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View Full Version : Need help with handwriting- any suggestions?



gatorsmom
09-28-2013, 05:51 PM
My youngest son is nearly 6yo and started Kindergarten a month ago. He has sensory processing disorder which manifests in irregular ways. More to the point, though, he CAN write with a pencil very nicely and will- only sometimes. He does it very infrequently. Most of the time his letters are whispy and light- as if he is not pressing down with the pencil. This is confusing to me because he is very much a pressure/touch- seeking child. He LOVES deep pressure. I do have some squishy pencil grips but most of the time he just picks at them. I think if he could get past destroying them they might help him feel more comfortable holding his pencil. sigh.

Has anyone here experienced this? I know it is common with some children with sensory needs and other special needs. But I don't know anyone IRL who has dealt with this and our OT doesn't have any experience with this.

Any suggestions? Our teacher is VERY open to trying anything that will help my son in any way so ALL suggestions are much appreciated. TIA!

georgiegirl
09-28-2013, 06:15 PM
Is he holding the pencil correctly? My DD's best friend (who is not SN) did get extra help for handwriting in K. They had her hold something small (like a die) in her hand (with the last three fingers in her palm) to allow for a better grip on the pencil. She had pull out help weekly for handwriting.

HannaAddict
09-28-2013, 06:32 PM
Can you get a referral to a good OT? Someone highly recommended. If you can afford it, I would start now and try to resolve it early. If you want to work on it yourself, I'd use Handwriting Without Tears.

Pepper
09-28-2013, 08:14 PM
My son's OT told us to take a 2" binder and use it as a slant board. Might it help your DS if he is writing on an angle, and doesn't have to press down quite so hard?

Katigre
09-28-2013, 08:39 PM
He likely needs too work on developing his hand muscles so that he can apply proper pressure and awareness to the pencil.

There are many activities that dh this and also ways to approach learning handwriting that facilitate this. Handwriting without tears is EXCELLENT (the teachers guide) and a multisensory approach. I'd do it with a trained OT for the most benefit.

Sent from my Android phone using Swype

inmypjs
09-28-2013, 11:10 PM
I would find a better OT who works on fine motor skills with children. Handwriting is a common concern that OTs deal with.

karstmama
09-29-2013, 08:26 AM
last year (in k), the ot had ds using a weighted pencil. it really seemed to help. this year his handwriting is a bit inconsistent, but legible, and if it strays into being too light i only have to remind him to press down a bit more & he understands.

georgiegirl
09-29-2013, 08:54 AM
My son's OT told us to take a 2" binder and use it as a slant board. Might it help your DS if he is writing on an angle, and doesn't have to press down quite so hard?

My DD's friend did this too.

Gena
09-29-2013, 11:27 AM
He likely needs too work on developing his hand muscles so that he can apply proper pressure and awareness to the pencil.

I agree. This has been an issue for DS (age 9, 4th grade) too. DS also craves deep pressure, however he has a hard time pressing hard enough when he writes. His writing looks like a much younger child's and it takes a long time for him to write. For him it is a combination of several things including hand strength, muscle tone, core muscle strength, motor planning, and visual motor integration. In OT he works on exercises to increase hand strength, such as therapy putty. His IEP also includes 15 minutes of day of exercises to improve his core strength.

MamaKath
10-01-2013, 08:36 PM
Your ds often sounds so similar to mine when he was younger. Hand strength is most often the best way to improve. There are things that have really helped though for my ds. We use a clip board a lot so it holds his paper steady. Sometimes we even had him lay on his belly with the clipboard in front since it changed how he used his muscles. We tried a ton of grips with limited results, especially because he always loses his pencils. Triangular pencils and thicker pencils worked much better. Mechanical pencils worked the best (and still do, we stock the yellow papermates). Having him hold a rubber ball with his last two fingers helped. Also practice holding the pencil; we taught him to pinch with the thumb and pointer near the tip, then "flip" to proper position so he could do it when we were not there also. When he was younger, having triangular crayons and encouraging him to draw and use different pressures to get different shades of the color in his picture was something that we worked on. He also went to private OT regularly for a long time (now he goes through the school)!

So here is the reality of experience with my kids. Both my kids saw huge improvement in their handwriting when we homeschooled. The lessening of time pressure seemed to allow them to improve. As they have gotten older, their hands are large enough to type which has lessened some of the frustration they previously faced as well.

StantonHyde
10-20-2013, 07:06 PM
Lisa--just wanted to note..DS has lousy handwriting. We had him evaluated and he needs to do hand and other muscle strengthening exercises. Given all that was going on with the dyslexia, we put that on the back burner. DS is now on grade level with reading and math. And now that he is in 4th grade, they are going to start him on key boarding. He doesn't want to do better with handwriting nor does he want to take the time. His school tutor said (kindly) that it was a waste of time to work with him on it since he knows how to do it but chooses not to do so. So now we are on to key boarding. Which is fine with me. At some point, he will realize that he needs better handwriting and he will buckle down. But key boarding is a necessary skill and is a way around the problem at this point. YMMV!!

Sweetum
10-20-2013, 10:00 PM
Our OT also often tells us that grip and pressure have to do with core issues. She always works with him on writing after some core exercises and some "stimulating" exercises for his hand. I tried that at home as well - have him do some core exercises and then some find motor exercises (like stringing, picking up with tongs) and then do writing and/or coloring. I had much better success at that time. Once he started to get stronger in his core and also once he got the hang of it (the pressure and grip) it started to get better.

inmypjs
10-20-2013, 11:41 PM
My son has moderate to severe dysgraphia. I really think you have to start them on accommodating technology asap, while still continuing to practice. I have completely accepted that DS is not going to use handwriting as his primary mode of output. And that's okay. He still goes to OT to work on it, and other motor issues. Also wanted to say that if you haven't had an OT and/or a COVD (developmental optometrist) evaluate visual processing issues, I would do that. I think my son's handwriting is impacted by his visual processing stuff a lot.

brittone2
10-26-2013, 09:47 AM
Our OT also often tells us that grip and pressure have to do with core issues. She always works with him on writing after some core exercises and some "stimulating" exercises for his hand. I tried that at home as well - have him do some core exercises and then some find motor exercises (like stringing, picking up with tongs) and then do writing and/or coloring. I had much better success at that time. Once he started to get stronger in his core and also once he got the hang of it (the pressure and grip) it started to get better.


I agree with core playing a part for many kids. Obviously, many kids need to work on hand, wrist, and finger muscle strength. However, if there are issues with tone or a weak core, then kids can't get that distal control of their hands. They need a good base of stability in their core before they can have the fine control needed in the hand muscles.

Handwriting can also be affected by visual processing, bimanual integration (using two hands, as kids need to stabilize the paper w/ one hand in order to write with the other), etc. That's why working with an OT with a focus on handwriting can be a huge help...there is a lot to tease out, as there are so many things that have to come together for kids to write.

Agree with PPs that HWOT can be very good, and OTs do sometimes adjust various writing grip tools or weighted pencils. There are even tools like weighted gloves. Depending on what the OT is seeing, sometimes they also use weighted vests. Again, the solution is going to come back to the contributing factors, of which there can be many! Some kids probably benefit from doing heavy work prior to sitting down to write, but again, that depends on the cause and what the OT thinks are the major contributing factors.

Indianamom2
10-26-2013, 10:33 PM
I'm a bit late to this and you've already gotten some good advice (I may have this issue with Ds...too soon to tell though). I did want to add that kids with SPD can be both sensory seeking and sensory avoiding at the same time. DD craves lots of bouncy off things and firm pressure when she is doing the pressing (she has always tended to be very rough when playing), but can be highly sensitive to very light touch if she isn't anticipating it, as an example. So it's not uncommon to have issues with both things. Frustrating and confusing...huh?