I am having ds evaluated for this. I am pretty sure he has it. What are the types of exercises that they do to help with this? He is really good with things like legos, but his handwriting is unreadable. He is extremely smart and I don't want this to hold him back.

By Mommmie on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 01:56 pm:

My son has weekly OT to help his dysgraphia.

By Colette on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 02:02 pm:

What do they do?

By Mommmie on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 08:01 pm:

The try to improve the fine motor skills. Like he digs beads out of clay and has to untangle a knot or something like that. Strengthen those muscles. They also have a special pencil they use that makes him hold his pencil correctly. That's part of his problem. He has an improper grip.

Also, last summer he took a handwriting class (18 hours) and was tutored once a week in school for handwriting (that was last year, 3rd grade).

His handwriting is really getting better. It's not anywhere close to normal. I'd say it's almost totally readable. I'm not putting him in handwriting this summer though. He's taking keyboarding instead.

My son attends an private LD school and lots and lots of kids have dysgraphia in addition to their dyslexia. They constantly work on it. Even if it's hard and they move on to keyboarding, the kids still need to learn handwriting because as they learn it develops a certain part of the brain.

Course, hearing on the news tonight about the new SAT that's started that requires a handwritten essay. Oy!

I think part of dysgraphia is getting things out of the brain and onto paper is difficult. For that, my son's plays an online game and he has to type messages to other players. This is separate from handwriting skills.

By Colette on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 10:23 am:

Thanks!!

By Feona on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 11:45 am:

If his hands are weak there are fidgets.

Lets see if I can find a link.....

By Feona on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 11:48 am:

Okay I don't know if you need fine motor or gross motor stuff..

http://www.theraproducts.com/index/page-catalog/main-4785/

By Pamt on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 09:49 pm:

Colette, a lot of times there many not be specific exercises. It really depends on WHY the child has dysgraphia. A lot of times it is a matter of motor planning. The child can't sequence the movements correctly or quickly enough to write and/or may not even visually perceive the letters correctly. It will be a highly individualized approach based on your DS's specific issues. The OTs I work with use a curriculum called "Handwriting without Tears." I'm sure you can find some info if you google it. Poor handwriting can also stem from poor trunk control. Sometimes the OT may have the child sit on a large exercise ball or 2-legged stool while they write because they are constantly having to "right" themselves which gives increased trunk stability. HTH and good luck!

P.S. I've really learned a lot from the OTs I work with and we have co-treated a few dysgraphic/dyslexic kids together. If I weren't an SLP, I'd want to be an OT

By Mommmie on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 10:26 am:

My son's OT uses Handwriting Without Tears, too. They say its the best!