His writing improved dramatically within 2 days of being with the new teacher, because she recognized that he was regressing and wasn't doing his best work. She firmly (but kindly) told him that she was expecting more and he obliged. Kids tend to do what is expected of them. You expected nothing of him and ignored him, and he did no more than what he could get away with.
Thank you for posting this! I wondered if that was what happened to DS8's handwriting this year as it became illegible. DS8 and I had a chat after I reviewed last year's handwriting compared to this year. It really is all about expectations.
Yep, his friend is still in that class with that teacher and doesn't have a disability like DS (DS has developmental coordination disorder), but the same thing happened. Very neat handwriting the first couple weeks of school, then it went downhill from there. DS still has to put more effort into writing than other kids, but can do well when he slows down and thinks about what he's doing.
