Dysgraphia - Summer camp and tutors for 7 year old with dysgraphia
My 7 year old daughter has dysgraphia and I am looking for summer camp and tutor options for her. I have already looked into Raskob's summer program, but it seems more focused on improving reading, rather than writing.
Please let me know if you can suggest tutors or summer programs in Berkeley (and neighboring areas) that offer dysgraphia-focused teaching methods.
Thanks so much!
Feb 11, 2019
Parent Replies
I have a kid wth dysgraphia and have been in your position, betting on a magic bullet to get a kid up to speed in a summer. I would urge you to reconsider. My dysgraphic kid benefitted a lot more with support for idea generation, organization and alternate means for getting thoughts onto page. It has been arduous watching it and has taken years, but my kid can, with various work arounds, write a decent essay. Yes, she’s in middle school, but with google dictate and keyboarding, she can do it. Please consider laying off the fixing the dysgraphia and focusing on supporting the thought processes and underlying skills-during the school year. Too much drilling could make your kid hate all aspects of the writing process and could significantly mar the parent child relationship. Panful to watch, but with good learning support during the school year your kid will make progress. Pushing when still young can really mess with a kid’s confiidence and cause a general strike . Motor development takes time and some of the basics surrounding the writing process need explicit instruction. But let your kid be a kid. Good luck!
We went to OT with Gail Gordon in Orinda. However, in the long run you might want to consider an early transition to keyboarding. The occupational therapist should be able to help you with that. I agree with the idea of encouraging dictation. Sensory play is also good -- sand, water, etc.