Help with dysgraphia diagnosis

Hello MOL community! I'm here asking for help once again on a topic I know a little about, but not nearly enough. My second grader has an ADHD diagnosis and some sensory integration challenges. He is getting great support in his classroom this year. Researching his specific issues, I came across a description for dysgraphia and it fits my son like a glove. I would bet money that this is his biggest challenge along with attention. I cannot find too much information about what type of professional diagnoses learning disabilities in a way that is accepted by a child study team under the umbrella of "specific learning disability." Any suggestions, general or specific, on which type of professional I should be looking for?

Many thanks, in advance, for any guidance.

the same type of school professional who'd help with a diagnosis of dyslexia. I don't know your system well enough to know who that would be; over here we gave a central coordinating office that handles it all via a combination of skilled OT and educational psychology.

FWIW, shemademedothis (who rarely posts anymore) has a current late-high school student he trains in business studies, in a technical college course she's chosen to complete while also working part-time. Her studies are taught with both conventional school and him visiting her at her workplace (boss approves). Through her diagnosis and learning, her family discovered that her mother and grandmother also have this condition. She's doing well in her course, when she remembers to hand work in.

that should be assessed for during an eval for special ed services. it would still be called specific learning disability. (schools don't actually diagnose). to get an actual diagnosis of something like dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia you need to go to an educational psychologist. You would have to ask each one if they test specifically for dysgraphia. I would suspect an occupational therapy eval prior to that would help.

sensory processing issues can mimic dysgraphia as it it affects the pencil grip/pressure used to write and the general sensation of writing.

My son's main diagnosis was ADHD. HOwever, he also had serious problems with fine motor skills. He was evaluated by an OT from the district and received OT for more than 5 years. Ask for an OT evaluation.

The OT also dealt with sensory issues.

Try to get an IEP instead of a 504 for treatment from an OT. I was never able to do that for my son who had similar problems. You can also hire an OT on your own or a handwriting teacher.

If you want to help at home, Handwriting without Tears is a great, inexpensive program to try. https://www.hwtears.com/hwt They also list local handwriting teachers on their website.

Also, teach keyboarding as early as possible. This will make a huge difference. You can get an accommodation for the child to type instead of write.

Thank you everyone - hearing your suggestions helps me to realize that I'm at least on the right track. We have a private OT eval set up next week as well as a meeting with the Child Study Team to see if he's eligible to be tested. I also have a short list of educational psychologists and neuropsychologists who do testing, so hopefully that will lead to a good end. I hear different thoughts from different parents, no doubt based on their own personal experiences, regarding whether or not to pursue evaluations privately. Any feedback on this?

Having done both, though not recently, the school district's can be okay, but probably not as specific as private. If you can afford it, go with private.