Irena, our neuropsych recommended we send our dysgraphic to a tutor for spelling right away when he was diagnosed in 2nd grade. The tutor she recommended usually works with dyslexic children, and she used a visual method for teaching spelling. I can't remember either the name of it or the exact method, but it involved having him break the word into parts, writing it in different colors (by syllable), and developing a visual image to go with the word that he could recall each time he had to write it. It sounds complicated and bizarre when I try to explain it, but I really thought it was a great method! We ultimately didn't stick with the tutoring though, because it became apparent to us that ds *could* spell really well, it just fell apart during the act of writing (totally dysgraphic, but it happens when he types as well as when he writes by hand). What helped our ds the most in getting his thoughts out in elementary school was Co:Writer (word prediction while typing). It's a double win - first it helps speed up the actual writing process because there is no thinking about spelling involved (as well as it eliminates a lot of typing), and then since the words come out spelled correctly first time around the step of checking your work for spelling edits is significantly reduced (you still need to check to avoid confusion over word choices like their vs there etc).
DS' spelling while writing has improved significantly all by itself over time too.
We also have experience with spelling tutoring with my younger dd who isn't dysgraphic but who has a dyslexia diagnosis. Her dyslexia isn't exactly classic dyslexia and it isn't exactly stealth dyslexia - she had a challenge with being able to recognize sound-symbol connections. Her first tester recommended a visual spelling program that we worked on for awhile - I can't remember the name but could look it up if you'd like - it was a curriculum with dvd that we purchased and worked on at home. DD also was using spelling city at school at the time and liked that. The other curriculum didn't work so well - not because it *couldn't* work but because dd just didn't want to do it (dd is very strong-willed, and anything surrounding remediating reading-related issues was really tough for a long time because she had such a hard time at it and she just didn't want to even try - she's a bit of a perfectionist too, and if things don't come easy she'd rather just move on to something that is). The second thing we tried was an eval by a reading specialist, who then recommended tutoring based on a specific program (which I also can't remember the name of) - that went sorta well and we saw some gains in spelling as her reading ability improved - but I think that would be expected since her issue is sound-symbol recognition, and that's what the program was based on. She's had a change of tutor and is now working through that program but with additional individualized remediation for reading and the difference in her spelling has been *huge* - so for her, I think finding a good tutor fit was key, possibly more so than the curriculum. It had to be a method that had the potential to work, but having someone spend time to get to know her individually with her very specific quirks helped break through the puzzle of how to remediate.
FWIW though - my dd is not dysgraphic. So with her, we were remediating challenges that actually impacted her ability to spell. With ds, he had the ability to spell and spell well... but the act of writing taking up all his working memory prevented him from spelling while writing. So for ds, remediation wasn't the key, using AT was the key. To help dd, she needed actual remediation. I'm not sure where your ds falls with re to needing remediation, but I suspect that using word prediction while he's working on writing stories (vs studying spelling words) might be a good idea to help him get past the spelling hurdle for written expression.
Hope some of that makes sense!
Best wishes,
polarbear
