Burst of graphia!

I don't know if it was the multi sensory typing lessons or the arrival of the NEO, but strangely and suddenly my child has declared he loves writing (as in the pencil and paper method). I think perhaps knowing he has accessible alternatives at his elbow has slightly lessened his anxiety or liberated him from perceiving "writing" to be a big barrier.

His ideas still come faster than his hand can output, but the last few days he no longer exhibits the previous resistance and physical discomfort. We have ploughed through so many types of pencils, and he has found mechanical pencils work for him at present because it's easier for him to write 'neater'.

I think learning to type (keyboard) has been a huge boon. It was a very satisfying experience that he succeeded easily at and he emerged each week from the one on one typing class with quite the glow to him. I think the teacher is great. She's young and has a great rapport with him. She is also actively interested in children with learning differences and flexible, which really makes a difference. The idea of learning to type one on one makes more sense for children who feel self conscious often in a group setting or who may be prone to sensory overload when there's a whole group of children learning. When it's one on one it's easier to concentrate. Tonight when my child emerged able now to type all the letters of the alphabet and capitals and punctuation including things I cannot even type like "quotation marks" I realized it's well worth the money we invested.

I would recommend getting your child started with the basics on that BBC typing tutor I have a link to on the right. If they can get the home row keys down, they'll get more progress in the class. If however your child doesn't respond well to that online tutor don't push it. Just find a typing class, preferably one to one if you can, preferably multi sensory. You'll be able to find these courses through your local LD advocacy group or through places/organisations that do psycho educational assessments.

I think the typing has boosted his confidence and I think he's discovered he can tell stories and so now when he sees words appearing on the page he's inspired (and we are very flexible about what appears, I don't try to fix anything at this stage. I want him to feel he can write -- nothing beyond that at this point)

To see this progress is immensely hopeful. I do accept as well, that it may change again and we will continue building the additional skills of typing, we will also embrace the keyboard more and more.