Thank you so much for all of your help, Polarbear. You are very helpful! I truly appreciate it and the time you have taken.
"By feeding his disability, I think you mean will he become dependent on this at the expense of developing his handwriting skills etc? I don't think so - you can have him work specifically on handwriting at a time that *isn't* a test-taking time. "
Yes exactly! This is good info and a good way of expressing it! I didn't even realize that this is what I am looking for, basically. He needs to work on writing but I don't want him to be 'disabled' by his poor writing during tests/assessments when his writign skils are like well over a year behind his peers! I could not articulate it, though! Thank you! I could push for this, I assume, at the IEP or 504 (whichever we get) - that he could and should work specifically on handwriting at a time that *isn't* a test-taking time. But that for assessments, etc, he should be allowed to answer orally. Or maybe be given extra time? Can I ask for that, do you think? Can I push for that? Should I? I think he does need that. But it feels so foreign for me to ask a school for something like that (I am a product of catholic schools where you did what you were told and and NO ONE got any special treatment LOL).
"You mentioned fatigue when answering questions - do you have any gut feeling re what causes the fatigue? Is it sitting too long? Something else? One thing I wonder about from your description - would it help your ds to have breaks where he can get up and walk around?"
It is sitting still and writing, I am pretty sure. It takes him double energy to hold his posture AND then simutaneously write legibly. It tires him. And it makes him almost temper-tantrumey, ya know? Like he gets to the "end of his rope."
Have you asked his pediatrician and his OT what they think he needs in the classroom?
No. His ped is super nice but I feel like he is pretty much clueless about hypotonia as well as eveyrone else and he doesn't even know Ben well. I guess I just don't go to him with this stuff b/c I think he has less info than I. The OT may be helpful. She and I have emailed back and forth. I like her a lot an she seems to be a very good therapist. I think she'd have some good imput perhaps. I could ask her. Do you think I could go to his teacher tp get sugestions? He's the one who is always "concerned" about how Ben will do because "Ben is hard to get on task and needs prompting (sometimes significant) to do worksheets and writing even though he knows the answers and has no trouble with the actual work once he gets to it." I think the teacher isn't sure why Ben does this ... I am pretty sure at this point that it is the hypotonia. Although, he can be a spacey kid in general.
