Handwriting Help

 

Many children who come to occupational therapy handwriting assessments at Child and Family Development have difficulty in the classroom.

I think that most parents are surprised by all of the assessments and skill sets that we test in order to decide how to help with handwriting. A thorough handwriting assessment could include the following areas if your occupational therapist feels that they may be a contributing factor.

  • Handwriting samples including writing from memory, copying near point and far point for both letters and numbers.
  • Use of age appropriate paper.
  • Grasping patterns on the pencil.
  • Letter formation and reversals.
  • Visual perceptual skills, especially discrimination (finding pictures that are the same).
  • Fine motor coordination of the pencil.
  • Visual motor integration, or copying shapes.
  • Core, postural, arm, hand, and/or grasp strength.
  • Gross motor coordination.
  • Manual dexterity, fine motor speed and precision.
  • Attention, motivation, and frustration.
  • Visual screening of scanning, tracking, convergence, divergence.
  • Additional visual perceptual skills if difficulty is suspected including visual figure ground, form constancy, visual closure, spatial relations, discrimination, memory, sequential memory.
  • Consideration of patterns that may indicate learning disability, dyslexia, or dysgraphia and appropriate referral to an educational specialist.

Interested in a handwriting assessment for your child? Click here to visit our website for more information or call today.

Want to learn more about handwriting evaluations? Handwriting Evaluations.