Dysgraphia?

[RJL]

Our ADHD-ODD son is 15 and we had a horrific school year. A couple years ago I came upon information on dysgraphia that seemed to describe him and gave copies to his principal and teacher, asking for help. Now I realize that we should have followed up more formally with the school because there was no follow-through. A mom was describing her son who was tested for dysgraphia, went through a 504, is labeled and receiving accomodations through the school. He is very successful and will graduate next spring. Can you tell me a little about the testing process and the accomodations we can request?
RJL

[HooDunnit]

Hi RJL and welcome to the forums.

My ADHD son is dysgraphic. Apparently, there is a higher incidence of dysgraphia in ADHD that in the general population. I discovered this when I took him out of the school system at age ten and began homeschooling him. He seems neurologically incapable of handwriting. You can give him twenty minutes to do one sentence, and he just can't do it. He is now eighteen and can still barely sign his name. But oddly enough, he can print fairly well and can now type like the wind. A laptop computer that connects him to MSN has made a big difference, and a class in Information Processing for how to format documents. He is in a private high school now with an A/B average and has to print exams in class. That pulls him down, but he can hand in nice typed essays and assignments. We have largely bypassed the handwriting thing, except for the need to sign his name.

I hope someone can answer your questions regarding the 504. I'm in Canada, so don't know too much about that. But I'm happy that you found our website.

Barry

[Linda]

Hi and welcome...I agree with what Barry has said...I have a 16 year old Grandson whom we are raising...have been since he was a infant...and the handwriting is terrible...thank god for computers.

I don't know where you are from but I know here...In michigan it is a very hard thing to do in order to get a 504 for dysgraphia...you really have to push for it within your school district.Once you get your 504 however...you can basically get what you want for accomodations.Hope this helps...Linda

[AnneM]

Hi RJL!... This is a really interesting topic and I only wish I knew more about it. My 16 year old son's handwriting can be very bad BUT it can also be very good (!) plus he tends to use "running writing" as a PREFERENCE to "printing" so I "think" HE does not have dysgraphia ... I "think" in his case he is often in too much of a hurry (impatience) ... and races through to get something down on paper ... however, the result can be hard to read! He recently got a form to fill in for ownership of his new scooter. My son wrote down his details in running writing (when they had ASKED for printing!) ... at great speed .... and the result came back as "Sannuel" ... when it should have been "Samuel" ... ! This mistake was due hugely to my son's poor writing (but also I think due to the reader not being that familiar with the name Samuell!!) ... BUT I do not think in my son's case this was dysgraphia ... it was impatience and "too much in a hurry" ... because he CAN write beautifully when he is not in a rush ... in fact in Grade 7 we were told by his English teacher that he had better hand-writing than anyone else in his class ... so I have to blame my own son's bad writing on impatience and perhaps laziness! ...

BUT Dysgraphia is such an interesting topic and I understand an extremely REAL one ...

I wish you lots and lots of luck in getting your son a 504 to help him with his schooling as a whole...

[Allanque]

I hate writing most of the time. I type about 80 words a minute when someone's dictating to me. I can write legibly, but very slow if someone else will have to read my writing. I screw up writing my own name in cursive (the bumps on the n and y just mess up everything...I get "Bethamy" or "Bethary" more often than "Bethany"). Even my print is bad. My last name starts with an "H". I've gotten things back from forms I filled out with "It" instead of "H".

I just take my computer to class all the time (which they have no problem with in college, regardless of accomodations) and write slow if I have to turn something in.

[eaccae]

DS (8.5) has dysgraphia. I can't even get a 504 for the ADHD OR the dysgraphia - even with "filed" documentation from a neuropsychologist to the school. A common accomodation for dysgraphia (and we have tried this informally but the teacher had problems) - is to have your child - depending on how bad it is - type alot of their work. Most assignments can be typed and turned in for homework - we usually type up most writing assignments - even worksheets - and he has an Alphasmart DANA for school writing (purchased by us, of course, because although they use Alphasmarts in the middle school - the school district doesn't have them in the elementary school). We are working on getting him some tutoring for his handwriting so that he can get some non-pressure practice for things like Barry described - the standardized testing and such. He is also already quite a typist.

He also has a neurological issue which keeps him from writing - he has GREAT visual-spacial relastions and no real problems with the motor skills. So the best thing for him is the combo of the typing and the practice.

[weskie]

Hi RJL, welcome!

My DS, now 21, has ADD with dysgraphia. His high school was willing to accomodate the dysgraphia under the ADD diagnosis. He was allowed to take notes on his laptop and type his exams. His papers were all typed, of course. He types really fast, so the dysgraphia doesn't really bother him. When he handwrites, he prints, and the result is worse than a first grader's printing at the beginning of the year! Now he's a junior in college, and has to get documentation only for bringing a laptop to exams and for extra time. Thank heavens for computers! Maybe you won't need the 504?