My 13-year-old son who was finally diagnosed with dysgraphia at age 11. He was tested by an OT a few years earlier but she said his handwriting was low normal so she didn't even work with him on it. Instead she wanted to work on his vestibular and proprioceptive issues in the only six weeks of therapy our insurance would pay for. The problem was that he was not tested for a long enough time for his handwriting to get worse. His low endurance and fatigue issues contribute to his dysgraphia. He can write legibly for about five minutes.
We couldn't get an IEP even though we tried. We talked to the special ed director at our public school after we had homeschooled for one year. We showed him the results of testing by an educational psychologist. The month my son turned seven he tested at a 4th grade level in math but wouldn't do any calculations on paper. If he couldn't get the answer using mental math, he just wouldn't do it. The special ed director didn't see this as a problem. We also told him about the low muscle tone and lower than normal visual motor coordination and the fatigue issues that made it difficult for my son to color in the lines. The kindergarten teacher had wanted to hold my son back a year to practice coloring in the lines because this was more important than learning anything else, yet they would not provide OT because he wasn't failing. We asked about appropriate education. We learned they have a very different idea about what an appropriate education is so we had no choice but to homeschool.
I have always had trouble understanding how any good teacher could deny the use of assistive technology or extra time or whatever the child needs to succeed.
At home my son uses a whiteboard to do algebra problems. This worked for him when nothing else did. It is easier for him to write and easier for him to erase. It also cuts down on the amount of writing he has to do. He uses the markers with eraser on one end. He tried graph paper. Didn't work for him. He still uses a lot of mental math. He does whatever he needs to do to get the correct answer quickly. We just kept trying different things until we found what worked for him. He can type his notes on an iPhone or iPod that he can carries in his pocket. He can even use this for essay questions on tests if the teacher will allow it. It just seems crazy to me that there are so many teachers who would not allow the accommodations my son needs to succeed.
My husband says that the people he hires have to be able to pass tests that include math and he doesn't care how they get the answers. The important thing is accuracy and speed, which is why we are using IXL for algebra practice. You don't want to make mistakes with IXL because it takes points away and it takes longer to finish. It forces my son to write legibly enough and find shortcuts to get the right answers quickly.
I think my son's fine motor disabilities/dysgraphia did affect his IQ scores, but not as much as the migraine and fatigue issues he had during the all day testing. His mental processing ability has always been much faster than mine but his disabilities slow him down when he has to physically do things.
