Those are some great ideas. I'll definitely give them a shot. I'd bake my son a cake if he could write 20 words in 10 minutes! It took us almost 4 hours to finish the homework yesterday. He has to write a total of about 35 words. It was such an ordeal, we ended up banning the Wii. It's his biggest incentive, so when he shows us he can sit down and do homework without all the hassle, tears, and shouting, he can play Wii again. He knows it's going to take more than one day though.
My son does have unrealistic expectations related to perfectionism. Because he's in a mixed grade level class (1st-3rd), he expects to be able to do what the 3rd graders can do, and he expects to be able to do it the first time he tries. I'm sure the perfectionism plays a part here, but mostly, I think he's being lazy. He's just not used to working hard. It is an effort to write; I know he really has to work at it, but once he does it, he writes just fine other than frequent reversals. I've asked the teacher about his reversing his letters and numbers, and she said it's normal up to 3rd grade. You can tell when he writes it, he's struggling to recall which direction is correct. When he's at home, I make him rewrite the letter if it's backwards.
He'll probably like using the pencil grips. That's a really good idea. It might help with his grasp, and then there's the cool-factor. Novelty works with him. As for mechanical pencils, he likes them, but he breaks the lead constantly from baring down too hard. And, he gets distracted and starts playing with it, pulling the lead out and putting it back in.
Today, the headmistress (owner/administrator) of the school and the guidance counselor are meeting to discuss ds's reluctance to go to school and to write. They have both observed him in the classroom, and they are coming up with a plan and calling me after. They said they are trying to determine if there are adjustment issues, perfectionism issues, writing difficulties, attention problems, or if this is just part of ds's personality. She said the counselor will provide some therapy/counseling sessions if warranted. I left ds at school today fighting back tears with his lip trembling. I cried the whole way home. : (
