At Child and Family Development, Occupational Therapists and Educators are trained and certified in Handwriting Without Tears¬Æ.  Summer groups are available at both the Midtown-Charlotte and Pineville offices. Children are grouped by age and grade level from Pre-K to 5th grade, as outlined below.

Handwriting Without Tears® (HWT) is a therapeutic curriculum that teaches pre-printing, printing, cursive and keyboarding skills to children of all abilities. Kids can move from one program to the next as skills grow. HWT was developed by an Occupational Therapist using child-friendly language, child development concepts and fun teaching techniques. All HWT techniques are developmentally based, which means a child builds upon the skills he has mastered. It is a multisensory approach that incorporates posture, strength, grasp, coordination, perception and writing. Recommended HWT materials are on their website (www.hwt.com).

• Pre-K Pre-Writing Program (pre-kindergarten): active learning and development of correct and comfortable habits with emphasis on necessary foundation skills; Activities: finger and trunk strengthening, pencil grasp, pre-writing shapes, writing name and drawing a person.
• Uppercase Printing Program (pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten, or kindergarten): brush up on uppercase letter writing; Activities: trunk strengthening, gross motor and fine motor skills, pencil grasp, letter formation, letter identification and writing on paper.
• Lowercase Printing Program (kindergarten- 5^th grade): lowercase letter writing; Activities: trunk strengthening, fine motor skills, pencil grasp, letter formation, letter identification and use of handwriting paper.
• Cursive Program: ‚Äúconnected writing‚Äù; Activities: trunk strengthening, fine motor skills, pencil grasp, letter formation, letter identification and use of handwriting paper.
• Keyboarding Program: foundational skills for classroom work and online testing; Activities: touch typing fluency and speed. 

Call to discuss your child, the programs, scheduling options and other details:

• EDUCATION-BASED GROUPS (Pineville): $50/session with Marie Arrington MAT: 704-541-9080 ext.218

• OT-BASED GROUPS (Pineville): $54/session with Courtney Stanley MS OTR/L: 704-541-9080 ext.209

• OT-BASED GROUPS (Midtown): $54/session with Melissa Petcu, MS OTR/L: 704-332-4834 ext.118

 View or print the information page here.