SPD: son's writing getting worse

[MommyJo]

Ok, I am new to welltrained so stay with me here. My oldest ds, Braedon, has sensory processing disorder. He is intellectually VERY smart. He is going to be 5 next month and is on a 2nd grade math level, 1st grade science, reading on a 2nd grade level, etc. Anyways, we pulled him out of preschool this year, for numerous reasons but that's a whole other conversation. Before we pulled him out we has spent 1000s of dollars renovating our basement into a sensory positive classroom. We know what things distract him, help him, etc. so we took over half the basement. It has sound proof walls, very plain white walls and black and white posters. A little color here and there but nothing that will bother him. Everything is set just right for him to learn perfectly. And he was, at first, now it's another story.
We've had to change curriculum choices MANY times because of his needs. We cannot have very "loud" colorful pictures, etc. and that may be some of the reason, I don't know but all of a sudden his handwriting is not even recognizable. Maybe it's the program we are using Reason for Handwriting, or the fact that we are doing it differently than maybe he was at school. All I know is I cannot read ANYTHING he writes. Sad thing is, it's breaking his heart. He's ashamed of his writing because he says it's ugly, etc. I have always tried to encourage him but when he asks me "then tell me what it says then mom", I have no clue what to say. Anyways, we were going to try HWT and was wondering if anybody has had any luck with it. I was going to have him do the K book but with all the extra sensory activities such as roll a dough, etc. Does anyone have any tips at all for SPD writing? For other subjects, I let him sit and bounce on an exercise ball to curb his appetite for fidgeting and movement but I obviously can't with handwriting. Any help would really help, he used to be able to write full sentences that everybody could read and was working on making his letters the right size. Now it's just blur. Thanks guys.

[LizzyBee]

Our EdPsych suggested letting our dd with SPD stand up to write (but dd chooses to sit). Her OT wants her to do finger strengthening exercises before handwriting. She also works on handwriting with dd every week and gives us practice sheets for home.

Either dh, dd15, or I sit with dd7 when she does her handwriting so that we can correct errors and incorrect techniques as soon as they happen. We do handwriting in very small increments - you might try very short sessions 2-3 times a day if you're not already doing it that way. DD practices her letters in a salt box sometimes. You can make one with a rectangular gift box - just glue a piece of black construction paper to the bottom, then add enough salt to just barely, lightly cover the bottom.

[MommyJo]

You had some really great ideas. I'm definately going to try the salt box. Sometimes, I am working so hard to try to figure something out I miss the obvious. Also, what kind of finger strengthening exercises does she do?
Also, he's been writing at home with a regular everyday pencil, could this affect things as well? I had seen online that there are special grips that you can add to just about any writing utensil (pencils, crayons, markers, etc.) that MAKE their fingers stay in the proper position to learn. We have thought about purchasing those as we cannot find large primary pencils around here. We have two teacher's stores and they both said that teacher's always go in to order them so for some reason they are so rare around here. The grips are kind of expensive but at least he would be able to put them on anything and I wouldn't have to wait two weeks for them to "come in" when he ran out.

[CherylG]

You had some really great ideas. I'm definately going to try the salt box. Sometimes, I am working so hard to try to figure something out I miss the obvious. Also, what kind of finger strengthening exercises does she do?
Also, he's been writing at home with a regular everyday pencil, could this affect things as well? I had seen online that there are special grips that you can add to just about any writing utensil (pencils, crayons, markers, etc.) that MAKE their fingers stay in the proper position to learn. We have thought about purchasing those as we cannot find large primary pencils around here. We have two teacher's stores and they both said that teacher's always go in to order them so for some reason they are so rare around here. The grips are kind of expensive but at least he would be able to put them on anything and I wouldn't have to wait two weeks for them to "come in" when he ran out.
If you want to privately send me your address I will go to our teacher's store and get you some of those large Ticonderoga pencils. They feel smooth, the wood is nice, the wood doesn't splinter, and the lead is very clean and smooth. Let me know-
God bless you during this time.
love,
Cheryl

[LizzyBee]

You had some really great ideas. I'm definately going to try the salt box. Sometimes, I am working so hard to try to figure something out I miss the obvious. Also, what kind of finger strengthening exercises does she do?
Also, he's been writing at home with a regular everyday pencil, could this affect things as well? I had seen online that there are special grips that you can add to just about any writing utensil (pencils, crayons, markers, etc.) that MAKE their fingers stay in the proper position to learn. We have thought about purchasing those as we cannot find large primary pencils around here. We have two teacher's stores and they both said that teacher's always go in to order them so for some reason they are so rare around here. The grips are kind of expensive but at least he would be able to put them on anything and I wouldn't have to wait two weeks for them to "come in" when he ran out.

DD7 does sometimes use pencil grips that force her fingers to stay in the correct position. If she doesn't use the grip, she slips back to using a thumb-over-the-fingers grip, in which gross motor muscles rather than fine motor muscles are being used. She doesn't always use the grips anymore, but when she doesn't, I have to pay attention and remind her to hold her pencil correctly.

[Dobela]

My son has had great success with HWT. We began it at home ourselves before he started OT. The OT just expanded on it and worked lots on his muscle strength. I don't know everything she did but some activities she had us do at home were lots of puzzles, picking up BBs with tweezers and moving them from one container to another, screwing nuts on/off bolts (we started with large ones and worked to very tiny ones), burying small objects in clay/playdoh and having him dig them out with his fingers only (beads, tiny toys, etc), and putting glue on the bottom lines of the paper. The thin glue line gave him a physical cue when to start and stop the pencil movement. Of course it only works well with capitals and letters that don't fall below the line. I did also find paper with raised lines at a dollar store once. It worked ok but wasn't the same as HWT so that was confusing. I was able to buy the nuts and bolts in small packages at the hardware store for about $2 a set. Often the OT would have him write with a small pencil like they have at bowling alleys and mini golf courses. Because it was short, he was forced to hold it correctly. Crayons work well for this too.

You really need to music cd with the lower levels of HWT. Much is taught to cute rhymes, songs and jingles. I didn't buy it and then had to make up my own. My son absolutely loved the music when the OT played it making me regret not buying it.

[Momto2Ns]

Try a white board for him to write on. Let him write with big wide things to hold onto (fat crayons, markers, big pencils). Use short pencils and broken crayons that help force his correct grip.

Lots of hand strengthening. He is physically too young to do this yet. I know, some kids write beautifully at 3, but there are plenty of 4 yr old boys who don't have the fine motor control for writing - even if they are smart! Play-doh is a good strengthener, writing in sand, rice or salt can be fun and so can finger paint.

HWT is a good program and we did use it with some improvement - when my son was 6 and 7 :lol: A 5 year old who can't write legibly doesn't have special needs, he is just a 5 year old. Try to ease his frustration by lowering the expectation. Let him give you answers orally. Let him type them on the computer. Be patient.

[Country Mouse]

For a 5yo I would recommend HWT, using the little chalkboard, and also I really like this program:
http://www.educlime.com/living_letters.htm

It's fun and designed for kids with fine motor issues. I used elements of it with ds and he enjoyed it. I still use some of the phrasing to help with letter placement. It does have some color (they are muted colors, though).

I also agree with pp about making sure your expectations are reasonable for a 5yo boy.

Best of luck, I know firsthand about handwriting struggles.

[MommyJo]

Lots of hand strengthening. He is physically too young to do this yet. I know, some kids write beautifully at 3, but there are plenty of 4 yr old boys who don't have the fine motor control for writing - even if they are smart!
Try to ease his frustration by lowering the expectation. Let him give you answers orally. Let him type them on the computer. Be patient.

My biggest concern isn't really if he can write or not. These were skills that he's had previously. He was a very good writer and it was something he loved. I originally never had him writing at all but I had sent him to a ps preschool for awhile and they had them writing everyday in a journal. This was something he loved and was something he asked to carry into his homeschooling. To be honest, it doesn't bother me if he writes or not because I know one day he will eventually catch it. I guess more or less I hurt for him when he tries to do these things and gets mad or sad. He has his writing journal in the classroom and sometimes he just grabs it to write a story (which he loves). I have offered to type it up and then print it out for him so he still has his story but he became so independent in ps that he doesn't want the help. He knows this is a skill he used to have down pat and now he doesn't know why it's so hard to get it. He' a very independent and stubborn child, he knows what he wants and he won't stop until he has it. This is just like with his writing, he used to write every other day or so at home but now it's something he literally attempts everyday because he wants to "get it" again. Is there an easy way to explain to him that it's okay and that he will be able to do it again one day? I guess I did have some higher expectations when he came out of ps. I expected him to be able to continue all the skills he had learned in ps and that I would just have to elaborate on them. I guess I sort of feel like I am failing him in a way that his ps teacher wasn't. I feel like I am doing something wrong that she was doing right and I feel like it reflects my homeschooling ability in a way. I know this may sound silly but I guess I just feel like he shouldn't be losing skills and that it's a result of something I am doing.

[LizzyBee]

I forgot to answer one of your questions to me re: hand strengthening exercises. They are simple things like touching the tips of each finger to the thumb and pulling on silly putty.

[Momto2Ns]

I guess I sort of feel like I am failing him in a way that his ps teacher wasn't. I feel like I am doing something wrong that she was doing right and I feel like it reflects my homeschooling ability in a way. I know this may sound silly but I guess I just feel like he shouldn't be losing skills and that it's a result of something I am doing.

:grouphug:
These are scary feelings! I don't know if it is normal for a child to lose motor skills like that or not. It is normal for kids to gain academic skills, lose them, then regain them again. You could always seek the opinion of an OT (occupational therapist) when it comes to the lost skills. They should know if that is common and how to help him regain them. Your insurance may want a referral from your pediatrician and he/she may have an opinion on this as well.

Frustration is very normal at that age too, but obviously it would be nice to help him work through it. I would seek to build on his academic successes and point them out to him. Try to show and tell him how well he is doing and in how many areas. For an explanation, try telling him he is way ahead and he isn't supposed to be so smart yet :001_smile: Tell him his hand needs a chance to catch up to his brain.