Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Handwriting limit in IEP

Okay here is what is in my DS's iep with regard to handwriting:


"Primary lined paper will be provided for journaling, Writers Workshop, and special area assignments that require more than 3 lines of writing... for assignments for writing assignments 3 lines or greater."

"On tasks of two lines or less, DS will be encouraged, but not required, to write independently... for writing assignments of two lines or less."

"For writing tasks three lines or longer, DS and a scribe may alternate writing 1-2 sentences each. Scribe will do all writing after Ben completes a maximum of 4 handwritten lines."

He does the majority of his writing on the computer now so it's not an issue but during any tests or whenever the computer is not an option these are the accommodations that are in effect. And even in math we are incorporating "panther math paper" so he doesn't have to write out strings of numbers.

HTH!

What's panther math paper? All we're doing now is huge graph paper for him to use to "show his work". The problem with DS is that he insists upon doing all of the math in his head. So then he makes careless errors. So teacher is trying to get him to use graph paper for the more complicated problems like (just as an example) 14X60, whereas 8X60 she would let him solve in his head and not show any work. I know that other teachers aren't going to be as flexible as she is about letting him do things in his head. It's going to drive certain teachers nuts (like the one who gave him the woodcock johnson and he didn't write anything down at all except what he had to for the fluency section).

Howler, interesting about the clipboard. Not sure if he would hold his arm in an acceptable position away from his body if he tried that. Good point about "what is fatigue"...if we could somehow demonstrate what is fatigue and what is laziness. It can be hard to tell with him. And how bad would his writing have to get before it's considered fatigued handwriting. The lady who pulled him out for math assessments and made him do 3 back-to-back unit tests doesn't see a problem with what she did. I don't think it would be Ok even for a "normal" first grader much less one who is impaired enough to be in therapies and have an IEP.

Yeah-- I just see staff training as the major stumbling block for a lot of hidden disabilities-- a failure to understand means (as often as not) a failure to graciously and appropriately support the student's actual needs.

KWIM?

Here's an idea for math--

If he works problem sets/assignments backwards-- that is, starting with the most challenging problems he's been assigned, and only doing the "easy" ones if he gets the hard ones wrong.

That way he'll have greater incentive to write out work on just one or two problems... and if he gets those RIGHT, then everyone is happy with his demonstration of mastery.

Assuming that he will agree to "write everything out" for the first one or two.

This is a strategy that we implemented with DD-- if the problems weren't hard enough she would refuse to write out steps, and if she got them wrong, then it was a total mystery WHY, too. Useless all around, actually. Harder problems FIRST solved that, plus she had the incentive of not being bored or forced to do more writing if she did the hard ones right-- and truthfully, they were more appropriate anyway.

Your teacher sounds great, so it could be that this person would be willing to TRY that approach and see if it is something that could go in as an IEP line item.

Yup, sounds just like my DS. Last night he tried to add a string of about 6 two and three digit numbers in his head ... he came close but he made some careless error along the way b/c he was three off... He does the exact same thing and it's to avoid the writing...The fact that he has so much trouble forming the numbers (all of which are reversed, mind you), and it takes so long to form each number, impedes him math and also sucks the enjoyment out of the math. He has done really well doing everything in his head (he got to 4th grade level on Woodcock Johnson applied problems doing all the problem solving in his head refusing to use scratch paper). But, as I keep telling him, he IS NOT a computer - he can't do that forever. He does use graph paper but he just hates the writing. Plus with the inversions and reversals, the writing out can impede the math as well.

Anyway: here is a video of panther math paper. It's awesome:
http://vimeo.com/58327955

blackcat, it sounds to me like you could use some good professional advice about your ds' handwriting. He's had a neuropsych eval in which he was diagnosed with DCD, but that's been at least a year ago or longer, hasn't it? One thing that might be helpful would be for you to go back to the neuropsych just for an hour of his/her time and ask her questions about what you've observed Ask specifically if they think your ds might have dysgraphia. I had to do this very same thing a year after our ds' first neuropsych eval and it was actually very helpful. The situation in our case was that the word "dysgraphia" was never mentioned in her report although she'd given us a ton of advice on limits and therapies etc to help ds with handwriting. When I tried to research online, everything referred to dysgraphia, but I didn't know for sure if what we were dealing with really was dysgraphia. The neuropsych cleared that up for me right away The other thing that was helpful was I was able to update her on what we'd tried from her original recommendations vs how it worked out, and she was able to make additional recommendations for "where to go from here" - all without re-evaluating ds.

I also consulted with an OT who specifically focused on AT for children with handwriting challenges. I initiated that consult simply because I wanted a good roadmap for AT solutions, but the consult gave me something that was perhaps more valuable long-term. I went into the consult having the majority of my knowledge base on how to accommodate etc built upon my having researched and read about children with traditional dysgraphia. The consultant right away changed my focus and understanding a bit in that she saw ds' handwriting challenges in light of his DCD - which ultimately meant some of the traditional accommodations that work for kids with dysgraphia-only were not going to work (or would not work in the same way) for ds. For instance, the OT saw right away that based on his diagnosis, keyboarding needed to be put in place of handwriting (standard dysgraphia remediation) *but* it wasn't going to ever be fast keyboarding. Little things like that - that added to clarity that was very helpful for understanding how to move forward.


I would be very careful to not automatically assume that refusal to write or do classwork at this point is laziness - until your ds has a method to write that he'd comfortable with and has shown he can use effectively. It might take a few years to get to that point too. The thing is, children who refuse (for whatever reason) to write in the classroom can easily look "lazy" whether or not the reason is laziness or a disability.


Whether or not it's "dysgraphia" or his DCD etc, this is very typical of what happens to my ds who has DCD and associated dysgraphia. He can learn how to shape letters, he can work hard at handwriting and improve his legibility, but he's also had times when he goes without using it frequently and all the gains disappear as if he'd never had the handwriting instruction. The only times that legibility gains really stuck for him were associated with (jmo) times that he had a maturing-spurt - when his body awareness was growing in a way that allowed the gains in handwriting to stick. And it's important to be aware too that for a child who is dysgraphic, legibility alone isn't the reason you move to keyboarding. No matter how neat or readable the child's handwriting is, if the child is dysgraphic, the *act* of handwriting takes up all of their working memory, so they are left with a real deficit in the ability to incorporate spelling, grammar, punctuation *while* handwriting, and more importantly, very little left over for formulating the ideas that they are being asked to express through writing. That's why dysgraphic students need access to AT - not simply a case of legibility. Without the AT, their full voices aren't heard, and as Pemberley mentions, they are therefore not experiencing FAPE.

The other reason I feel strongly that having the insight into your specific child from a qualified professional is important is that the issues you're trying to work your way through at the moment are all in *this* moment, this grade, this point in time - but a child who is dysgraphic or DCD isn't going to magically have those issues disappear when their handwriting looks better or next year when they are a year older etc - they are issues that will most likely be present in one form or another for life. So what you do now isn't just putting a bandaid on what's going on now, it's a step on a long journey toward independence as an older student and adult, and the choices you make (whether or not to push the slant board, push writing long passages, scribing vs keyboarding etc vs putting time into getting used to AT) are going to potentially impact where your child is in terms of independence further down the road.


It sounds like maybe your ds is showing signs of laziness in other areas too - so if laziness and apathy are concerns, I'd focus on getting him past it in some area where you aren't worried about a potential disability.

Best wishes,

polarbear

ps - I forgot to mention what our ds' accommodations are, but fwiw, I'm mentioning them as only one example - the important thing to take away from it is that they are determined by his *individual* needs - we know he will never be able to depend on handwriting to show his knowledge, and we have a private professional's report to back us up

In his elementary school IEP:

* extended time on tests (classroom and state/standardized testing)
* use of word processor (aka computer) on essay questions on testing for classroom and state/standardized testing.
* writes answers in the question book on state/standardized testing (i.e., doesn't use the bubble/scantron sheets to record his answers)
* oral response answers for all fluency tests
* use of a word processor for any classroom and homework assignments that are longer than a 1-2 sentence answer
* quiet room for testing

Those are his "officially documented" accommodations. He also uses the following informal accommodations:

* word processor for all classwork and classroom testing (he's allowed to either scan in worksheets or just write answers on his iPad/laptop, and he is allowed to use specialized software/apps that support his writing such as word prediction, audio recording etc).

* I scribed the majority of his homework for him when he was in elementary school, and I still scribe occasionally when he is extra tired or extremely short on time.

* not graded on spelling on essays etc (points taken off for spelling/grammar only on assignments where spelling/grammar are the goals)

* extended time on writing assignments as needed (he used to use this accommodation frequently, but as he's matured and made gains in his ability to use written expression with his AT, he no longer uses this accommodation)

* allowed to get up and take a break while writing if he becomes fatigued/stuck/etc

FWIW, ds has had a lot of hand pain associated with handwriting. He never expressed it verbally when he was your ds' age - we only saw it in his actions (he would rub his wrist repeatedly and refuse to write). Once he was older he shared a lot more about how handwriting made him feel - but we still had to ask about pain. It wasn't until he was around 12-13 years old that he actually mentioned pain to us - and at that point in time I thought he was way past having pain when writing because his handwriting was so limited - but sure enough, even today, even with OT to correct posture/grip/etc, if he has to use handwriting for more than just a few minutes it causes him noticeable pain. Based on our ds' experience with pain and frustration, I wouldn't for a minute rely on a young student to be able to accurately judge how long they are able to write without fatigue. I'd also be very aware of the cumulative impact of writing fatigue - suppose you write for 10 minutes in the morning, and reach your limit - you become fatigued. Then you have another writing assignment an hour later, and again you limit it just to the edge of where you anticipate it will become tiring (another 10 minutes). And this happens all day long, repeatedly. The amount of time/number of words a child is going to be able to write without becoming fatigued is going to diminish over the course of the school day, if they are constantly writing to the point of fatigue. And what is fatigue? It's more than just a hand becoming tired or sore, it's mental fatigue from having to deal with how to from letters, spelling, grammar etc at the same time. That's why I think it's so important to have a qualified professional take a look at each individual child and make the determination - what is appropriate for this child.

Hope some of that helps!

polarbear

I'm going to take DD in for a pscyh eval and he said he can look for possible dysgraphia. If I like him, maybe DS should go as well. The neuropsych he saw wasn't the type to look at learning disabilities. He wasn't even interested in seeing DD with her ADHD. I think the only reason he saw DS was because of the brain injury (he fractured his skull and had some obvious brain damage). That assessment was last May, so about 9 months ago.

DS's handwriting improved dramatically the second he was at the new school with the new teacher and it has stayed decent since then (2 weeks?) so I think it's a case of him being lazy and he knew he could get away with little effort with the other teacher. I'm sure it takes more effort for him to write than other kids, but the sloppy work he was doing at the other school was clearly him being really unmotivated and just deciding he didn't care. He's like that with other things too.

Thanks for all the suggestions for what we can put in the IEP. I'm just really not sure how "bad" the situation is. The private OT assessed him again and his score went way up. The last time he was assessed was last July and he was scoring below the 10th percentile for most things. One of the scores for motor skills went up to the 64th percentile and even manual coordination went way up and was something like the 24th. Despite the now-average scores, he definitely still looks tight and awkward when he writes, and the writing looks shaky. Luckily the new teacher has a master's in special ed and his IEP manager says the teacher is very on top of the situation and is trying different things. I'm not sure how often she has tried the slant board yet but she said she would. So things are fine now, but I'm not sure that DS will stay in that school next fall, so I was interested in having a well written IEP so it's all there in writing and we don't have to mess with it again the next time he gets a teacher who doesn't concern herself with any of his special needs. I mean, it's easier to have things in writing now than wait for a teacher who doesn't get it, and then try to remedy the situation by fixing the IEP.