Suggestions for Laptop/word Processors for 5Th Grader with Handwriting Issues

There is a group on yahoo specifically for parents of and people who have dysgraphia. It is an amazing resource. If you haven't checked it out..you should.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dysgraphia/

For the poster (and any others not familiar with dysgraphia) who said "a laptop won't help him improve his handwriting skills"... you're right. It won't. But that is not what it is for.. it is to level the playing field for the child to use and show what they know regardless of their (dis)ability with handwriting. Dysgraphia isn't just "bad" handwriting.. it is a deficiency in their ability that takes up an in ordinate amount of their conscious thought just to write the letter forms. So they CAN'T focus on their spelling, vocabulary, or concepts... because instead of say 1% of their cognitive ability being used to physically write (most of us "normal" people do this without consciously thinking about it by grade 3 and 4) a person with dysgraphia is using maybe 30 or 40% of their cognitive ability JUST on writing the letters on the paper. Which substantially impacts their work in the classroom....
Can you imagine trying to take notes during a lecture when you can't think about what is being said? It's impossible.... that is what a severely dysgraphic student must deal with. Typing skills and a laptop is a HUGE help to these kids...

My son has adhd and dysgraphia. He has an AlphaSmart Dana. It is a keyboard that has a few other functions, but is not a laptop. The teachers tend to like it better b/c he can't really goof off with it.
He doesn't like to use it but will if he's teachers really encourage it. We got ours used on ebay and it has worked fine.
The other thing I would suggest that my son LOVES is a digital voice recorder. They are inexpensive and it has made a world of difference. He has been able to record everything from spelling work to short written assignments. It has been especially good for tasks where the teacher will ask kids to write things to help commit them to memory. We would be lost without this. The one we got him even has an option to use different folders so each class gets its own folder and it is easy for the teachers to use.
Hope this helps. I know the struggle you are both going through but you sound like you are well on your way to helping your child overcome this difficulty.

Consider a Neo keyboard. We used it for dysgraphia in our family. It's not exactly a laptop but is very similar. The keys can be configured and adjusted for different speeds or needs, and it's very sturdy. It's a lot less expensive than a laptop. Their website is full of information.

http://www.renlearn.com/neo/NEO2/specialneeds/default.aspx

call the school and work with them. I recently proctored a major test and had one student who was allowed to use a laptop.If your school district won't help, then contact your state board of education

Talk to his school about what they would suggest. I'm assuming he is in special Ed or receiving 504 services. They might be waiting on introducing this purposefully. If he receives sped services does he receive OT. There are several types of word processors districts use & they might provide it for you child if it is necessary. If they don't provide one any laptop would work. Do a google search for typing practice for specific sites or programs. BTW I'm a sped teacher near Austin.

My son had similar problems, adhd and dysgraphia without the dyslexia. We did not go the laptop route, because he was embarrassed to be different in class and we never had him labeled special ed. It has been a terrible struggle for him, but he has improved greatly. He is now a freshman in High School. We had an occupational therapist that worked with him in the summer for a couple of years.

But there was another boy in his class that had problems, not sure exactly what they were and he was in Special Ed. The school district provided him with a laptop. The school district also had a typing program that all the kids used.

We tried to encourage our son to learn typing skills and used several typing programs, including Mario teaches typing. He really didn't master typing until it mattered to him. When he was in middle school and was using MySpace and Facebook and texting friends, then he became very proficient at typing.

I believe that if your child is in the special ed program or you claim the 504 services, then the school must accommodate him. Good luck!

A laptop won't help him improve his handwriting skills.