Joined Up Handwriting

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Does anyone have a child with AS who doesn't want to do joined up handwriting? Both my girls are awaiting assessment for AS and both are left-handed, both don't want to do joined up writing and my youngest resists doing any writing at all.

I have read that children with AS can have issues with poor handwriting because of fine motor control issues.

Just wondered if anyone else has a similar experience to me.

Thanks.

By "joined-up," do you mean cursive? I'm a lefty with AS and NVLD, and cursive was the best thing to ever happen to me as far as handwriting. Cursive is so flowing and smooth. Printing feels laborious, because you have to pick up your pencil/pen after every letter and drag your hand across the paper. I only print when I have to write fairly small (my cursive takes up a lot of space), and printing still feels forced and tiresome to me. On the other hand, cursive is so freeing and relaxing. It feels like my pencil/pen glides across the paper and is moving my hand, rather than me feeling like I'm moving the pencil/pen. Your girls may very well love cursive if they give it a try. It is the handwriting equivalent of typing on a keyboard, if you ask me.

I'm 26 and right handed, and the only thing I can write in cursive is my name. Even that looks awful. I just stuck to writing in print. I can do it quickly.

Myson has disgraphia, hypermobility, and hypotonia, all of which have made any type of handwriting literally painful. He now keyboards. Since I'm not sure what you mean by jointed writing, I'm not sure if any of these conditions might apply. If it is only the connection issue, it could be a processing problem instead of a physical one.

What's the point of handwriting except you have to sign something? Seriously, it's so much more important to use a keyboard. For me, lefty with ASD, handwriting was pure hell until i was about 12 or so, then it came all by itself and easily. Out of that experience i wonder, what's the point of forcing it upon children? It's outmoded anyway.

The OT gave us a handwriting booklet called Teadorescu (spelling could be iffy). It's supposed to strengthen his hand and prepare him for joined up writing/cursive. His writing has improved since then. It seemed fun - making curvy ridges on dragons' backs, that sort of thing!

Yes, that's what I mean. What you describe is the exact thing I've tried explaining to them, about why the writing flows and makes it easier to do, especially being left-handed. I always think the 'printing' style takes so much longer and looks so awkward and disjointed to do. My eldest does write very quickly despite this though.

Eldest used to do the cursive style but reverted and I can't understand why, although she claims cursive takes longer and is more difficult. I did read that all children find it harder learning unjoined writing and then moving onto cursive, and that it's better to teach cursive from the beginning.

I just wonder whether this issue is anything to do with AS or not. I also wonder whether there is resistance to change element in moving from unjoined to cursive and whether children with AS have more difficulty making the progression than NT children due to motor skills issues.

My youngest forms many of her characters incorrectly despite being shown the right way and using books that teach it properly.

My handwriting isn't very neat. To be honest, I can't write anything in cursive despite completing lots and lots of penmanship exercises.

My son has massive handwriting issues, but he is hyperlexic, (with a letter, number symbol obsession) so he tried to teach himself cursive on his own. So I ended up having to teach it, so he would not get set in bad habits. He used to write in cursive all the time. He strangely enough is not doing so this year, (maybe they told him not to) but he is left handed too, and cursive is easier for him as well.

Even so, he struggles with all writing and makes homework difficult.

My DS9 has terrible handwriting (even he can't read back what he has written). He is getting special services at the school for his handwriting (among other things). He wants to learn cursive (they are starting it this year), and that is great if it helps. but I will not push it. I am pushing the keyboard - so much eaiser to correct work on the keyboard. We started over the summer and he is doing ok at it. At our middle school - they do most everything on the Ipad (tests, homework, etc), so soon he really won't need handwriting to be successful in school.

I am not sure if it's related to autism but I can't write well in cursive writing. I was teased and bullied about it a lot when I was younger, so I forced myself to sort of squash the letters together and make it look like they were joined, but it just doesn't come naturally.I just can't do it. I can join one or two letters together, but not a whole word. If I were required to join whole words I would have to slow down to a snail's pace like a small child who's just learning to write. I don't bother. I just print. Yes it means I write much slower than people who can write joined up, but so what? It isn't a race.

In my opinion it is EXTREMELY WRONG to force children to write in cursive if they are simply not able to. It is a similar issue to being left-handed. I am not left-handed but I know many people are, and not so long ago in the past children who tried to write with their left hands were beaten and told that doing so was "wrong." They were ordered to write with their right hands instead.

I do not think it is "wrong" to do what comes naturally. If somebody needs to write with their left hand rather than their right, or print their letters rather than joining them up, the only thing that's "wrong" is to scold them or laugh at them. It is wrong to try and tell children they are "wrong" for doing what comes naturally.

I agree.
Plus with some people who do use handwriting/cursive writing, it's really hard to make out any letters whatsoever, like trying to decipher the DaVinci code.
Mine can be sloppy and messy at times but I would assume it is more readable than when someone writing oddly and using handwriting/cursive writing.

Funnily enough that's what my daughters both said to me. They said they can't read my writing as it's joined up (even though it's legible and pretty neat). They seem to have issues understanding characters when they are joined onto each other, as well as writing them.

Neither one of my kids are comfortable reading cursive, even though they've learned it. They simply don't see enough of it to get comfortable with all the unique styles there are.

Much rather just type, my handwriting is crap. Sorry, I know this doesn't exactly pertain.

When I was in school I remember at least a couple of grades where they made us write everything in cursive. I think it was a waste of time since after leaving school I never used cursive again except to sign my name.

I don't really remember how to write cursive any more and have trouble reading some people's cursive writing.