How to know if your child has handwriting problems? and what are the signs of handwriting problems?

Handwriting is one of the most important skills that children acquire and use throughout the school years as part of their occupation as students. When handwriting skills are deficient, children suffer various consequences related to their academic performance and social interactions, thus limiting their successful participation in everyday school activities


Parents and teachers need to analysis and check the signs of handwriting problems. Effects of poor handwriting or spelling in later years may be:                  

• Papers with poorer penmanship and/or poorer spelling are rated lower by teachers for composition quality 
• Difficulties with spelling or handwriting can interfere with execution of other composing processes
• Handwriting/spelling problems can constrain development as a writer 

 Educational guidelines often are limited to one standard, “produces legible handwriting” in the English/language arts standards. When students fail to meet this standard, teachers have no means for examining which skills are lacking. Meanwhile these students are experiencing all the negative effects of poor handwriting.
Parents and teachers should learn the signs of handwriting problems from early years. 


Signs of Handwriting Problems 
Kids develop at different rates, and just like adults, handwriting varies greatly among them. Some kids have trouble learning the direction letters go in; others struggle to write neatly or use cursive writing. Sometimes writing problems can be a sign of other issues such as developmental delay or learning disabilities. Often these problems have multiple symptoms, with writing being only one component.

Conditions that can affect a child's ability to write include:              
• memory problems that prevent a child from remembering spelling, grammar, or punctuation rules
• language problems that cause difficulty with word pronunciation, spelling, and sentence structure
• visual or sequential ordering problems that cause uneven spacing of words, and inability to make lists or put ideas in order
• dysgraphia, a neurological disorder characterized by writing difficulties (such as distorted letters or misspellings) regardless of reading ability
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Children who have special needs also may have trouble learning to write.

Signs that a child may need additional assistance with learning how to write include:
• A very awkward pencil grip
• Illegible handwriting • difficulty forming letters
• An inability to concentrate and complete writing tasks
• Avoiding writing • many misspelled words
• Letters or words that don't follow correct sequence
• Incorrect placement of words on the page
• Uneven spacing between letters
• A large gap between spoken language and writing ability
• An exceptionally slow and difficult time writing

If your child is struggling with writing, you may choose to have him or her assessed by an occupational therapist. This can help you determine if your child needs actual therapy and tutoring or just some additional writing practice at home. 

Related: 'Kidshealth.org'
Useful links:

* A new study shows that kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have worse handwriting than their non-ASD peers. 

Tips for teachers to help develop good handwriting

Handwriting is important because kids are required to use it daily in school from kindergarten on. Children who struggle with the mechanics of handwriting may have trouble taking notes or tests or completing their schoolwork. This can affect both their self-esteem and their attitude toward school.

By age 4, students should be starting to develop a tripod grasp which is using the thumb and index finger to hold the pencil/crayon and resting it on the middle finger. It is ok if the student rests the crayon/pencil on the 4th finger. If the student is still using a full hand grasp or very awkward grasp, this may indicate some difficulty with strength and coordination.                        

By age 4-5 students should be able to make vertical and horizontal lines, circle, square, triangle and draw a simple person with head, torso, legs, arms, hands, and feet. For the older students (1st grade and up), general neatness, staying on the lines, size consistency and spacing are all aspects to look at in determining if your child is struggling.

If your child's handwriting continues to be messy and hard to read even after formal instruction at school, try these tips: 


Help your child take it slow. Many kids struggle with writing because they try to do it quickly. Encourage your child to take time to form the letters carefully.

Explain that mistakes happen. Teach your child how to use an eraser.
Reinforce proper letter formation. Find out from your child's teacher how he or she should be forming letters, and then encourage your child to practice writing using those patterns. Using lined paper can be helpful.
Make sure the pencil is properly positioned. Ideally your child will use what is called a tripod grasp. This means the pencil should rest near the base of the thumb, held in place with the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Plastic pencil grips sold at office supply stores may help if your child has trouble holding a pencil properly.
Expose your child to lots of words. You can do this by reading regularly together, pointing out words that surround you (such as street signs or product labels), and by hanging up examples of your child's writing around the house.

Tips provided by 'Kids Health.org'

Useful links: 

Activities to promote a good foundation for handwriting among kids

Good foundation of handwriting starts at home. Proper fine motor skill development makes it possible for kids to learn good handwriting at school. Teachers at the same time can help kids enhance their skills needed  for good handwriting start. This post helps you learn about the activities which can help promote a good foundation for handwriting among kids.
Writing is one of the most complex tasks that humans engage in, involving both motor and critical-thinking skills. It's not surprising that learning to write is a process that takes years to complete. It also happens in order, with each skill building on the last.

Today modern technology has dramatically changed the way we communicate through writing. However, despite the increased use of computers for writing, the skill of handwriting remains important in education, employment and in everyday life. Handwriting with pen and paper still has an important role from early childhood through our adult lives.

Handwriting readiness can be developed by activities to improve children's fine motor control and isolated finger movements.

Activities to promote handwriting readiness: 

• Rolling therapy-putty or clay dough between the tip of the thumb and tips of the index and middle fingers. Use modeling clay or Play-Doh to form words. First, make large flashcards with letters of the alphabet or simple words. (Laminate the cards if you can.) Then roll out thin ropes of clay. Ask your child to trace the words or letters on the cards using the ropes of clay. Not only will he learn to recognize words, but playing with the clay will help build the muscles in his fingers and hone the fine motor skills he'll need to write.                                              
• Use sand to "write" words. Help your child make letters and words out of materials like sand, glitter, or cake sprinkles. Cookie dough and pancake batter work too — and you get to eat the results!
• Picking up small objects with tweezers.
• Pinching and sealing a zip lock bag using the thumb opposing each finger while maintaining an open web space.
• Twisting open a small tube of tooth paste with the thumb, index and middle fingers while holding the tube with the ulnar digits.
• Moving a key from the palm to the finger tips of one hand.

Activities to promote prewriting skills:

1. Drawing lines and copying shapes using shaving cream, sand trays or finger paints.
2. Drawing lines and shapes to complete a picture story on chalk boards.
3. Drawing pictures of people, houses, trees, cars or animals with visual and verbal cues from the practitioner
4. Completing simple dot-to-dot pictures and mazes.

Activities to enhance right-left discrimination includes

1. Playing/maneuvering through obstacles and focusing on the concept of twining right or left
2. Connecting dots at the chalkboard with left to right strokes.

Activities to Improve children's orientation to printed language:

1. Labeling children's drawings based on the child's description
2. Having children make their own books on specific topics such as favorite foods, special places etc.
3. Labeling common objects in the therapy room.
4. Look at pictures together in magazines, catalogs, or storybooks. Ask your child to tell you what he thinks the people are doing or thinking, and write down what he says as a caption. Or ask him to narrate a conversation he thinks two people may be having.

Related: http://www.childsupport.in/html/ourservices_handwritingskills.html

Useful links:

* 25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun

Skill development - Importance of the Proper Scissors Grip

Like the proper pencil grip, the proper scissors grip must be actively taught to children from early years.
Cutting with scissors in properly is an important activity for helping to develop precision hand skills. In order to use scissors correctly, children need sufficient finger and hand strength and stability, sufficient development of the hand arches, hand – eye coordination, bilateral integration skills (using both hands together) and the ability to cross midline. All the same skills contribute to the development of handwriting.

Learning to use scissors properly and acquiring the skill helps to develop the necessary tools for handwriting. The three fingers of the hand controlling the scissors are the ones that are needed to grip a writing tool. The act of opening and closing the scissors helps with hand arch and web space development. The web space is the area formed when the thumb tip and index finger tip touch to form the okay sign. A closed web space can indicate potential writing problems. When children can cut across a straight line, cut out a complex shape and manipulate both the paper and scissors in a controlled manner, they will have achieved precision fine motor skills and good dexterity. Handwriting should evolve nicely as a result.



When scissors are held correctly, and when they fit a child's hand well, cutting activities will exercise the very same muscles which are needed to manipulate a pencil in a mature tripod grasp. 
The correct scissor position is with the thumb and middle finger in the handles of the scissors, the index finger on the outside of the handle to stabilize, with fingers four and five curled into the palm.



Importance of the Proper Scissors Grip

Most children explore with their hands outstretched and their palms facing downward. Or, as they get older, they default to holding small items with their thumb and pointer finger (the pincer grip!).

The proper scissors grip requires a child to rotate his hand so that the thumb faces upward and the pinky finger points at the floor. Then he must spread his thumb and pointer finger as far apart as possible while using his palm to help stabilize the scissors. As if the proper scissors grip wasn’t complicated enough, your child must also rely on his non-dominant hand to stabilize the paper while his dominant hand uses the scissors.
When first learning to use the scissors, the non-dominant hand will simply hold the paper in a stable position as the dominant hand moves the scissors forward. But, as your child begins cutting more complex designs, his non-dominant hand will be responsible for twisting and turning the paper as the dominant hand operates the scissors.

Teaching Your Child the Proper Scissors Grip
Due to the complexity of the correct scissors grip, it is common for young children to hold and try to use scissors incorrectly.
While cutting, your child will also need to learn how to use his non-dominant hand to hold the paper. Initially the non-dominant hand will just need to hold the paper still as the dominant hand moves the scissors forward in a straight line. Eventually, though, the non-dominant hand will need to move and turn the paper as the dominant hand opens and closes the scissor blades.
Most children become interested in using scissors around age two and a half or three.
Allow your child to practice holding the scissors without trying to cut paper. Since learning to simply hold the scissors correctly is a challenging task, let your child pick up and put down the scissors as many times as he wants before you actually begin teaching him how to use the scissors.        

Direct your child to spread his index finger and thumb as widely as possibly, explaining how this motion makes the blades of the scissors open really widely. Then encourage him to close the scissors in one smooth motion. This will help him to make long, smooth (efficient) cuts rather than short, choppy (inefficient) cuts.
Stay close by and provide constant feedback and guidance until the proper grip is automatic for your child.

Ask your child to shake your hand. When shaking your hand, your child will naturally rotate his hand so that his thumb goes top and his fingers extend below (pinky finger is closest to the floor). After shaking hands a few times, have your child reach out to shake your hand one last time. This time, pick up a pair of scissors by the closed metal teeth and place the end of the scissors with the finger holes into his outstretched palm. Help him put his thumb in the large circular loop on top and one or two fingers in the larger loop on the bottom.
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Scissor Activities

• Cutting junk mail, particularly the kind of paper used in magazine subscription cards.
• Making fringe on the edge of a piece of construction paper.
• Cutting play dough with scissors. 
• Cutting straws or shredded paper 

Related: www.schoolsparks.com

  Useful links:

* 'Scissor skills and handwriting development

* Cutting Skills Printables