Follow up on some school and testing issues

[egoldber]

For some time now we have had ongoing concerns about some behavioral issues with Sarah. At home she is basically fine (with her moments of course). School is another issue. (For reference she is a second grader.) While she is academically doing fine and is working ahead of grade level, she is "in trouble" pretty much every day. For those familiar with the color card behavioral systems, she is on orange or red almost every day. She talks out of turn, has loud verbal and sometimes very emotional outbursts (daily), and gets into other kids/adults personal space. This is also typical behavior for her in any large group setting (like Girl Scouts, large group lessons like dance, etc.).

Anyway, a few weeks ago we had a full evaluation done by a psychologist and we met with her last week to go over her results.

I was concerned that Sarah had either anxiety issues and/or ADHD and the good news is Sarah was not diagnosed with either. Essentially, the psychologist said the major issues are neurological immaturity and immature self regulation skills. Once these things mature, and they will with time, she thinks that a lot of her issues will go away.

From her cognitive testing, there are several things that might increase her frustration levels. She also noted that while her fine motor skills are good, she writes very hard, so that makes it difficult for her to write quickly enough to keep up with her thoughts, which creates another source of frustration. She noted that noise and chaotic environments (like for example, a noisy classroom) stimulate her and get her ramped up and then she has a hard time calming herself down.

Overall, she recommended a combination of therapy, OT and classroom accommodations. Therapy to work on teaching her how to recognize when she is getting out of control and self soothing techniques to calm her mind. The OT would be to teach her to calm herself physically, to help her write more quickly and deal with uncomfortable stimuli. (My personal concerns and poor experience previously with OT make me a little concerned about this recommendation, but that's another post LOL!) She also recommended teaching her to touch type as soon as possible.

The bad news is, since Sarah does not technically have a diagnosis, I am wondering if the school will be willing to work with me at all on classroom accommodations for her. I'm not looking for them to provide services for her (like OT), but more things like: officially allowing her to read a book when she has completed her task, giving her an item she is allowed to fidget with, letting her stand to do her work, having a calming book that she reads when she gets wound up, etc. The psychologist also mentioned getting the therapist, OT and classroom teacher to have common code words for cuing her to use the self calming techniques she will be learning.

In an ideal world she would also be given a more differentiated curriculum, but I have zero hope for that to happen this year.

In addition, she reiterated something I have known for some time, which is that teacher selection is CRUCIAL for her. She needs a patient, tolerant teacher who "gets her". A teacher did an evaluation of her for the assessment and the psychologist said it was pretty clear that the teacher judged her pretty harshly, calling her severely emotionally delayed, which the psychologist disagreed with. I know that her teachers find her very frustrating to deal with and expect her to "know better" and one thing the psychologist really emphasized to us is that Sarah takes this very seriously, she is very concerned about her own behavior, wishes she could control herself and is trying as hard as she can to control herself.

Anyway, I know I've mentioned a few times that we're concerned about Sarah and were getting evaluated, so I thought I'd follow up. I'd also appreciate any insight from teachers or psychologists or parental BTDT on successfully getting a school to make accommodations in the lack of an official diagnosis.

[JustMe]

Wow, sounds like you picked a really great psychologist!

As I believe you know, I have tried to work with my dd's school in ways to accommodate dd. I work for Head Start and my job is largely to make recommendations to accomomdate kids' mental health needs so it is hard for me when I am not taken seriously in relation to m my own daughter. You might try talking to the school counselor, if there is one, and getting his or her take on how to approach this. If this doesnt seem like a good option, perhaps a meeting with the principal with the psychologist's written report in hand might work. I always try to phrase things in terms of wanting to make things easier for the school/teachers as well.

Here is one thing I did for next year that might be a good idea regarding teacher selection. I think it has worked really well for me (I will let you know next year)! I recently met with the 2 teachers who could possibly be dd's teacher next year. I e-mailed them and requested a meeting, said that we had significant issues this year(without being specific), and that I would like to talk with them about if they thought they could accomodate dd/how we could avoid these issues next year. They both responded the same day (which said a lot to me, as dd's current teacher has taken weeks and re-sent e-mails on my part to answer me), we set up a joint meeting. I went in with a list of what I believe to dd's strengths, needs, and what works well. We discussed these together and I was very happy with their responses and, for lack of better word, attitude. I had originally thought I would end up having a preference for next year and would be discussing that with the principal, but I ended up feeling that either teacher would be very good for dd (and me)! I did not involve the principal, counselor, or anyone else in this meeting b/c as much as possible, I wanted to get a feel for who the teachers were without their supervisor or anyone else around. Of course now I have no witnesses, but in my case, I really felt confident that both the teachers were genuine and realistic in their responses to me.

Good luck,

[pinkmomagain]

Well before dd2 was dx with ADHD, she had a dx of anxiety but that was about it. She had a whole slew of services in preschool, but then when it came to K - nothing. I worked with the princpal by writing a letter prior to class placement time-- around here you need to get the letter in by the end of April. I basically laid out all her issues and the types of things that would make her more successful in the classroom (ie. type of teacher,acccommodations, etc.). I was lucky in that school tried to work with me, despite the fact that at the time she had no 504 or IEP. In my letters, I did emphasize her potentially negative behaviors and how the accommodations I was recommending would make for a better experience for her future teacher and classmates. I think this is important: that you are not just looking for your own chld to do well, but also tryiing to make things more manageable for her future teacher. I also always acknowledge that I know class placement is a complicated process and that I appreciate the principal even taking my suggestions into consideration.

Finally, once I'd gotten her class assignment, I would try to meet with the future teacher prior to the start of school or shortly thereafter and share the results of any testing I thought would provide insight to dd and also any suggestions (working in conjuction with her psychologist at the time) for the teacher in terms of accommodations. This, along with frequent checking-in with the teacher, was helpful.

With her dx of ADHD I was able to get her a 504 which made things more "official" but I was pretty lucky to be able to work with her school. It really is in their best interest to help her out.

[thomma]

I'm in a bit of a rush and want to respond later. What grade will your dd be in next year?
A few quick thoughts:
*in our school system OT warrants a 504 and sometimes an IEP.
*My first thought is that my boss/principal would love your psychologist because she isn't advising you to make extraordinary demands on the school.

Kim
ds&dd 5/03

[mommy111]

Beth, no BTDT but lots of good wishes. Sounds like Sara just needs an understanding environment, with a child like her, having a teacher who is supportive can make a huge difference to her school behavior, and from what I read from your posts with substitute teacher etc, it doesn't look like that is happening. Could you have a metting with her principal with the detailed psychologist report, maybe?

[egoldber]

What grade will your dd be in next year?

She will be in 3rd grade next year.

[AngelaS]

Can you homeschool for a year and give her some time to mature before putting her back in a classroom?

[egoldber]

Angela, I wish I could homeschool. DH and I *vehemently* disagree on this topic. But more than that I am looking to go back to work full time, so it really is not in the cards at this time. :(

[Globetrotter]

I hope it works out for the best next year. An understanding teacher is a MUST in your case, as in consistency (no long term substitutes - I know things happen, but if it's possible to avoid it, that is best).

My heart breaks for Sarah as she clearly wants to change her behavior and is struggling to do so. Definitely meet with her new teacher to go over the reports and offer suggestions based on the professional assessment. After all, it'll make the teacher's life a lot easier, won't it? I can't imagine they wouldn't follow through!

[octmom]

Someone mentioned the turtle technique to me recently as a way to teach DS to regulate his behavior when he gets angry or upset. I googled it and found a bunch of hits. Here's one: http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/index.htm?http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/emotional_skills.htm

I don't know if it will help Sarah or not, but I am going to try it out with DS.

[Globetrotter]

Someone mentioned the turtle technique to me recently as a way to teach DS to regulate his behavior when he gets angry or upset. I googled it and found a bunch of hits. Here's one: http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/index.htm?http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/emotional_skills.htm

I don't know if it will help Sarah or not, but I am going to try it out with DS.

Thanks for posting this. DS has been very angry recently (lots going on at home, including a sick sister who was getting a lot of attention). I think this might help him!

[vludmilla]

It sounds like you found a great psychologist! I agree with much of what PP's said. I would add that I don't think pursuing a 504 or IEP are necessary with the kinds of "accommodations" that you are looking to receive. FWIW, though, I will say that 504 plans and IEP's should not require a diagnosis, per se. I do think that the school may be more likely to work with you informally on these accommodations. They are truly just good classroom management strategies that any flexible teacher would use. If you can secure an understanding and flexible teacher next year then I think your requested accommodations will be received well.

[wolverine2]

In my experience as an elem school counselor who deals a lot with special ed, IEP's and 504's DO require some kind of disabililty- the requirements for an IEP will vary from state to state, so it depends on where you are. It wasn't the school who did the testing, right? I'd request an OT eval from the school- if she qualifies through that testing, she may be eligible for a formal plan. At my school, we would never be able to provide services just to be helpful, although that would be nice in a perfect world. We would, however, review all testing presented by a parent and try to make any accommodations possible. I think some of what you're looking for is perfectly reasonable to request of a classroom teacher based on your testing.

ETA: I just realized you weren't looking for services, so ignore the first part of my comment. I would share the testing with the school if you feel comfortable doing that, and request a meeting with the classroom teacher and other relevant people (counselor? OT?) where you can review the testing and request that the accommodations be made. Good luck!

[egoldber]

Someone mentioned the turtle technique to me recently as a way to teach DS to regulate his behavior when he gets angry or upset. I googled it and found a bunch of hits. Here's one: http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/r...nal_skills.htm

Thank you. That looked like it has a lot of potentially good info. :) We do a variation on that, but that is more structured and would probably help her remember to use it.

ETA: And yes, I was VERY pleased with this psychologist. I feel like she really understood my concerns and she connected with Sarah.

[ca mom to 2]

As the mom of a fellow "engraver", these twist n write pencils helped us a lot with speed and legibility:

www.penagain.com

I got ours at Staples, and at least they are a cheap thing to try. Teacher selection is crucial for us as well, but I haven't found the magic system for getting the right one and we have an IEP.

Cathy

DD 8 years
DS 4 years

[erosenst]

Congrats on getting the testing - it's so important.

With the preface that I'm totally unqualified to give advice:

* I agree that you got a great psychologist - sounds like there are some pretty specific techniques, areas of concern, things to work on, etc...rather than a vague overall diagnosis-that-doesn't-really-fit.

* A good OT should definitely be able to help with the handwriting thing. If you're not happy with your first one, keep looking til you find one you like.

* I'd be hesistant about avoiding teaching better handwriting and JUST going to touch-typing. Being able to take legible notes is crucial for success (regardless of how advanced she is) - and not all places are equipped for/allow a laptop. (Not sure you were thinking about doing it - but in case someone suggests it...)

* IMHO, much/most of what you're seeking aren't really 'accommodations' requiring a 504/IEP - a good teacher can easily allow it. I'd do the lemons-into-lemonade thing...and using the example of the teacher who was obviously frustrated by Sarah, meet with current and future teachers to let them know how you and Sarah can help make THEIR lives easier. (A good teacher will get that the key is to make Sarah's life easier...but at least you'll have a start.) And in fairness, teachers have huge classes...so it can seem overwhelming to them to "have" to do x for Sarah and y for Sammy and z for Alex. But if it's concrete, easy to incorporate, and minimizes the disruption, it's a win for everyone.

Lastly, FWIW, at one point in my career I had to go to a five month training program. Much of it was new material for much of the class...and repeat/redundant for about five of us. Who sat in the back row. It's where I learned to do the NYTimes crossword. The good instructors got that it was a great way to keep us quiet. ;) The same is true with Sarah, and being allowed to quietly read a book at her desk IMHO.

Good luck - I'm sure this is difficult.

Emily

[lizajane]

quick 'cause i am low on battery, but will try to come back.

1) hugs!!

2) our psych said to send in all the documentation and let the principal know what kind of teacher was recommended. you can't request A teacher, but you can let them know which KIND of teacher will make life easier for sarah, the school and the teacher. that way, if they do NOT accomodate her with a good fitting teacher, you can go in and tell the, ok, i gave you all the info- why are we not doing what is best for everyone involved?

3) schuyler wears a bracelet in class. his teacher points to her wrist to remind him of his "responsibility bracelet so he can stop himself from making the wrong choice and be responsible. maybe sarah could wear a deep breath bracelet? or a calming word of some sort. that way, it is only between her and the teacher- the kids won't be looking for the teacher to say something to her or call her out.

[JustMe]

Oh, sending in the psychologist's report related what to look for in a teacher is a great idea! FWIW, though, some schools DO let you you request a specific teacher.

We use the turtle technique at my Head Start...funny enough I hadnt used it with dd and had been thinking about trying this lately.

I just took a book out from the library called Stress Proofing Your Child: Mind Body Exercises to Enhance Your Child's Heatlh. I havent had a chance to look at it much yet, but it looks like it has specific exercises/techniques to help kids regulate emotions/relax and even has age group recommendations for the exercises.

[JustMe]

Someone mentioned the turtle technique to me recently as a way to teach DS to regulate his behavior when he gets angry or upset. I googled it and found a bunch of hits. Here's one: http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/index.htm?http://www.embracethefuture.org.au/resiliency/emotional_skills.htm

I don't know if it will help Sarah or not, but I am going to try it out with DS.


Wow, just wanted to say thanks to octmom for posting the above website. Its great!

[alexsmommy]

The bad news is, since Sarah does not technically have a diagnosis, I am wondering if the school will be willing to work with me at all on classroom accommodations for her. I'm not looking for them to provide services for her (like OT), but more things like: officially allowing her to read a book when she has completed her task, giving her an item she is allowed to fidget with, letting her stand to do her work, having a calming book that she reads when she gets wound up, etc. The psychologist also mentioned getting the therapist, OT and classroom teacher to have common code words for cuing her to use the self calming techniques she will be learning.

In an ideal world she would also be given a more differentiated curriculum, but I have zero hope for that to happen this year.

In addition, she reiterated something I have known for some time, which is that teacher selection is CRUCIAL for her. She needs a patient, tolerant teacher who "gets her". A teacher did an evaluation of her for the assessment and the psychologist said it was pretty clear that the teacher judged her pretty harshly, calling her severely emotionally delayed, which the psychologist disagreed with. I know that her teachers find her very frustrating to deal with and expect her to "know better" and one thing the psychologist really emphasized to us is that Sarah takes this very seriously, she is very concerned about her own behavior, wishes she could control herself and is trying as hard as she can to control herself.



Only have five minutes so I will try to cram it all in. First of all, you had a good psychologist. Sadly, even at the high price of evals, there are bad ones. Sounds like this one "gets" it.
Any teacher worth dealing with will gladly make those accomodations w/o any formal 504 plan. I have worked with teachers who were more than happy to work with us - ie, giving them small red stop signs that the teacher used by walking by the childs desk and putting it on the desk. A reminder w/o formally moving to orange and not interrupting the class to place it (like the code word - I've also used "non-smilely faces" meaning a face with a straight line instead of smiling or frowning that teach placed on the desk). Laminate them - some kids like holding on to the tactile reminder to keep their urge to speak out/move/whine/argue in check. Giving her something to fidget with should be a no-brainer for a good teacher - those exercise or anxiety small hand balls etc things are good. I have kids leave them in their desk and when their "bodies want to get them in trouble" I have them kneed away at those. Standing to do work - depends on the classroom to work. I've worked it out with many teachers to have kids have a special work station away from their desk on the countertops and they know to go to it if they can't sit still. New teachers can freak out thinking it will be disruptive, but experienced teachers soon realize that it's less disruptive for a child to remove themselves from a situation than to constantly redirect the child or make a big deal about putting then on orange/red or frowny face or red light etc.
Talk to your principal. Ask for a 1/2 hour meeting, bring the report in and let him/her know you'd rather not go the formal route and ask for suggestions. Schools are so underfunded (even in great districts and if you live where I think you do you are in one of the top counties in the country) and principals are often thrilled that you want to work with the school informally. Figure out what needs to be done this year and who the best third grade teacher would be. Have the principal commit to that teacher. Request a meeting with that teacher before school starts again in fall as well. Tell them now so that they can schedule it as the weeks before school starts and the first few weeks are jam packed for teachers. Early requests go over much better and everyone knows you are not trying to be a "difficult" parent, but you are trying to help the teacher/school make Sarah's needs as unobtrusive as possible.
Having said that, you need eyes and ears in the classroom this year to make sure accomdations are being met. Sarah sounds like she needs some of the same accomodations as children with ADHD so this should not be so shocking - but you still need to be sure that if she gets up from her desk and moves to a standing work position that it is not an issue. The hard part is kids think nothing of stuff like this if it is the norm from day one in the classroom. At this point accomdations are noticed and there are lots of "why does she get to do it?" questions. Talk to the teacher about addressing this in an affirmative way and make sure this is addressed from day one next year.
I'm so happy you have answers. It may be worth it financially to have the psychologist come to the meeting with the principal with you. This could be a really great, positive turnign point for Sarah when she realizes that she can control herself, she just does it in other ways that other kids and needs some help with non-confrontational cues.
She is incredibly fortunate to have parents who are so in tune to who she is, what she needs and how smart she really is.
Oh, last but not least, ask the teacher to give her a 2-5 minute check in time. It's a lot easier to hold the negative impulses if she knows that at 2pm the teacher will give her time to voice her frustrations/injustices and feel heard. Also ask the school social worker to sit in on your informal meeting - again, schools love it if they feel you are trying to work with them w/o costing them money. Sad but true.
If none of this works, the OT may give a diagnosis that will justify a 504.
Best of luck. All of this is JMHO. You clearly know your child and know what is best for her.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think the PPs have given some good advice so far. I've seen kids like Sarah in my decade + in K-3 and in my counseling work. The counselor, principal, etc will help guide you with the info from the assessment. Seems like a 504 might be written if you wanted it to be.

As a teacher, I appreciate that you're showing an attitude of understanding and not blaming the teachers. That's what is aggravating - when parents say, "Oh, well this teacher or that one just doesn't have classroom mgt. skills" or whatever. I :heartbeat: parents who pursue outside evaluation and work proactively.

[egoldber]

Thanks all for the excellent feedback. I'm becoming more hopeful that the school will work with us even in the absence of a diagnosis.

Just to clarify a couple things, we are hopeful she will be in the GT program next year and that most likely will mean a school change. The downside is I won't have the history and relationship with that principal/staff that I do with this one.

We cannot "request" a teacher, but we can write letters to essentially request someone, which I did for this year. That did work well, so hopefully I will be able to do that in the future.

[kransden]

...
The bad news is, since Sarah does not technically have a diagnosis, I am wondering if the school will be willing to work with me at all on classroom accommodations for her. I'm not looking for them to provide services for her (like OT), but more things like: officially allowing her to read a book when she has completed her task, giving her an item she is allowed to fidget with, letting her stand to do her work, having a calming book that she reads when she gets wound up, etc. The psychologist also mentioned getting the therapist, OT and classroom teacher to have common code words for cuing her to use the self calming techniques she will be learning. ....

I've met lots of kids with these types of behaviors (for various reasons). Except for the standing, all of these solutions are what I try to do with the kids. They work with varying degrees of sucess. Teachers are now trained to let kids have discreet tactile sensations. My friend put velcro on the inside of a desk so the child could touch it as a self calming technique. One of my little buddies had a hair brush - go figure - that worked for him.

The huge advantage Sarah has is that she can read. It also sounds like she has the attention span to read. I just can't tell you how big that is! Most of the time the kids are uncontrollable because they can't stick to a task long enough. They do 1 math problem, bother their neighbor, be told to focus, get distracted by the stray paper on the floor, ask their neighbor if it is theirs, get in trouble for talking, feel bad and slouch, notice their pencil isn't sharp.... gahh! It just never ends. So if Sarah can read while the others finish their work and not bother them, or bother them less than before. It will be the road to positive reinforcement. Once she masters that skill, I bet she'll feel a great sense of accomplishment and be more confident to work harder on other tasks.

Good Luck!

[egoldber]

he huge advantage Sarah has is that she can read. It also sounds like she has the attention span to read. I just can't tell you how big that is! Most of the time the kids are uncontrollable because they can't stick to a task long enough.

This is the main reason she isn't diagnosed with ADHD. She has very a long attention span and no problem finishing a task. One problem is she finishes very quickly (but her work is complete and accurate) and other kids are NOT done and she's bothering them. Sometimes they let her read and sometimes they don't. It's a bit of a mystery to me what the "rules" are. In math she gets "challenge work", a booklet of number and logic puzzles that the teacher put together to keep her occupied LOL!!!

So they do work with her somewhat, it's just not in any sort of organized way. I'd just like it to be a little more organized and try to head off some of the emotional stuff that is causing her some social problems.

[jse107]

Sorry to stir up the pot, but might it be worthwhile to ask the OT about Sensory Processing Disorder? This is often confused due to the ADHD-like symptoms. Just a thought. You might look online for some of the checklists for symptoms.

More than a 504 Plan, I think it might be pertinent to develop a Student Action Plan that basically specifies behaviors and what is going to be done to help support positive learning. This can be easily modified and adapted as Sarah develops new skills.

BTW, I'm right across the bridge from you in Gaithersburg, MD (Montgomery County).

[jamesmom]

I don't have a lot of time to write right now, but first of all, big hugs to you and Sarah.

I am going to DS' 504 meeting at the school. DS has different issues (auditory processing delay, gross and fine motor skills delay, sensory issues, etc) and does have an IEP. I think the school and the teacher can make a bunch of accommodations in the classroom even without an IEP or 504. In DS' case, they graphically drew up a map with steps to help him settle in, and also had an aide in the classroom pretty frequently to help him with more handwriting intensive tasks. Teacher selection is crucial and we really lucked out. DS got the more patient and loving of the 2 K teachers, and he would really have done worse or got more behavioral red marks if he had been in the other K class. I didn't do it last year, but I will most definitely find out more about each teacher in the next grade.

[mommy111]

This is the main reason she isn't diagnosed with ADHD. She has very a long attention span and no problem finishing a task. One problem is she finishes very quickly (but her work is complete and accurate) and other kids are NOT done and she's bothering them. Sometimes they let her read and sometimes they don't. It's a bit of a mystery to me what the "rules" are. In math she gets "challenge work", a booklet of number and logic puzzles that the teacher put together to keep her occupied LOL!!!

So they do work with her somewhat, it's just not in any sort of organized way. I'd just like it to be a little more organized and try to head off some of the emotional stuff that is causing her some social problems.

Beth, just throwing this out there, but is there a possibility that Sarah is just bored? I don't know what the system is at her grade level, but is it possible to place her in advanced placement classes or something similar? The smaller student number may also work for her. Up until this year, in the US, I was a little frustrated because the class that DD was socially appropriate for was much lower than the grade level at which she was working. Since she's in school in China this year, the academic work at her grade level is much more rigorous and I find she is much better adjusted/less bored/less distracted.

[egoldber]

but is there a possibility that Sarah is just bored?

Yes, she is bored, and this exacerbates the problem, but it is not the only problem. She gets emotionally upset as well, and that is not a boredom issue, that is her emotions/neurology not being mature enough to self regulate yet. This is where we hope the work with the therapist/OT will help teach her to recognize when this happens and techniques to cope.


I don't know what the system is at her grade level, but is it possible to place her in advanced placement classes or something similar?

Our school system's full time GT program doesn't start until third grade, so next year. She is already being differentiated as much as her grade currently allows (most advanced reading group and weekly GT math pullout). We are hoping she will get in and her IQ scores from the psychologist will support that. If she does not get in (her scores on the school's group screening tests were uneven) then we will appeal based on her IQ scores. The psychologist emphasized that she needs the GT placement and to be vigorous and vocal in our appeal.

It will also mean a school change though, and I am a little sad about that. Mainly because I have worked hard and invested time into relationships at the current school and the idea of starting all over in a new school is pretty overwhelming.

[Momof3Labs]

I have nothing useful to add, but wanted to say that I really appreciate all the discussion that has taken place on this topic as we are struggling with keeping DS1 engaged at his school - socially he's a kindergartner (albeit an older one) but academically he's beyond that. Our district's GT program starts in 2nd grade and I just hope that he still enjoys school by then. Between a bully or two and the lack of challenge, he doesn't love school the way that I wish that he did.

[MamaKath]

Beth, it sounds like you have gotten really good advice already. I probably need the name of the psychologist. ;) I would still provide the school with the information, it should be forwarded to the new school with the rest of her files and information.

For the writing, can you do a handwriting clinic? Our OT services run 8 week handwriting "clubs" as well as "social skills" groups. Much of the focus in the social skills group centers on how to interact with others, dealing with bullies, maintaining emotions when needed (and appropriate release), friendships, etc. Insurance does not usually cover them, however the cost is significantly lower than that of 1 on 1 OT services.

The pencil already mentioned is a great start. Also you can try various grips (the Claw and the Grip are two good ones) to try, or having a small bead to hold in the last 2 fingers sometimes helps. Handwriting is a bunch of things (motor planning being one, fine motor, etc) put together. A good OT will figure out where she is struggling and work on that.