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In occupational therapy treatment we address performance areas and deficits areas that may be impacting a child's ability to form letters and write.
Did you know that continued practice of writing does not always improve the legibility of letters and words...... WHY?? Poor handwriting may be due to several weakness which are not addressed through more handwriting practice. There are a variety of reasons why your child may struggle to write, here are a few:
Lack of hand dominance
Weak core and upper body leading to poor posture
Poor kinesthetic awareness of letter formation (unaware of how to form a letter)
Poor fine motor control
Poor hand strength
Poor attention to tasks and details
Difficulties reading and phonological awareness
Weak Upper Body, Shoulder and Wrist Stability
A strong stable core is important for gross motor movements, a stable shoulder and wrist is essential for fine motor tasks like handwriting. A fun and effective ways to improve shoulder and wrist stability is to work on a vertical surface (tape your work to the wall). This visual offers several ideas to promote vertical surface work.
Vertical Surface.pdfKinestici writing.pdfPoor Kinesthetic Awareness of Letter Formation
Many times, children do not have a solid understanding of how to form letters. They struggle to remember a letter's starting point and how they form letters may be a different way every time. Children need to LEARN proper letter form by moving their hand in the proper direction that a letter is made. This means to take the pencil out of their hand. And lets be honest....practicing letters over and over again is not engaging and can be very laborious. Make it fun!
This visual offers ways to practice handwriting WITHOUT a pencil!
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