this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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also counterproductive, handwriting is better for retention.
Handwriting is better for retention if you are good at writing notes. Not everybody can write fast and legibly and still listen to and comprehend the lecture.
you can learn to write fast and legibly.
that is not an inherent trait
the idea that people inherently good at things, or not, forever, is really stupid and destructive.
Of course there are kids with disabilities or nuerodivergence, and common sense should handle what is best for them individually. We're talking about broad policy here, laptops should not be the default.
Which is why we practice it. Why we teach it.
My son is 12, ADHD (&others) and in special education. His first semester in middle school last year, he smashed his Chromebook, on purpose, to break it. Hes now only allowed to use a computer for state testing. Luckily, he is in small classrooms with the IEP so nearly all his work is on paper. I refuse to sign the permissionfor computer use and the teachers agree and haven't faught me on it at all.
He recently told me he didn't know what barbaric meant. Annoyed, realizing we lost the pocket dictionary some time ago, I went to the bookstore and got the best dictionary they had. I also, saw this:
So I grabbed it. There are lessons and quizzes in it teaching root word definitions. We've done a couple lessons now. I have him take notes, writing the word and the definition in his own words, unless it a short definition, then it's easy. But then, he can use those notes to take the quiz. Ive done this so he can learn to note take. It will only take a few open note quizes to realize the importance of reading them back, and structuring your notes in a way that are useful. It's all practice, and it needs to start early. My son's handwriting is shit, absolute garbage. But he's been writing everything at school since fall of '24, and there has been improvement in spelling, legibility and vocabulary, exponentially in the last couple years.
The whole point of writing is to convey a message. If ones writing isn't legible, it is lost, and this needs to be understood by students. They can adapt to their needs.
I have ADHD also, I worked very hard at my schoolwork, I wasn't diagnosed until far after I left school. I used short form I made up myself, and just got better at writing main ideas down. The schools.. Are so dumbed down today, even in gen ed. These (middle school) teachers are not giving hour lectures expecting these kids to take proper notes. But,that doesn't mean kids can't get better with practice.
My son's writing is garbage, so I have him write more. Being bad at something isn't an excuse to give up. Being he is in special edu, and I can't goddamn go to work (I'm so ready to go back to work omg) I spend a lot of energy stuffing as much education I can into him at home in support of the teachers' efforts.
If an artist is bad a drawing hands, they could, in theory, never draw a hand in their work. OR, they can draw all the goddamn hands until they are satisfied and learned how to do it comfortably. Idk. "They can't write fast and legibly" is just not an excuse for the average student IMO, because notetaking is a skill that is learned.
The fine motor control that comes of handwriting is critical if he likes to tinker or discovers any sort of work/hobby that requires manual dexterity.
Keep pushing on that, also, get a book on how to print like you're writing the dialogue in a comic book or how to print like an architect making a blueprint. If he can work out the spaes and spacing, he can develop his own legible style in time and move on to a fusion-style cursive with those print shapes.. It realy does make a difference in note-taking.
My dad was a design draftsman and taught me how to do that block print that I'd see on blueprints, and I have a super easy to read cursive based on that now.
Great tips. I love the Dogman series because it shows kids folks with ADHD can do cool things too. Anytime we can work a special interest in, it is helpful
Maybe as we advance, today we are still at the basics.
Like, this is what I'm working with. He is in Special Edu, and this is the improvement. It's terrible, but we continue. Cursive helped me a bit, especially the fusion style you mention. I'm glad I've found this book. I have him write (and rewrite) a lot over the years, (this is not his best work at all) but I've pulled the ideas out my bum honestly. I'm glad this book has structure. We can do 15-20 mins, or a half a lesson, at a time so he doesn't get overwhelmed and he can feel empowered to write. He spelled generosity almost right the first go, and hearing him being proud of that was, so cool.
Block printing is a cool skill, I wish I could do it. It's the step you take after learning to write legibly, how to write beautifully. I'll be happy to get him in the lines lol thats truly a useful skill your father taught you :)
It's more important for me (for my son) to understand vocabulary because its a precursor for critical thinking and even emotional regulation. You can't talk about why youre mad, or how your feeling if you dont have the vocabulary to do so. I'm just sneaking writing and note taking skills into it.
You: I’ve pulled the ideas out my bum honestly.
Me, reading: This is intuitive genius. Seriously.
You've said your strategy essentially comes from listening/observing closely and winging it, but honestly what you're achieving just through keeping at it every way you can is amazing. Apart from not being more condensed (smaller, tighter) that handwriting is actually more legible than I've seen from more than a few adults, including the slight nod to the presence of lines. I am not exaggerating.
Your creativity and temerity are both inspiring. Your son is lucky to have you.
Oh, I recognize that 'script!' Just like my younger brother's when we were kids.
I like that you're getting sneaky with it. The thing with the comic book lettering or the architectural stuff is that it is all capitals. Is a good start for just getting the shapes down and the basics are of course squares.
My younger brother was an emergency C-section and he came out fully purple as the umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck and was choking him..
Ended up with impared development due to lack of oxygen and he was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum - used to be called Aspergers.. He would literally sit on a pillow on the floor and rock back and forth for hours and God save you if you touched him. He'd freak out. Too much stimulus. When he was still an infant, folks had to feed him by leaning him back and putting a small throw pillow on his belly and propping his bottle on that.
Touch was too much.
Dad taught him to write with the architectural lettering and he's now in his late 50's and has a beautiful script.
It takes time and it's just a matter of finding something the kid can latch on to and be excited by. Brother loved Star Trek and sci-fi in general so we ran with that.
Part of his adult education classes he was taking a few years ago involved writing a page of whatever he wanted.. So he wrote a short science fiction story - as he put it - more of a part of a chapter of a story he'd had in his head.. It was quite well written!
I told him he should keep at it once the class was over. Instead he decided to focus on cooking afterwards. Who'da thought?
He's a fantastic cook, eats better than I do - is all organic and whole foods. So funny how we all turned out.
Other conditions exist. I have auditory processing disorder and one part of it is an involuntary disabling of my audio processing when my brain is trying to focus on something, particularly anything else to do with language like note-taking. My ears will "hear" but my brain won't.
It wasn't completely debilitating, but it made certain kinds of classes inordinately difficult for me. Discussion based classes were a nightmare for me, and no amount of practice could change how my brain works. So instead I pursued STEM where the notes are math and I could work ahead and tune in if I got stuck.
That being said, handwritten notes are still definitely the way to go in math!
Same!!! I have the auditory thingy and dyslexia, so writing (words, not math) was hell on earth for me for most of highschool. Getting to use a laptop in 11th and 12th grade was a godsent.
But in 10th grade I actually did something that mostly solved my hatred of handwriting: I taught myself calligraphy and whole-arm-writing. Now I love handwriting, don't have pain doing it anymore, people compliment my writing, etc.
Though I still can't listen to stuff while writing 🤷 luckily I was able to use a laptop in lectures (philosophy is very notes heavy), and after college it becomes irrelevant, thank god.
Damn that sounds rough. I've got some dyslexic family members and I can't imagine combining their struggles with auditory processing disorder.
Nah, I managed surprisingly well. In third grade I did really intense dyslexic-specific tutoring (9h a week), and it helped massively. I actually ended up scoring the highest reading comprehension score in my random regional school's class in 5th grade, I think because of it. There were struggles, but nothing I couldn't live without. One of my best friends was trans (not publicly back then, ofc), and trust me their school experience was far, far more difficult. I just felt some camaraderie, finding someone else with a audio processing disorder; I didn't mean to fish for sympathy or anything like that.
Yeah, our struggles definitely pale in comparison to marginalized groups. And no worries! I didn't think you were, I just know how much my brother-in-law struggled with dyslexia, though he didn't have a very supportive family so he didn't even get diagnosed until he was an adult.
They think my nephew is showing early signs of it too, but hopefully his experience will be closer to yours since he'll get support early on.
Auditory processing disorder is such a weird one. In a lot of contexts I actually like it, it's like having earmuffs without wearing anything. I just wish I could turn it on and off intentionally. Sometimes I need it because the unfiltered background noise is too much but it won't turn on. Sometimes I'm trying to take in audio and don't realize it's turned on and I missed a bunch.
I've also realized that I actually read lips a lot to compensate for background noise, so I've been trying to hone that skill more intentionally. Another thing that's maybe a benefit of the disorder.
I also have auditory processing disorder. It sucks. Why I always liked teachers who wrote on the board as they lectured, I'd even read the chapter from the book instead of listening to the teacher. Thats great you found what worked for you! You found what worked and became successful despite your struggles! That's resiliency!