Occupational Therapy for Improving Handwriting
Handwriting, a seemingly simple everyday response is a combination of several aspects like complex fine motor movements, visual perception, and comprehension of the language one is writing in. It also involves the control over holding a pen or pencil to produce legible text. Here’s a breakdown of the aspects needed for successful handwriting development.
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Motor Skill: To create legible writing, it is important to be able to control mind-muscle movement of the hands, fingers, forearm, and shoulder.
Comprehension: A child must be able to identify, understand, and recall alphabets to make them into words. They should also have the ability to understand how to form and space letters on the page in perfect alignment.
Perceptual skill: A child must be able to differentiate and understand the lines on the page and be able to create readable text.
Good handwriting is more than a flex. It is one of the various ways through which children display their cognitive ability. It enables both teachers and parents to ensure that the child is learning fine. A child facing handwriting struggles may have trouble keeping up with the rest of the class. While poor handwriting is not the sole identification of a child’s abilities, it does create obstacles in the way.
Handwriting can be improved through Occupational Therapy. Occupational Therapists analyze and identify the aspects where your child maybe having difficulties with their handwriting. As with all developmental struggles, it is prudent to address handwriting difficulties in time. Precise treatments specifically designed to improve handwriting are proven to benefit children as they are likely to be able to re-wire their minds better than if treated as adults.
What are some handwriting problems that should make you consider Occupational Therapy for your child?
- Poor fine motor skills
- Poor legibility of written text
- Struggles with shapes
- Struggles with alignment
- Backward formed letters
Occupational Therapy allows your child to learn their way around handwriting through sensory inputs, activities, and customized writing programs. If you are looking for the right therapist to help resolve your child’s handwriting issues, head to Sped@Home- a place where every child is enabled, anywhere.
