The Importance of Handwriting

Something commonly worked on in occupational therapy is handwriting. This might not seem like the most relevant fine motor area to address, but handwriting is still a very important skill. If a child struggles with their handwriting, it can cause problems in their eagerness and ability to learn.

Handwriting is a key skill that allows children to communicate what they learned or are thinking, and it allows them to keep up at school. Handwriting difficulties can cause anxiety, lack of motivation, and decreased academic performance.

As with most things, early intervention is key because poor handwriting can indicate many issues ranging from common problems with motor skills to neurodevelopmental disorders. Students are still not differentiated through being poor at handwriting, and thus programs that promote teaching the foundational skills are still not in place.^[1]

Signs That Your Child is Struggling with Handwriting

A lack of motivation when it comes to writing is a huge indicator that your child might be struggling. They may feel anxious about completing writing tasks and feel inadequate because they can’t seem to keep up with their peers. This can affect many areas of your child’s school life. Some other signs that your child is struggling with handwriting include:

·       Quick to feel strain

·       Their writing is sloppy and inaccurate

·       Poor grasp and hand strength

·       Can’t keep up at school

·       Poor attention

Your child’s teacher may also address the problem with you, or you may see that their handwriting isn’t improving while doing helping them with homework.

What Could Be Causing the Problem?

Many possible factors can be causing the problem. Sometimes it could be a simple problem of not enough instruction at school or some trouble with visual-motor or motor skills. In many cases, poor handwriting can be combatted through some extra practice. Other things that could be causing your child to struggle with handwriting include:

·       Dysgraphia

·       ADHD

·       Developmental disorders such as autism

·       Dyslexia

·       Developmental coordination disorder

It’s important to remember that struggling with handwriting doesn’t necessarily mean your child has a more serious, underlying disorder. That’s why if you have concerns, it’s important to have a pediatrician or occupational therapist evaluate and identify the problem.

The Different Parts of Handwriting

As mentioned earlier, there are many different pieces and parts that need to coordinate for a person to be able to write. Learning how to write is difficult for many children because it requires the coordination of fine motor skills, and understanding of language, grip and hand placement, and posture. Writing becomes an integral part of how a child is evaluated for their understanding of academic content.

Behavior and self-regulation also play a role in handwriting.^[2] When a task becomes automatic, the mind can focus on learning more skills. For example, if a child is dedicating all their focus to letter formation, they’re not absorbing the information that may be spoken by the teacher, or they aren’t paying attention to what word they’re spelling or sentence they’re writing. The first part of writing can be dependent on whether that motor skill becomes ingrained, but then the child has to use skills to remember how to spell and compose properly.

A 2021 study showed that there is a relationship between self-regulation and writing.^[3] In other words, those children who lacked the motor skills, but could self-regulate their emotions to overcome frustration and control reactions and continue to practice until their motor skills improved. So a part of learning to write is learning how to keep focused and self-regulate emotions and behaviors to complete difficult tasks.

Writing is a complicated process that involves the coordination of behavioral, motor, and cognitive components.

What Can Therapy Do?

An occupational therapist will be able to evaluate your child to see what may be causing the problem. They “will assess several different areas including postural and core support, hand and pinch strength, visual attention, concentration, fine motor skills, visual-motor integration, and visual perception.”^[4] Occupational therapists will then be able to provide helpful interventions to use to help your child learn in a way that they can absorb the information, such as incorporating the use of sensory tools and programs such as Handwriting Without Tears.

• In-Text References

  1. Taverna, Livia, et al. “Who Benefits from An Intervention Program on Foundational Skills for Handwriting Addressed to Kindergarten Children and First Graders?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17, no. 6 (2020): 1-2, doi: 10.3390/ijerph17062166.

  2. Chandler, Madison C., et al. “Self-Regulation Moderates the Relationship between Fine Motor Skills and Writing in Early Childhood,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 57, (2021): 239-250, doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.06.010.

  3. Chandler et al., “Self-Regulation,” 247.

  4. “Occupational Therapy for Handwriting Problems – Evaluations and Testing,” PediaPlex, accessed on March 14, 2022).

• Sources

  “About Handwriting Difficulties,” National Handwriting Association accessed on March 14, 2022, http://nha-handwriting.org.uk/handwriting/about-handwriting-difficulties/.

  Chandler, Madison C., et al., “Self-Regulation Moderates the Relationship between Fine Motor Skills and Writing in Early Childhood,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 57 (2021) 239–250, doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.06.010.

  “Occupational Therapy for Handwriting Problems – Evaluations and Testing,” PediaPlex, accessed on March 14, 2022), https://www.pediaplex.net/contents/occupational-therapy1/handwriting-evaluations.

  Taverna, Livia, et al., “Who Benefits from An Intervention Program on Foundational Skills for Handwriting Addressed to Kindergarten Children and First Graders?” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17, 6(2020):1-24, doi:10.3390/ijerph17062166.

  Verma, Monika, Rashida Begum, and Richa Kapoor. “To Develop an Occupational Therapy Kit for Handwriting Skills in Children with Dysgraphia and Study Its Efficacy: A Single-Arm Interventional Study,” Indian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 51, no. 3 (2019): 85–89. doi:10.4103/ijoth.ijoth_20_18.