What Does Occupational Therapy Have to Do with Handwriting?

Handwriting is a daily occupation for most, involving a series of fine motor and even some gross motor skills. This makes handwriting an area of expertise for occupational therapists. Writing builds on each other or, in other words, is a progressive skill. Basic shapes, like lines, circles, and crosses, make up the alphabet. As your young child begins to doodle, their scribbles eventually become more refined until they build the fine motor skills that are required to learn how to write letters. 

We’ve discussed the importance of handwriting and what warning signs to look for (if you want to read more about that, visit this post here). It is an important skill and, perhaps one that a lot of us take for granted. It lets us communicate and keep up on school work. By preschool, your child should start to build the essential fine motor skills needed for handwriting.  Perhaps, your child’s teacher or pediatrician recommended occupational therapy to help with your child’s fine motor skills. Keep reading to find out more about why occupational therapy helps with handwriting. 

What Skills are Required for Writing? 

An essential part of writing is fine motor activity like hand strength, grasp, finger manipulation, and hand-eye coordination. However, writing does not only involve fine motor skills. Writing is a culmination of skills, such as core strength, crossing the midline, motor planning, and being able to focus. All of these are skills that an occupational therapist can help your child improve. 

How Will an Occupational Therapist Help My Child with Handwriting?

An occupational therapist (OT) will be able to evaluate your child to see if there is anything concerning motor activity. If a plan of care needs to be created, an OT will work on age-appropriate skills. The therapist will look for pre-writing skills when your child is younger, such as scribbles and basic lines. As they progress, they’ll be able to make circles, cross lines, and straight horizontal and vertical lines. Your child should have the basic skills to begin writing their name as they get to kindergarten. 

If your child is struggling with handwriting, their teacher may recommend occupational therapy, or if you see that your child may be behind on the development of their motor skills, asking a pediatrician to see if occupational therapy is appropriate is the right step. 

An OT will create a plan of care that focuses on fun, play-based activities to help with writing. They will be able to model the different strokes with varying difficulty levels to your child. They will use a variety of cues, such as visual and verbal, to help reinforce the proper writing structure. They may use sensory learning activities, such as forming letters and shapes out of playdough or work on hand strength by working with different therapy putties (these putties have different resistance or strength levels. 

Finally, an OT will be able to provide parent-education and a home treatment plan on daily activities that can be incorporated into everyday routines so that your child continues to progress. 

• Sources

  “Evidence-Informed intervention ideas: Handwriting for children and youth 5-21,” AOTA, accessed 29 July 2022, https://www.aota.org/practice/practice-essentials/evidencebased-practiceknowledge-translation/evidence-informed-intervention-ideas-handwriting-children-youth-5-21.

  “Occupational Therapy in Handwriting for Early Education and Elementary Years,” Progressive Pediatric Therapy, 9 Nov 2020, https://www.ppt4kids.com/occupational-therapy-in-handwriting-for-early-education-and-elementary-years/.

  “Preschool Pre-Writing Skills,” The OT Toolbox, 5 April 2022, https://www.theottoolbox.com/preschool-pre-writing-skills/.