mine improved as I got older and by the time I was in 5th grade i was doing fine, but it was very hard for all those years, dealing with it, I didn't like to write because I always got in trouble.
I would def look into evaluating your DS . Try OT for a little while and see.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

As a special education teacher, I would suggest looking into OT. Also, to help him expand on a story, at home, maybe you can practice by giving him a topic, having him record his answer on a tape recorder or smartphone audiorecorder app, and then rewrite what he has said.

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

As so many other posters said, I would definitely get an OT eval. It can't do any harm just to investigate and see what is going on.

I am an OT and worked in schools for 13 years. While your son may be very good at Legos,etc and obviously has many strengths, there are so many things an OT looks at. When I explain what I do to parents, I say that an OTs job is to help a child function fully and successfully in school. So this involves everything! Reading, writing, attending, navigating the school environment, etc,etc,etc.

As I said, an eval can do no harm. It can only give you nformation. You can take it from there after that.

HTH. Good luck!

Re: Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

I'm not sure about the answers to some of your questions, but I do have one idea. I suggest it to my college students all the time. Many of them have brilliant thoughts and can verbally say them to me, but when they attempt to write them, they become jumbled.

I suggest that they speak what they want to say, record it, play it back, and then write it down. Perhaps this could help your DS with at least some of the writing struggles!

Re: Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to this! Your advice and examples of personal experiences are extremely helpful and are truly appreciated!

A note from my son's pediatrician is going to the school's OT tomorrow. I guess we will take it from there.

Re: Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

I read your update, and that is not correct. Many children receive OT without a serious medical issue.

If they deny you, I would just go the private OT route. It's almost always covered by insurance.

Re: Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

Clearly it's an issue at school since the teacher brought it up. I always hear that a child will qualify for services if their "issue" is having a negative impact on their learning. Fight for the OT and they will most likely approve it.

Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

My DD is the same way - except it wasn't that she COULDN'T write it was that she COULDN'T BE BOTHERED with spending the time writing. In 3rd grade they took the COGATs (IQ type test) and she tested nationally in the top precentile for reading. The gifted program director said she wasn't surprised at the lack of writing and the push to want to read, that gifted children often slack in the areas where they excel because they strive to do better in the areas where they have to work harder....they also give up easier because their thinking about things in different ways then the "required" way and would rather move on from frustration then to continue on. She said it was a key reason that gifted kids do not live up to their potential.

Message edited 9/25/2013 2:51:51 PM.

Re: Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

If he is just testing for OT, then he does need a pretty big deficit, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't.

DS's Kindergarten teacher told him b/c he could eat and dress himself well and get by in daily life that he would never get OT. Well it turned out that, even though he's a big kid and seems strong, he had weak upper body, crossover muscles. (he tested the summer before 2nd grade - he has similar handwriting issues you describe - I think b/c it takes so long to write they abbreviate their thoughts in their writing. )

Message edited 9/28/2013 8:37:19 AM.

Re: Updated. Difficulties with writing? How does this make ANY sense??

It could also be a form of Dysgraphia

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/what-is-dysgraphia

I have had several students with Dysgraphia. It is totally manageable if the child is aware of it and the teachers.