Fine motor skills problems/writing

[OrganicAnn]

My DD5 has fine motor skills issues. We've had done some therapy and continue to do the various exercise/play (playdough, pincher grip etc) at home.

We are working on learning to writing and the fine motor skills problems are really causing problems and becoming obvious.

Does anyone have any ideas other than the normal ones you hear about? I'm afraid I'm looking for a magic solution.

[Laura Corin]

With Calvin, we carried on with the fun therapy and the letter formation. Most of his 'writing' was done orally until he was eight, however. At that point, his motor skills seemed to kick in and we slowly introduced more and more writing. At the same time, he started attending Taekwondo, which helped with his general coordination and strength.

Now that he is thirteen, his HWT-based cursive is legible but a bit slow. He's doing fine.

Best wishes

Laura

[KarenAnne]

No magic bullet here, just sympathy. My daughter still struggles at age 13 with fine motor issues, although they are much, much improved from early days. OT helped with balance and general things, but not handwriting. In part this was because my daughter actually loves to write and resisted any attempts to control something she adored. So I backed off. Like the other poster did, we did much of her early work orally. I became a master at finding non-written math. My daughter has a horrendous pencil grip but she still loves to write and draws all the time.

We did everything when she was little: squeezing therapy putty, stringing beads, picking up items with tweezers, forming letters with Wikki sticks, playing jacks and marbles. Later, when my daughter had a full neuropsychological evaluation, it emerged that she had vision problems first and foremost that affected how her brain linked up with her hand. She also has something called finger agnosia, which means she doesn't receive as many transmissions form hand back to brain as most people, so things literally don't feel like they're in her hand sometimes.

But even with all that, she was greatly improved. What helped the most, believe it or not, was horseback riding. She has to groom the horse, pick its hooves, saddle and bridle up, buckle and unbuckle a myriad of locks and snaps and buckles each and every time she rides. Plus she has a part-time job to earn lessons and is learning to clip their coats, shovel sawdust, etc. All this fine motor action combined with something she is absolutely passionate about -- together I think also the brain changes of adolescence -- has made her skills develop quite lot. This doesn't mean that your son needs to go out and ride, but that there are all kinds of activities that kids adore that will help with fine motor skills: Lego, for instance.

So do not despair; but at the same time, you may not find that magic charm that "cures" all your son's difficulties. Remember that it is possible to have a perfectly satisfying and rich intellectual life, to become well educated, even to go to college, with a fine motor disability. Kids can get note-takers to help them take lecture notes, get extra time on essays or exams or even in some cases take them orally. Or -- your child may be one of those for whom keyboarding eventually solves all his problems and he may not even need any support at all by the time he's older. Keep doing what you're doing, but realize that time is your friend.

[OrganicAnn]

I of course knew that there is no magic only hard work. But I've seen some amazing advise on the boards, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thank you for your responses.