Write from the start - Pen control

[Reallytired]

I wanted to share this link

www.amazon.co.uk/Write-Start-Programme-Perceptual-Handwriting/dp/1855032457?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

I have been using this book for 10 minutes a day with my son since June. The results have been absolutely amazing.

My son is a five and half years old and his pen control was completely hopeless. What is even more impressive is that my son has actually enjoyed it!

[Niecie]

My DS1 (just turned 7) has awful writing (AS/dyspraxia). He can write neatly sometimes but I am not exagerating if I say it is once a year! It is a real struggle for him.

He is just about to start yr3 and is generally a bright little boy. Would this scheme be alright for him or do you think he might find it a bit childish? Sometimes these things are aimed at the very young and won't capture his attention.

Is it the sort of thing I could start with DS2 who has no pencil skills at all and who is 4 in 3 wks.

Would I need to buy two sets of books or are they reusable?

Sorry for all the questions but it looks really interesting.

I am glad you have found something to help your son. I hope the teachers are stunned by his improvement when he goes back to school.

[Blandmum]

Buy the book and photocopy pages.

We have found it excellent.

[Reallytired]

I think it would be excellent for a 7 year old. You only need one book and you photocopy the pages you need. You can photocopy exercises and many times as you need them.

The book isn't babyish at all although there are some additional games/ worksheets which are more suitable for younger children. 90% of the book isn't babyish.

Infact it has been sucessfully used with adults who have suffered strokes/ head injuries and need to relearn how to write.

I think you could use it with a seven year old and a four year old, but you would pick different parts. Its probably better for a seven year old than a four year old.

My son was just over joyed that he could do it.

[southeastastra]

looks good, my ds(6) is being referred to a occupational therapist as this teacher thinks his fine motor skills are bad

[Niecie]

There's a lot of it about with these boys and their fine motor skills. Do we as a country ask too much of them too soon I wonder?

Thanks for the recommendation - I will look into getting a copy I think. I will wait for the 4yo though - see what his nursery do with him this term. They keep telling me he is very bright but it doesn't show up in any academic way so I thought I might give him a go and see what he achieves but maybe not! One boy at a time!! The big one first.

Good luck with the OT southeastastra. I hope you get to see one soon - we had a terribly long time on the list. Have you tried trianglur pencils - supposed to make the pencil grip easier.

[Reallytired]

We saw an occupational therapist yesterday. Her opinon was that school starts far to early for boys in the UK. My little boy has been really unhappy being made to do handwriting practice at 5.

To be frank I don't think that my son should ever had been put on the SEN register for fine motor skills. The problem was the national curriculum rather than my son.

[Reallytired]

Its a pity that you can't get refered to our child development centre for occupational theraphy. You won't beleive it, the waiting time was about 4 weeks.

[southeastastra]

yes i tend to agree with both your views too. my poor son has an iep and has seen speech therapists and now this!

we luckily got a cancellation so are seeing the ot at the end of september.

he has tried triangular pencils and when he concentrates can write nicely! but the school want him referred ...

[Reallytired]

I think that children who find pen control difficult (for whatever reason) can get in a vicous circle.

They refuse to do fine motor skill activites because of their sense of failure. This makes them get less practise and get further behind other children. At the age of five girls are more advanced in this area. (Due to development rather than intelligence) It makes the boys disheartened.

My son's school had a open evening where children's work was displayed. He said to me "Mummy, there's no point in looking to see if any of my work is displayed on the wall: All my work is bad." The worst thing was that none of his work was displayed at the age of 5. One girl had FIVE pictures on the wall.

[southeastastra]

i would have been livid at that reallytired.

[Niecie]

Reallytired - that happened to my son too - no pictures on the wall except if there is a class exercise where everybody does the same thing. My heart breaks for him sometimes.

It seems to permeate other areas too as my son, who is an excellent reader with a fantastic memory, never gets asked to say anything in plays and assemblies when I know he would love to do it and would be confident enough to do a good job. I am sure it is because he is on the Register of SEN.

Not fair to be labelled at 5 is it?

I am seriously considering not carrying on with his OT and ST next year as they don't really seem to be doing any good and he isn't badly affected and I sometimes feel that it is all just making him stand out from the crowd. It was OK in infants, very small children accept each other but I am worried it won't be like that in the juniors.

If I could help him at home then maybe that would be enough.

[southeastastra]

i feel the same neicie

[cornsilk]

There are 2 sets of books on Amazon - which should I get?

[posher]

Reading all these posts on handwriting has been great. I too have a 6 year old son whose handwriting is untidy. He too is being referred to an OT. I am going through the book mentioned with him and he quite enjoys doing it. The school have suggested letting him type answers on the PC or letting me do them!! How is that going to help! Why can't he just have untidy handwriting? Do they need to label everyone as somethin? It drives me mad that the school seem determined to identify a problem which will no doubt sort it self out in the near future. Being told he can type out answers on the computer will just make him less likely to try to write, surely. He loves being on the PC! Anyway, I have a referral even though both the school nurse and the doctor said he was fine. You are not alone!! Good luck every one.

[aquariusmum]

Am going to get the book now, as his pen grip is awful and don't think the school are doing enough about it. He is ASD so it will be a long haul, but the book looks great, thanks!

[catok]

Was recently advised to try a Pelikan Junior fountain pen cos it has a triangular rubber grip. DS likes it as it's more like everyone else's. Seems to be withstanding immense pressure on the paper!
Was also advised to do fun things rather than letter formation - DS will do mazes (printed off internet)- challenge is to go round but not touch any lines.
Left-handed? I've been amazed at result of buying a ruler numbered right-to-left, and really chunky pencil grips.
MNetters - Why do we have to solve these problems for ourselves? Finding excellent hints on here! Thanks,Reallytired!

[Marvin]

catok - where did you find the mazes on the internet? thanks!

[Piffle]

ditto also recommend
dd was dire and in 6 mths she cna now form proper letters and is mid skill level amongst her class.
she also loves it now and is confident about trying.

[ladygrinningsoul]

Bringing this thread back up as I'm considering getting this for DS (4.3). Had a meeting with his OT today and it seems the problem is that while he is now holding a pen properly, he can't copy letters or shapes from the page. He can trace them, or he can copy them if he sees someone else draw or write them first. (The problem is not one of shape recognition as he can read fluently). She showed me two attempts he had made to write the word "jam", one with the word on front of him and one where she wrote it for him first. The second attempt was recognisable and the first, not at all.

He CAN write his own name, BTW.

Would Write From The Start help?

[Reallytired]

My goodness your four year old sounds advanced. Still finds it hard to hold a pencil. When my son was five years old he absolutely no pen control whatsoever. He could not even draw a circle.

He only managed to write his name at the end of reception. My son has problems with his tendons that make it hard to write. He could write his name using a computer without a problem and is an excellent reader.

I'm surprised your son already has an OT at 4.3. My son did not get referred to OT until he was nearly six!

I think Write from the start would help, but I would try lots of other fun things as well. For example get your son to form letters in flour or cornflour gloop or sand.

[hels9]

Does anyone know to what extent Write from the Start might help with a child whose main problem is low muscle tone and extreme hypermobility in his hands (and everywhere else...), rather than visual perceptual problems? I noticed it does claim to help develop the right muscles for writing... Could it help improve the strength and stability of his grip, or is this a fairly minor aspect of the programme?

And presumably the programme wouldn't work anyway, unless being done with the correct grip in the first place????? (At the moment, he only has enough stability to make a mark with a pencil if he lets the pencil slope forwards, away from the web of his hand, and he tends not to rest his wrist on the paper... I don't know how much I should be just letting him do that, as at least he acheives something that way, or how much I should be trying to correct it).

[ladygrinningsoul]

RT, I think they feel that because he can read (he has hyperlexia) he ought to be able to write. He had no pen grip at all a few months ago but is very motivated to get it now because I promised I would get him a Nintendo DS when he has good enough pen control. The concern now is that though he can hold the pen he seems to have no idea how to make the pen write the letter or draw the shape, unless someone does it in front of him to show him, or he has a guide to trace it from - very odd.

The OT referral came about because when DS was assessed by a paed last spring she felt his motor delays (which we hadn't really noticed) were worse than his speech delay. We are EXTREMELY lucky with the borough we live in and were seen within a few weeks. The OT now makes regular visits to his nursery.

[Reallytired]

My son's reading and maths is significantly ahead of his writing. He isn't hyperlexic, but he is doing well at his reading. At the age of six he is on stage 7 ORT, which doesn't sound out of the ordinary for a six year old. However he is doing really well for a child with a hearing impairment.

I think its a mistake to think that a child should be good at pen control just because they can read. They are completely different skills. If you want him to learn to spell, then why don't you get him to play with magnets.

Bribing a four year old child with a Nintendo DS is putting a huge amount of pressure on him. What would you do if he still has awful pen control inspite of trying really hard?

My son is two years older than your son and he still finds writing really hard. Even with an occupational theraphist your child's fine motor skills are not going to improve over night.

[ladygrinningsoul]

Do you think I should have bought him the DS straight away when he asked for it (repeatedly) despite the fact that without some pen control he won't be able to use the stylus? (And that is all I meant by "good enough" pen control).

Or should I have told him no, he can't have it at all?