It could be because he has ADHD and finds it difficult to take the time to write the letters. All I know is that it has always been a struggle. I also know that if he takes his time, really takes his time, he can write perfectly well.
But he doesn’t usually take his time. And, every year, his teacher suggests that he practice. And he does; mostly because we make him. And, every year, he receives countless reminders from us to take his time. But it doesn’t improve all that much.
I really worry about middle school and how his handwriting will affect his schoolwork when he’s in such a fast-paced environment. So, lately, I’ve been working more writing time into our leisure time. It works out since Antwan and Lizzie’s teachers want them to practice writing, too. This is usually when I lose Kaleb to his headphones and music. But, I’ll give him a pass; his handwriting is awesome.
So, the other day, I had them writing. I asked William to write a paragraph about anything that he wanted. Usually, his topics range from Minecraft, Doctor Who, and the Xbox, in general.
It takes an inordinate amount of time, as he stares at the paper for a bit, trying to decide what he wants to say. And, then we spend a few minutes discussing how many sentences he actually has to write.
Not today, though. Today, he was a mastermind. After we suggested that he write about Florida, he started writing right away. Then, my sweet little mastermind brought this to me in half the time that it normally takes him to produce a paragraph.
“I like Florida. Because of its warm weather. It has great radio stations. My favorites are 93.3, 95.1, 97.9. And the family THAT ADOPTED ME! I love you”
Well, this does little to assure me that he’ll do well in middle school or that he has mastered the art of carefully writing each letter. And it definitely doesn’t count as a paragraph. But it does assure me that he’s a happy kid who knows he is loved, so I’ll take it.
Yeah, he scored a hug and a pass from writing any more that day. Well played, William. 🙂
I love you, too!
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My son who is also adopted but is right handed also struggles with writing. One that helps in middle school and high school is typing. I am so thankful he can type. Typing is his way of writing. He is 15 and still struggles to write with paper and pen but can type papers with little issue. Also teach him to read and spell it will help with the writing issue.
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I'm a lefty too. Yay Lefties!! My mom (who is also a lefty) taught me to cut with my right hand and use right handed scissors, which was great. My hand writing was horrible until 7th grade when I discovered mechanical pencils. I don't know why, it just made me want to try harder. Also, I loved that note he wrote, what an awesome family you've grown!Happy Holidays!
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My husband & daughter are graphlexic. And yes, that is a thing. It's like dyslexia but with handwriting ~ the brain knows what it wants to say but the hand doesn't get the signals right. My daughter has to \”draw\” every letter which is not the same as writing and it's tedious. We only had trouble w/ one 5th grade teacher ever. In fact, in Middle School the teacher allowed her to type all her homework. Don't worry too much.
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I too am familiar with a 7th grader graphlexic son. My son uses a laptop for most written tasks.
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