And with boys, in particular, they may not be developmentally ready to work with pencils
A parent told me her son’s teacher suggested she look into dysgraphia because he avoided handwriting. Additionally, she wrote this:
My son’s teacher has raised challenges with poor handwriting and creative writing (idea development and planning) so we are thinking of ways to provide positive support especially in light of him being younger [than current classmates due to a grade skip]. Possibly exploring dysgraphia.
It’s true there are ways to support children who struggle with writing. But let me say a little something about the idea of “dysgraphia.” It’s not that I don’t think it sometimes exists, and I’ve given you information at the end of this post about dyslexia, it is not a “2e issue” (twice exceptional with being gifted and having a disability). In fact, it’s quite common for almost any boy, even gifted boys. More boys than girls do not enjoy writing, especially when they are young. First, they do not, as a group, have the same early dexterity as girls have but that difference usually dissipates with physical maturing.
In many cases, boys do have enough dexterity and they prove it with their Legos, right? They may be stopped by not knowing what to write. Many reluctant writers eventually learn the power of the pen for persuasion and the necessity of “showing their work” as they grow older and in more advanced instructional environments.
If you’re worried about his writing at this young age, I suggest you have him copy one small sentence every day to make sure he’s training his eyes and hands to write. But do that for sure!
Keyboarding is a second option but don’t excuse him from the one handwritten sentence a day. It can be a different sentence every day, by the way, and keep it to 10 words or less for at least the next year. Allow him to work ahead if he asks about that, too. Make enough sentences for him to copy that he does ask to work ahead just to be done with it! It’s great fodder for showing him he really can do it. If he works ahead, he’ll gain more time for Legos and video games, right?
A common question youngsters have is “What should I write about?”
Or, if you give them the open-ended option of creating whatever they want, it is pure torture for you both! I was always at a loss when the assignment wasn’t specific in my younger years.
When I taught middle school students, I required a daily writing assignment and gave the students a pile of “story starters” to give them ideas. I rarely did “whole class” instruction. I’d assign a task to the entire group, explain it (when it was new to them), and then I remained available to work one-on-one with them.
What is a story starter? It’s something tangible to look at, a photo or something cut from a magazine. Or you can print out a photo from the internet to use as the story starter. Some children will simply write a few sentences to describe what they see. If they can’t even do that, don’t worry. They’re looking for guidance. Ask them what they see in the story starter page and have them tell you about it. Here’s an example:
This is a young child outside.
You see that and the student or your child can see that. Before you give any hints, though, ask the child what he sees. He may simply start with the obvious: “There’s a kid walking around the yard.”
Tell him to write that down, as in “I see a kid walking around.”
Then ask something like this, “Do we know why the child is walking around?” or “Is there anyone else there?” This is when the typical struggling writer will say, “I don’t know!”
And this is what you can say in response, “So, you can make something up. That’s what a story is. Let’s make something up.” Each time the child gives any answer, have him write it down. Try to create about 5 sentences together. Short is fine. In this way, the child sees you’re not expecting a book! You are just trying to get them to write a little bit, and maybe, someday, write a little more.
My expectations varied with what I sensed or saw was appropriate for each child. My classrooms were full of a wide range of learners, so what I did was an example of diversifying instruction. Both parents and teachers can do this, too. I slowly, incrementally, ramped up the expectations as children progressed in their procedures and outcomes.
At least half of the class would have no idea what to write about! This is not mass dysgraphia. This is children who are trying to figure out what the parent or teacher wants. Many of us “turn off” our creative side when the adults around us have what seems like a hidden agenda for what the child’s product should look like.
In other words, I think it is simply a normal response for most boys, and some girls, too, to give us, and it’s simply not that hard to come up with ways to support a youngster with some writing issues. I’ve provided several good links here to get you started in making your own determinations about what to tell the teacher and what both you and the teacher can do. My bottom line is that the last thing you should do is let them off the hook. We all need to develop some writing skills and over time, keyboarding or typing our responses is fine.
A Sampling of Resources
Emily Finn, MS, OTR/L (August 18, 2020). Dysgraphia 101- Introduction And Strategies For Understanding Dysgraphia in Children. https://www.occupationaltherapy.com/articles/dysgraphia-101-introduction-and-strategies-5327#:~:text=The%20five%20different%20types%20are,phonological%20dysgraphia%2C%20and%20lexical%20dysgraphia.
This is a downloadable PDF: “The boys’ handwriting is never as good as the girls’, is it? https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/research/teachingandlearning/resactivities/subjects/literacy/handwriting/outputs/english_4-11_paper.doc
Men and women differ in the neural basis of handwriting. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7294055/