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Post by Charlie Girl on Sept 10, 2006 11:54:31 GMT -5
So many kids have trouble learning to write that I thought it would be nice to pick the brains and experience of everyone here for things which you have found helpful with your child.
My son is ADD-inattentive and although he isn't diagnosed dysgraphic, he had major problems learning to write and still has poor handwriting at times . He did get so he can write an interesting and correctly constructed sentence now though. I believe that was due to taking some of the pressure off of the physical act of writing so he could concentrate on what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.
His third grade teacher let him write his stories and book reports on the computer, then e-mail them to her. We started with him dictating to me as I typed word for word, putting in punctuation where he told me. I typed exactly what he told me to.
We then would look at what he "wrote" and I would have him tell me what to change. If I saw something that wasn't expressed clearly, I would ask him to read it and whether he thinks someone who didn't know anything about it would understand it. Sometimes I had to point out that "it" was not a valid word for the subject unless he actually had named "it" earlier on, etc. I then let him supply the word.
It took time to do this with him but after just a few, he began typing and editing on his own, then I would do a final edit with him. Within a few weeks he was entirely on his own.
We only did this with story and paragraph construction where learning to compose was the main goal. Everything that required him to practice the physical act of writing was still done by hand, as well as his spelling words.
We did this so that he was getting the practice and experience he needed to learn to write longhand. Neither of us wanted him to go through life dependant on a computer for even a simple sentence. It allowed him to master composition without the distraction of trying to learn to form his letters on paper when he was still struggling with both.
He now can write a decent composition by hand. I really think it made it much easier without taking the responsibility of learning everything off his shoulders.
What have you tried with your child? What worked? What didn't?
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Post by misty on Sept 10, 2006 12:09:17 GMT -5
I noticed just this year that Shannons printing is becoming MUCH MUCH neater. Her stories are flowing much smoother as well. The only thing that seems to have made the difference is Practice, practice, practice. She LOVES to write stories & in her free time at school & at home, she often chooses to write. Once shes done writing a story ( and her stories are often quite long) She dictates them to me & I type them on the computer. I use the opportunity to suggest alternate ways of stating something or for correcting punctuation.
for example she used to just use "she said" every time a character spoke. I showed her different ways of putting it like "Jackie Exclaimed" or " she whispered" etc.
I notice that the speech in her stories is starting to flow better now without me helping.
Her spelling is improving too. I think since she joined Taylor Hick's fan site & posts on the forum. She doesn't want the others there thinking shes not smart so she'd be asking me constantly how to spell this word or that word. I noticed this has tapered off.
She still cannt write in cursive though. I guess its time to get stricter on having her practice that now.
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Post by lostmyshoe on Sept 10, 2006 15:49:55 GMT -5
Becca is also ADD in-attentive and the one thing she has always loved to do is write. I think what may have helped were books that I bought that she could work on at home and also in the summer. One of the books I bought had letter formation which was a big help. The books are all different grade levels and subjects and you can buy them in some department stores and educational stores. Becca also has been in a writers club at school. If you haven't already, the books and maybe getting him involved in a writing group might be something that you could try. Becca loves to write stories and poems. She talks often about becoming a poet or a writer and maybe a teacher. Her weaker area is in the actual printing and handwriting of the letters which is sometimes a little sloppy. In her case though I think part of it is that she gets a little lazy. This year more cursive writing is required and also more neatness, which I think is good because she needs work on being neater. I have found that working at home on her weak areas in a relaxed environment and at her own pace helps. She feels that pressure too sometimes in school. I have always tried to break things down and do a little at a time. One of the areas she struggles with sometimes is in Math and I have bought books and found websites that break down problems step by step. I have printed out the pages from the websites and Becca and her Dad go over it together and she seems to understand it better(Math is not my strength either). Sometimes you will get a teacher in school that doesn't really know how to break things down and it makes it harder for the student to grasp what they are required to learn in the time required. That's when it really helps to work with them at home.
Those were just some of the things we've done at home for Becca. CG, it sounds like you are doing great with your son and doing everything you can to help him. His improvement shows a lot from what you've told us about him. Recognizing where he needs improvement and working with him is the best thing you can do for him, and there is also lots of material out there to aid us in helping our children. Hope something I said may help a little. I am so glad for this website and everyone here. I learn something new all the time and hope I can help too with my own experiences. I hope your son has a great year this year. Another week coming up. Hope it's a good one for everyone. Looking forward to hearing more on how your son is doing throughout the new school year. Dee
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Post by unicorn-tiff'smom on Sept 27, 2006 16:58:24 GMT -5
Tiff wasn't diagnosed with disgraphia either. She is ADD-inattentive too CG. Her handwriting at times is really awful and she doesn't leave enough room in between words much of the time so they all seen to run together. Her therapist was looking at her notebook last week and asked me if Tiff had disgraphia, I said "they told me no when she was tested, why?" and she said "just wondering." So now I am wondering myself.
But what I have Tiff do is slow down. She tries to write so fast that it is like described above. That helps when I am around.
They are beginning cursive again from last year this week. They were told tht once they go through the alphabet once, they are doing cursive from then on. So she will have to write slower.
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Post by lillian on Sept 30, 2006 1:53:49 GMT -5
Well, my son is dyslexic, and he has all the dyses--dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Of all the dyses, writing is the most severe, and his writing disability is very, very severe. I've learned hard lessons in the last four years since he came to live with us, and I now question what I did and did not do. What I have learned:
1. Tell the teachers to back off. I let teachers try to "force" him to learn cursive. This is, by far, the biggest mistake I made. Teachers kept telling me that if he wrote in cursive daily, he would eventually acquire it. After two years, he was unable to do so, but I let two years drag on. My advice is when a teacher tells you to keep trying with cursive, eventually your child will get it, then give it six months. If your child cannot acquire cursive, there's something wrong. Don't let it drag on, for it will impair your child's ability to express his/her thoughts in any written form. I have no doubt that part of my son's writing disability is psychological, and I attribute his being forced to use cursive as the basis of the psychological block he has towards writing, in the mechanical sense.
2. Understand that most writing disabilities are not dxed until later years. Schools and even private evaluators are hesitant to dx before fifth or sixth grade, and there are many parents who will tell you that their children were not dxed until middle or high school. Keep records. Keep writing samples from every year. Insist that you have copies of everything your child is writing. During this time, be totally supportive of your child. Don't comment on any failing writing grades or red marks on papers your child has written. If your child has a writing assignment and cannot do it, be your child's scribe, and write on the bottom of the page, "Scribe..." followed by your name. If the teacher doesn't like it, too bad. You'll have more ammunition when you go for an IEP. My son now has an IEP for a Disorder of Written Expression, and I am his official scribe. I just sign off at the bottom of the page. What a relief! I am FINALLY beginning to see a child who will attempt "writing." This child not only dictates his thoughts to me, he also tells me where to put in punctuation!!! Who would have ever thought? We currently are programming voice activation software on our home computer, so I can be relieved of my duties. I'll let you know how it goes.
3. Following #2, if your child is having great difficulties expressing himself/herself with pen and paper or will sit in front of a computer screen and stare at the screen, scribe, scribe, and scribe. This allows your child to see his/her thoughts on paper, to see that he CAN write. This has been a huge ego booster for my son. Remember that the mechanics of writing and written expression are two different things, but the mechanics of writing can greatly impair expression. For some children, a laptop or AlphaSmart will help tremendously. For other children, a scribe is needed. The latter is particularly true of children who have difficulties recalling the alphabet rapidly or who have difficulties spelling.
4. If a child has a lot of difficulty with spelling or grammar, don't let them use the computer with the SpellCheck or any other editing tool on. Turn them all off. Remember, you are going for expression, which is a free flow of thoughts. These thoughts should be allowed to flow, without any red mark anywhere to hinder them. Once the child is done, turn the editing tools back on and let the child go back and edit what s/he has written.
So, those are some of my thoughts. I hope this post wasn't too negative (blush).
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Post by misty on Sept 30, 2006 20:50:58 GMT -5
Lillian, That wasn't too negative at all! I found it extremely helpful! THANK YOU!
I do scribe for my daughter. I never cared what the teacher said but I did evenyually get it in her IEP that I can do that. Shes in 6th grade & cannot write in cursive yet! She writes the most wonderfully funny stories but until I started letting her dictate them to me, you could'nt read them through all the misspellings & sloppy handwriting/printing.
I never thought of not letting her use the spell check until the end, but its a wonderful idea & I will be doing that from now on.
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Post by jj on Oct 1, 2006 1:25:36 GMT -5
Lillian, Your advise is wonderful and I bet will be a great help for parents! You've been on both sides (teacher/parent) so I know you know what you are talking about. ;D
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Post by Charlie Girl on Oct 1, 2006 13:30:46 GMT -5
Thats great advice Lillian and very easy to understand.
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