Re: what about handwriting?

[Guest guest]

Rita, I use Handwriting Without Tears Program for my son. His OT worked

with him using this program and I work with him at home. It has been a

wonderful program. You can GoodSearch//Google their website and finds lot

of

information. Hope this helps. Phyllis

[Guest guest]

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

Rita,

Jeanne here. Regarding the shoe tying and handwriting, does your

child get ot? That would certainly help in that sitution. I would use

an ot for helping your child with spacial lines too. You would also do

the exercises too at home, ask about the one and two step method for

making the letters first.

[Guest guest]

Rita, I use Handwriting Without Tears Program for my son. His OT worked

with him using this program and I work with him at home. It has been a

wonderful program. You can GoodSearch//Google their website and finds lot

of

information. Hope this helps. Phyllis

[Guest guest]

>

> Rita, I use Handwriting Without Tears Program for my son. His OT

worked

> with him using this program and I work with him at home. It has

been a

> wonderful program. You can GoodSearch//Google their website

and finds lot of

> information. Hope this helps. Phyllis

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine motor

skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe gross

motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't use

scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he can

fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to form a

letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this is

strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't know if

that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of the

indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has been

drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people in the

scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are just

little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles. And,

when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and so

are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of the

family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early to

know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would sure

like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

Rita,

Jeanne here. Regarding the shoe tying and handwriting, does your

child get ot? That would certainly help in that sitution. I would use

an ot for helping your child with spacial lines too. You would also do

the exercises too at home, ask about the one and two step method for

making the letters first.

[Guest guest]

Rita:

My son has difficulty writing as well...he is only 4 but getting him

to even try is somewhat difficult. We have enlisted a Occupational

Therapist to help us with his fine motor issues. I have purchased dry

erase books with letters and numbers and work with him one on one a

few days a week on top of what they are doing at school. Keep in mind

that if you can make it fun then he may be more willing to

participate. You may want to play music while trying to do something

like this. I find if I play music he likes when doing something like

this it helps. I keep the volume minimal and I try to use colorful

props. We have started a chart for things he does well...new words

ect....and we do rewards with stickers and tootsie rolls. All of

these things can be purchased at Wal-Mart for under 20.00...so it is

an inexpensive way to try something.

Hope that helps.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

We briefly had OT and we had a great therapist. We talked about how

handwriting would probably be difficult for Charlotte and she gave us

some thoughts on it. Since we are homeschooling we have the ability

to decide what type of handwriting to do. She suggested D'Nealian

handwriting. It's a form of handwriting (printing) where the letters

look more cursive-like and most letters are formed via one stroke.

She said that if you think about handwriting you have several steps

1)how to hold the pencile, 2) putting the pencil to the paper, and

3)making the movement. That's a lot of steps for a child with

apraxia. The D'Nealian handwriting only requires putting the pencil

to the paper one time for most letters and makes it easier. She also

suggested perhaps skipping printing altogether and going straight to

cursive.

And one fabulous tip she gave us. Don't teach handwriting one a paper

on a desk or table flat in front of the body. She said it is much

much easier to coordinate the hands and eyes if you write on something

upright like a paper on an easel. She said that when she goes into

classrooms for handwriting practice the first thing she does is to

have the kids get their papers upright.

She was a fabulous OT. She knew a lot about apraxia. I wish all

therapists were like her.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Rita, I use Handwriting Without Tears Program for my son. His OT

worked

> with him using this program and I work with him at home. It has

been a

> wonderful program. You can GoodSearch//Google their website

and finds lot of

> information. Hope this helps. Phyllis

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine motor

skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe gross

motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't use

scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he can

fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to form a

letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this is

strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't know if

that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of the

indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has been

drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people in the

scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are just

little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles. And,

when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and so

are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of the

family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early to

know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would sure

like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

Rita:

My son has difficulty writing as well...he is only 4 but getting him

to even try is somewhat difficult. We have enlisted a Occupational

Therapist to help us with his fine motor issues. I have purchased dry

erase books with letters and numbers and work with him one on one a

few days a week on top of what they are doing at school. Keep in mind

that if you can make it fun then he may be more willing to

participate. You may want to play music while trying to do something

like this. I find if I play music he likes when doing something like

this it helps. I keep the volume minimal and I try to use colorful

props. We have started a chart for things he does well...new words

ect....and we do rewards with stickers and tootsie rolls. All of

these things can be purchased at Wal-Mart for under 20.00...so it is

an inexpensive way to try something.

Hope that helps.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

We briefly had OT and we had a great therapist. We talked about how

handwriting would probably be difficult for Charlotte and she gave us

some thoughts on it. Since we are homeschooling we have the ability

to decide what type of handwriting to do. She suggested D'Nealian

handwriting. It's a form of handwriting (printing) where the letters

look more cursive-like and most letters are formed via one stroke.

She said that if you think about handwriting you have several steps

1)how to hold the pencile, 2) putting the pencil to the paper, and

3)making the movement. That's a lot of steps for a child with

apraxia. The D'Nealian handwriting only requires putting the pencil

to the paper one time for most letters and makes it easier. She also

suggested perhaps skipping printing altogether and going straight to

cursive.

And one fabulous tip she gave us. Don't teach handwriting one a paper

on a desk or table flat in front of the body. She said it is much

much easier to coordinate the hands and eyes if you write on something

upright like a paper on an easel. She said that when she goes into

classrooms for handwriting practice the first thing she does is to

have the kids get their papers upright.

She was a fabulous OT. She knew a lot about apraxia. I wish all

therapists were like her.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> Rita,

> Jeanne here. Regarding the shoe tying and handwriting, does your

> child get ot? That would certainly help in that sitution. I would

use

> an ot for helping your child with spacial lines too. You would

also do

> the exercises too at home, ask about the one and two step method

for

> making the letters first.

>

Hi Jeanne, my son does get OT in school....way back in pre-school

he had a great OT and although I thought he'd never write, by the

end of that year he was writing perfectly!! his teacher was also

very strict and insisted on neatness and he did do it pretty

well....well later he left that school and his new teachers and OT

were really not that concerned and I noticed him getting very

messy. I admit, my fault also...now it seems like he can't get

that neatness back! about the show-tying...his OT says that she is

trying and we are at home but although he can do it, its not good,

loose and he gets very frustrated also....lands up just tucking in

his laces instead of trying to tie them.

[Guest guest]

Handwriting is an important academic skill that children use to

communicate their thoughts, feelings, and knowledge to others. The

quality of handwriting is affected by multiple skills including

vision, memory, posture, and body control.

As a parent, you can help your child by reinforcing optimal

conditions for writing. The following are suggestions for achieving

that:

1. Vision: Check with the school nurse to ensure that your child

passed the vision screening. Academic challenges of 3rd -5th grade

require more intense visual skills and this is a time period where

many students are identified as needing glasses. At home you can

help vision by providing proper lighting.

2. Positioning: At home, make sure your child has a place to do

homework. For optimal writing performance, a child's feet should be

flat on the floor when sitting, knees and hips should be flexed at

90 degree angles, the desk or table top should be only 1 to 2 " above

the students bent elbow, the seat depth should be such that the

child can sit all the way back in their seat and still have room to

comfortably bend their knees at a 90 degree angle, and the seat

should provide support in the back high enough to reach slightly

above the child's shoulder blades.

3. Writing Grasp: The dynamic tripod grasp is used by most students

in school and should be reinforced at home as well. A dynamic tripod

grasp consists of the ring and pinkie finger being tucked into the

palm of the hand with the thumb and index finger pinching the

writing utensil and the middle finger supporting the underside of

the writing utensil (see illustration). Sometimes this grasp can be

facilitated by using a pencil grip ( available at most department or

office supply stores and at the student store at school). Some

students use pencil grips more for comfort than positioning.

http://www.link75.org/bcs/OTwebsite/handwriting.html

www.charterschools.org/pdf/05finemotorskills.pdf

[Guest guest]

My son has seen an OT since birth. He is 30 months also. Based on

what you said, it sounds as if your son is doing fine. He shouldn't

be using scissors quite yet (32-35 months), so don't worry about

that. Can he draw straight lines both horizontal and vertical? Can

he put little pegs into a peg board? Can he make a train with a

smoke stack out of blocks? I am no expert, but it sounds as if your

son is doing fine with fine motor. The fact that he is drawing

actual pictures is amazing to me! Be happy!!!!!

Take care

Sandy

>

> This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine

motor

> skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

> seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe

gross

> motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

> problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't

use

> scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he

can

> fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

> interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to

form a

> letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this

is

> strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

> computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't

know if

> that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of

the

> indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

> milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has

been

> drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people

in the

> scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are

just

> little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles.

And,

> when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and

so

> are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of

the

> family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early

to

> know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would

sure

> like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about

motor

> > planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have

any

> > problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are

still

> > having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can

anyone

> > tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank

you,

> > rita

> >

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> Rita,

> Jeanne here. Regarding the shoe tying and handwriting, does your

> child get ot? That would certainly help in that sitution. I would

use

> an ot for helping your child with spacial lines too. You would

also do

> the exercises too at home, ask about the one and two step method

for

> making the letters first.

>

Hi Jeanne, my son does get OT in school....way back in pre-school

he had a great OT and although I thought he'd never write, by the

end of that year he was writing perfectly!! his teacher was also

very strict and insisted on neatness and he did do it pretty

well....well later he left that school and his new teachers and OT

were really not that concerned and I noticed him getting very

messy. I admit, my fault also...now it seems like he can't get

that neatness back! about the show-tying...his OT says that she is

trying and we are at home but although he can do it, its not good,

loose and he gets very frustrated also....lands up just tucking in

his laces instead of trying to tie them.

[Guest guest]

Handwriting is an important academic skill that children use to

communicate their thoughts, feelings, and knowledge to others. The

quality of handwriting is affected by multiple skills including

vision, memory, posture, and body control.

As a parent, you can help your child by reinforcing optimal

conditions for writing. The following are suggestions for achieving

that:

1. Vision: Check with the school nurse to ensure that your child

passed the vision screening. Academic challenges of 3rd -5th grade

require more intense visual skills and this is a time period where

many students are identified as needing glasses. At home you can

help vision by providing proper lighting.

2. Positioning: At home, make sure your child has a place to do

homework. For optimal writing performance, a child's feet should be

flat on the floor when sitting, knees and hips should be flexed at

90 degree angles, the desk or table top should be only 1 to 2 " above

the students bent elbow, the seat depth should be such that the

child can sit all the way back in their seat and still have room to

comfortably bend their knees at a 90 degree angle, and the seat

should provide support in the back high enough to reach slightly

above the child's shoulder blades.

3. Writing Grasp: The dynamic tripod grasp is used by most students

in school and should be reinforced at home as well. A dynamic tripod

grasp consists of the ring and pinkie finger being tucked into the

palm of the hand with the thumb and index finger pinching the

writing utensil and the middle finger supporting the underside of

the writing utensil (see illustration). Sometimes this grasp can be

facilitated by using a pencil grip ( available at most department or

office supply stores and at the student store at school). Some

students use pencil grips more for comfort than positioning.

http://www.link75.org/bcs/OTwebsite/handwriting.html

www.charterschools.org/pdf/05finemotorskills.pdf

[Guest guest]

My 30 mos old son definitely has some motor issues. It took a while

(and an OT's help) for him to learn to sign and point. He still has

trouble with certain things, immitating itsy bitsy spider and " roll

the dough " with his hands. One of his SLPs said he might have

some " limb apraxia. " He's gotten much much better and can do some

things very well, string " beads " (BIG chunky ones), stack blocks,

pull apart and build with legos, but he is no where near being able

to draw letters (or people or fire trucks either for that matter!)

He can draw circles and vertical lines. We are working on

intersecting a horizontal with a vertical to make a " t " The

horizontal gives him some trouble, often coming out diagnal.

>

> This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine

motor

> skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

> seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe

gross

> motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

> problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't

use

> scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he

can

> fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

> interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to

form a

> letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this

is

> strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

> computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't

know if

> that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of

the

> indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

> milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has

been

> drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people

in the

> scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are

just

> little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles.

And,

> when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and

so

> are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of

the

> family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early

to

> know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would

sure

> like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about

motor

> > planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have

any

> > problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are

still

> > having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can

anyone

> > tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank

you,

> > rita

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My son has seen an OT since birth. He is 30 months also. Based on

what you said, it sounds as if your son is doing fine. He shouldn't

be using scissors quite yet (32-35 months), so don't worry about

that. Can he draw straight lines both horizontal and vertical? Can

he put little pegs into a peg board? Can he make a train with a

smoke stack out of blocks? I am no expert, but it sounds as if your

son is doing fine with fine motor. The fact that he is drawing

actual pictures is amazing to me! Be happy!!!!!

Take care

Sandy

>

> This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine

motor

> skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

> seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe

gross

> motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

> problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't

use

> scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he

can

> fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

> interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to

form a

> letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this

is

> strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

> computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't

know if

> that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of

the

> indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

> milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has

been

> drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people

in the

> scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are

just

> little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles.

And,

> when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and

so

> are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of

the

> family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early

to

> know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would

sure

> like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about

motor

> > planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have

any

> > problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are

still

> > having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can

anyone

> > tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank

you,

> > rita

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My 30 mos old son definitely has some motor issues. It took a while

(and an OT's help) for him to learn to sign and point. He still has

trouble with certain things, immitating itsy bitsy spider and " roll

the dough " with his hands. One of his SLPs said he might have

some " limb apraxia. " He's gotten much much better and can do some

things very well, string " beads " (BIG chunky ones), stack blocks,

pull apart and build with legos, but he is no where near being able

to draw letters (or people or fire trucks either for that matter!)

He can draw circles and vertical lines. We are working on

intersecting a horizontal with a vertical to make a " t " The

horizontal gives him some trouble, often coming out diagnal.

>

> This is an interesting thread. I, too, am wondering what the fine

motor

> skills should be for my son at his age (30 months). His fine motor

> seems normal, I guess, but I am not sure. I mean, he has severe

gross

> motor problems, so I am kind of looking for signs of fine motor

> problems. He can draw a weak, lopsided circle. And yet he can't

use

> scissors, not even a snip. He can string one-inch beads, and he

can

> fold a piece of paper. He can stack blocks. But considering his

> interest in the alphabet (since about 2), he has yet to try to

form a

> letter, but maybe some parents would laugh at me for thinking this

is

> strange. He just learned to drag and drop with the mouse on the

> computer, so he can play all sorts of puzzle games now. I don't

know if

> that is normal fine motor or not. To tell you the truth, some of

the

> indices for fine motor I have seen seem to be more like cognitive

> milestones rather than fine motor milestones. I mean, my son has

been

> drawing fire trucks with hoses and fire hydrants and many people

in the

> scene (because he tells me what he is drawing), but his people are

just

> little dots. And his trucks are circle-like marks, not rectangles.

And,

> when he draws a turtle, the eyes and nose and mouth are there, and

so

> are the claws, but again, it looks terrible, and no one outside of

the

> family would know what he was drawing. It is still a little early

to

> know whether he will have fine motor problems or not, but I would

sure

> like to know how to better monitor that situation.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about

motor

> > planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have

any

> > problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are

still

> > having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can

anyone

> > tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank

you,

> > rita

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My 39 mo has a handwriting box (It's called a " Pencil Gymnastics Kit "

http://therapyshoppe.com/product.php?cat=1 & id=696 & offset=0) from his

hand surgeon but he was born with birth defects on his hands. He has 4

fingers and 2 thumbs and all are very short. He uses mini loop

scissors (http://therapyshoppe.com/product.php?cat=3 & id=74 & offset=0).

He can color in straight lines and make crosses and circles so I am

not worried. His hand grasp is incorrect but to me he is still a baby

and he may have to adapt since his hands are not formed like mine. He

just needs time.

This is antedotal evidence but here it is: I have 4 children; boy 9

years 10 mos, girl 8 years 8 mos, girl 6 years 9 mos, and a boy 39 mos.

My oldest son has always had horrible handwriting! It's HUGE and

wobbly like a preschoolers. For some reason this year his handwriting

improved!?! He writes smaller and neater yet he is slower. (Maybe

starting algebra had something to do with it? We also bought a new

manual typewriter. Otherwise nothing else is new.)

My girls have almost always had beautiful neat even pretty handwriting!

We're homeschoolers. None of my children ever had a handwriting lesson

beyond coloring books and art materials except my firstborn (who had

the worst handwriting!). I was a first time homescholer and I bought

the Zaner Blosser handwriting books and lined paper like the public

schools use. Once I dropped that my son's writing improved although it

was still messy.

From my experience boys write larger and less neat than girls and they

improve later. My children became interested in writing at 4+ years

old. Most children's writing will improve as they get older.

Unfortunately if they are in an institutional setting they have to

write neater sooner than they may be ready to. My son's hand surgeon

as well as his therapist use " Handwriting Without Tears "

(http://www.hwtears.com/). You may find it cheaper through a Google

search; many homeschoolers use it too.

Sincerely,

Debra

*None of my children could tie their shoes properly until they were

about 7! Sure they could tie their shoes before that but to tie it

once without it coming undone and have it nice and tight took longer.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita

[Guest guest]

My 39 mo has a handwriting box (It's called a " Pencil Gymnastics Kit "

http://therapyshoppe.com/product.php?cat=1 & id=696 & offset=0) from his

hand surgeon but he was born with birth defects on his hands. He has 4

fingers and 2 thumbs and all are very short. He uses mini loop

scissors (http://therapyshoppe.com/product.php?cat=3 & id=74 & offset=0).

He can color in straight lines and make crosses and circles so I am

not worried. His hand grasp is incorrect but to me he is still a baby

and he may have to adapt since his hands are not formed like mine. He

just needs time.

This is antedotal evidence but here it is: I have 4 children; boy 9

years 10 mos, girl 8 years 8 mos, girl 6 years 9 mos, and a boy 39 mos.

My oldest son has always had horrible handwriting! It's HUGE and

wobbly like a preschoolers. For some reason this year his handwriting

improved!?! He writes smaller and neater yet he is slower. (Maybe

starting algebra had something to do with it? We also bought a new

manual typewriter. Otherwise nothing else is new.)

My girls have almost always had beautiful neat even pretty handwriting!

We're homeschoolers. None of my children ever had a handwriting lesson

beyond coloring books and art materials except my firstborn (who had

the worst handwriting!). I was a first time homescholer and I bought

the Zaner Blosser handwriting books and lined paper like the public

schools use. Once I dropped that my son's writing improved although it

was still messy.

From my experience boys write larger and less neat than girls and they

improve later. My children became interested in writing at 4+ years

old. Most children's writing will improve as they get older.

Unfortunately if they are in an institutional setting they have to

write neater sooner than they may be ready to. My son's hand surgeon

as well as his therapist use " Handwriting Without Tears "

(http://www.hwtears.com/). You may find it cheaper through a Google

search; many homeschoolers use it too.

Sincerely,

Debra

*None of my children could tie their shoes properly until they were

about 7! Sure they could tie their shoes before that but to tie it

once without it coming undone and have it nice and tight took longer.

>

> Most of the posts here revolve around speech....what about motor

> planning and fine or gross motor difficulties...does anyone have any

> problems with these? My sons speech is improving but we are still

> having lots of problems with shoe tying and handwriting. Can anyone

> tell me how they are helping their child with dypraxia? thank you,

> rita