We don't have gifted schools here and my dysgraphic was always excluded from gifted programming in elementary, but I do have a severe dysgraphic here, 16 years old.
First thing you need is a 504 or an IEP for public education which requires some official paperwork. With that, you create a document that specifies what school will do and how he will manage. You might need to have him enrolled first if you didn't already get this when he was in school before.
We did dictation until I taught typing at 7. We worked every day for 10 minutes for 6 weeks. That got him up to about 15 words per minute which is not bad for the rate kids write in early elementary school. We got DS an alpha smart-- they are no longer made-- and he carried it around. The two biggest obstacles were: DS didn't want to appear different or answer questions from curious classmates. And Elementary teachers are much more focused on remediation vs accommodation so they didn't really buy in at first.
However, once they saw the huge difference, they generally bought in.
How it worked is that whenever DS was limited by inability to write, I had him dictate and I typed. I then handed it to him to read and tell me changes. That was an excellent habit that we lucked into! He proofread and edited his stuff from the get go.
By 4th grade, he was up to about 45 WPM and a functional typist-- I believe because we started so early.
And now, he's over 100 WPM.
What I learned: Some say not to teach home row. We did home row and it worked, but keep it in mind if home row isn't working for your DS. Hunt and peck and "figure out your own way" can work too.
Second: Writing needs to be taught with whatever your output is. Even waiting until 8 to output in typing in school required me to re-teach the writing process to DS. I suspect it's in the brain wiring.
So, for now, I'd teach typing, but don't expect it to be functional for a couple of years. You'll need another method for a while-- and it might just be to not have to write more than a word or sentence.
And don't forget maps and coloring and other "written" assignments when you ask for accommodations.
Thanks. If we go to this public school we would need at least a 504 for both the dyslexia and dysgraphia. I'm of the mindset that unless they have an OG reading specialist then I will need to do remediation myself. If they throw in addition remediation that is helpful, plus accommodate, I'd be thrilled.
You have motivated me to start again with typing with how fast you made progress. I've been putting it off since last year but I think it would be better to start immediately, as well as switch to cursive for a trial.
I realize that accommodations may just be on paper and in reality not carried out, so I'm not going to get my hopes up (and we're still awaiting acceptance to the school even). But I've been homeschooling for 18 months now. I feel I do remediation well but the giftedness is tricky for me to accommodate sometimes and I'm wondering if a gifted school would be better for the family.
It's a valid point to consider how DS would feel regarding differences. He's verbalized worry about his dyslexia and not reading like the other kids despite homeschooling for >1 year. If he is also concerned about writing and has problems again in school we would homeschool until he's older, has less "noticeable" differences, and more self-confidence.
We would definitely need all written output accommodated. I have DS do coloring, drawing, mazes, cutting, etc as therapy daily. He would probably need twice the amount of time as other kids to accomplish the same tasks for anything requiring his hands. Artwork, musical instruments, you name it (from the dyspraxia co-diagnosis).
