Does the child have any difficulties in any of the following areas?
Thumb loop splint
Thumb post splinting service
Writing slopes
Movin'Sit cushion
Foam cushion wedge
Handwriting skills involves many complex components and take the majority of primary school years to develop. We are not physically designed to participate in close up work for long periods of time so there are physical as well as learning obstacles to overcome along the way.
Children begin to develop their pencil grasp at around the age of 1 years, it is important that children have the opportunity develop these skills from this age.
Handwriting starts with copying basic shapes, this is imperative for developing letter formation skills but is often forgotten about. Once children can form their letters, they then move onto learning about writing within a designated space, writing on a line, adjusting the size and also adding the spaces between the words.
it is imperative that children who have difficulites with movement learn a style of letter formation that helps rather than hinders them - this includes being taught the consistency of starting points for letters, direction of formation of letters and sizing of letters. If a child cannot read or assign meanings to words and letters they are generally not ready to learn to write and would be considered at a pre-writing level - development at this stage should focus on pencil control and shape copying.
Once a child has learned the basic formation, sizing and spacing then it is all about practice, practice and more practice - the major challenge is keeping the child motivated during this time.