"Secrets" to Good Handwriting

A common issue that OTs in the schools are consulted about is improper grasp patterns when using a pencil/marker/crayon.  In fact, if your child is one of the little people that I see, I have several kids on my caseload right now that are at the preschool or kindergarten level that need to work on this very issue.  There are a variety of reasons why kids hold their pencils incorrectly or in an unrefined manner.  One reason can be that they have been "practicing" writing letters and numbers before their hands are developmentally ready to be doing so.  This is often the case as parents are aware that kindergarten has evolved into a tough and more advanced curriculum, and they want their kids to be ready for writing and fine motor activities.  

Being good at handwriting goes beyond just being able to hold a pencil/marker and form letters.  There is a whole foundation of skills that are actually precursors to learning to print and for being developmentally ready to do so. In order to have good fine motor control for pencil use, there needs to be a good fondation to develop from.  The body (trunk), shoulder and arm need to be able to be stable in order for your child to be able to use the muscles of his/her hand efficiently and have control distally (that is, farther away from the body, such as the hand is).  A common observation that we often see is kids drawing or coloring with a pencil/marker or crayon while having their forearm off of the table, moving their whole arm as one unit.  This is a sign that postural/shoulder/upper extremity stability has not been established. That being said, there are several skills that parents should be encouraging even BEFORE expecting their child to be printing his/her letters and numbers. These skills include:

• postural and shoulder stability
• bilateral integration/coordination
• wrist extension stability
• arches of the hand
• thumb opposition/open web space
• separate functions of the 2 sides of the hand
• in hand manipulation skills
• hand and finger strength
• grasp patterns

In the coming weeks, I will address each one of these skills individually, and give activity suggestions to work on and further develop each as well.   Developing all of these skills more will positively affect your child's fine motor skills. Think of these skills as the building blocks of fine motor skills. 

Because the summer is just beginning, I do want to encourage one thing: PLAYING OUTSIDE  :)

Playing on playground equipment- hanging, climbing, swinging, sliding...all of these things will address many of the skills in the bulleted list above.  So, when in doubt about how to encourage these things with your kids, head to the neighborhood playground, park or your backyard swingset!