Re: Re: Writing Help - talking pen

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Janice. I love this post.

 

Have you ever tried the pen that hooks up to an electronic device.. the talking

pen. We got it for Maddy and she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it.. You hook it to a cd

player or ipod or radio , whatever, and the pen somehow sends a current to the

electornic device.    The music only plays when the child stays on the lines, so

you can teach pre-writing or letter, cursive etc.  It comes with a workbook or

can make your own pages.  I think we got it through abilitations.

 

 

The Talking Pen develops handwriting skills by playing sound whenever its user

strays from tracing any dark design or word on notebook pages. Sound selections

include a buzz, music or voice.

Item #: 251130094

Your Price: $135.59

Unit of Measure: EA

Quantity:

 

 

Sharon

 

Sharon

  

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Sharon Lang

From: Janice <jscott@...>

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Writing Help - Janice and others

Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 3:00 PM

Sigh..... this is still our last holdout and truthfully, I am absolutely

frustrated with it!

I have done everything throughout Mark's school career. Slant-boards, special

scissors, raised lined paper, a multitude of pencil grips, hand-weights, a

bouncy cushion, a ball chair, eye exercises... .. man.... you name it and odds

are.... we've done it!

We've tried all of the different handwriting methods and workbooks. We've done

writing in the air and literally EVERYTHING.. ... I cannot tell you how

frustrated I am with Mark's hands! It is so hard.....

Of course, everything helped a 'little' but probably the most benefit has come

from developing core body strength and hand strength. However, this is such a

darn slow process and I get tired of doing exercises these days! Vent, vent,

vent!

Okay... so Best Handwriting grip? http://www.writingc law.com This little guy

really works!

Best handwriting method for Mark has been: Handwriting without Tears (we tried

the D'Nealian method for over 2 years and it was a no-go).

Ball chairs DO help with core body strength and posture but again, are

impractical as a child ages. I think that it is good to have one at home that

your child can use though. Even a firm exercise ball will do for this.

Slant boards do help for weak wrists but they are impractical in the long term

when your child gets to higher learning levels. In addition, raised lined paper

does help with learning to write on a line since the child gets sensory

feedback.

Once we got basic strength, doing continuous loops on a page really helped with

speed and flow.

BUT.... I have found that deep pressure to the hands and arms done 2 times daily

eliminates the tactility issue altogether and in getting Mark's sense of

tactility normalized, he could 'feel' the pencil pressure he was exerting to the

paper. It also enabled him to develop a better and more mature grip because his

sense of touch was greatly enhanced. Also because of this, his ability to tie

his shoes, do up zippers, buttons and such greatly improved.

The reality is..... Mark has zero hand and upper body strength and until he

develops more strength, he will continue to struggle. Right now he is up to

being able to do a Grande total of " 4 " pushups in one session (which is better

then not being able to do any). He can now hang on a hanging bar for only about

2 minutes at a time. If you want to start doing this.... start with doing wall

push-ups which are pretty easy.

While his handwriting is definitely improved and is getting closer and closer to

peer level, he has a long way to go yet. I really think that I am missing

'something' and I believe that it has to do with his visual perception and of

course, know that this impacts his motor planning. I need to be able to get him

to 'see' in his minds eye and get his limbs appropriately corresponding to what

he can visualize.

One thing that I am in 'hot' pursuit of right now is drawing exercise books and

would love it if anyone knew of any that were directed towards kids with

grapho-motor dysfunction. All ideas are welcome! More on this.... I am on the

hunt for something that gives simple, daily exercises in drawing for the really

slow beginner. Right now I am having Mark doing daily copying of patterns that I

either create or have found that seem reasonable and at his level but I want to

progressively build and for that, need a good workbook to provide this. Is there

anything out there? There has got to be..... and I have just got to find it!

It is the beginning of the year and all of those title pages and maps are

getting spun out to him in homework. He seems to lack a sense of visual

perception; an understanding of basic symmetry is lacking and now I want to

pursue this because I am wondering if it maybe a key to tying everything

together for him. I have one book that has a few exercises in it called " Drawing

For Children " by Mona s but it is not enough. In reviewing his basic

attempts at Title pages, I really am made aware of his lack of understanding of

space, of how-to plan out a drawing. I wonder if working this area further with

basic drawing exercises each day would make him gain in overall fine motor

planning in general. If I can find the 'right' tool, I think this will be

successful in improving his writing as well as other fine motor tasks. It is

just a guess at this point but it is something that I am currently researching.

He needs to develop an 'eye' for the visual

spatial.

Again, all ideas are welcome here! I know that there are some wonderful

educators on this site and others who may have encountered books that may be

just the 'ticket'. Currently, I am just beginning to read the book, " Developing

Ocular Motor and Visual Perceptual Skills: An Activity Workbook " by A.

Lane. We do some of the exercises in it that they use at NACD so it may be a

good book for many out there. It's been sitting on my shelf for a dogs-age and

now I know that this is where I need to begin to see if there is something that

we have left out of the equation. I will tell you if I learn anything new or

discover anything else that works.

SO..... young moms with kids who are affected by global dyspraxia. I know that

you are all really seeing the speech and it is a priority but please don't

forget to work core body strength and overall muscle tone! It takes years to

develop and we must consciously work our kids overall muscle groups each day!

Learn from my mistakes!

Take care all and let's keep our eyes open for good research/activities that may

help our beautiful babies!

Janice

Mother of Mark, 13