Dysgraphia: How can I help my child?
Is your child struggling with handwriting? The cause may be more than just laziness or lack of motivation; it could be a neurologically-based learning issue called dysgraphia. This post explains the signs and symptoms of dysgraphia and the steps you can take to help your child succeed in reading and spelling.
What Is Dysgraphia?
A child with dysgraphia has handwriting that is worse than you would normally see in a child of his age, intelligence, and education level.
But dysgraphia isn’t just about messy papers. A child with dysgraphia may also appear to be unmotivated or lazy, or what we sometimes refer to as a “reluctant writer.” Because he has trouble expressing his thoughts and ideas in writing, he may avoid writing altogether.
Dysgraphia can also make your child avoid seemingly normal situations. For example, does your child avoid Scouts or clubs because he may be asked to fill out forms? Is he hesitant to participate in any activity that involves writing, even something as simple as signing his own name? Has he been teased because of childish penmanship?
If so, you have probably experienced firsthand the frustration, anger, and anxiety that dysgraphia can cause.
Symptoms of Dysgraphia
As with most learning challenges, the symptoms of dysgraphia can range from mild to severe, and the symptoms may vary in the way they show up in children of different ages.
In general, a child with dysgraphia may have trouble with the following:
- Forming letters, numbers, and words
- Spelling words correctly
- Organizing thoughts and ideas into written expression
Simply put, dysgraphia makes the process of writing quite difficult, so a child with dysgraphia often has a much easier time expressing ideas verbally than in writing.
Here are some additional signs of dysgraphia:
- A tight or awkward pencil grip
- Tires quickly while writing
- Writing is illegible, inconsistent, and has poorly formed letters and numbers
- Incorrect spacing and positioning of letters, words, and lines of written text
- Writing is slow and labored
- Complete avoidance of writing
- Difficulty following spelling and grammar rules
- Trouble aligning columns of numbers in math problems
- Difficulty organizing thoughts on paper
- Trouble with tasks that require concurrent thinking and writing
If you recognize some of these symptoms in your child, read on!
Compensation is the First Step
Compensation means helping your child “work around” his handwriting issues so he can still continue to learn.
You may be surprised to hear me say that. After all, dysgraphia is a serious issue, and surely we don’t want to just “work around” the problem, right?
Well, at first we do want to work around the penmanship issue.
This doesn’t mean that you aren’t eventually going to tackle the problem—that step will come next—but it does mean that you are going to reduce the stress that your child is likely experiencing, and at the same time make sure your student can continue to learn.
But exactly how you compensate will depend upon your child’s age and the subject areas being studied.
Here are a few ideas:
- Work on keyboarding skills. Using a keyboard instead of paper and pencil can be a great way to motivate a reluctant writer to express his thoughts and ideas.
- Do work orally. Many assignments can be completed orally with a parent.
- Use speech-to-text tools. Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Sound Note are good examples of speech recognition software. These tools allow your child’s work to be dictated orally and automatically translated to text.
- Use alternatives to written assignments. Until your student has stronger handwriting skills, consider using some of the interesting ideas below.
Once the pressure is off and your child is learning in other subject areas without pen and paper, it’s time to work on penmanship skills.
Check for Proper Handwriting Position
Since so many kids with dysgraphia have incorrect writing posture and pencil grip, it’s important to establish proper handwriting position before attempting to address specific penmanship concerns. The graphic below is a handy guide for evaluating your child’s handwriting position.
Tackle Handwriting Remediation
Once you have checked and corrected your child’s posture and pencil grip, it’s time to actually put pencil to paper and start writing.
Please keep in mind that it’s important to allow your child to acquire writing skills at his own pace. Don’t get caught up in the comparison trap. Your child has a special need, so let him progress naturally and not at the pace recommended for his age, his grade level, or his curriculum.
Also, as you work to improve your child’s ability to write, continue to reduce the amount of writing that is required to complete his schoolwork. Allow learning to happen without pen and paper.
Try these tips to help make penmanship lessons more productive and enjoyable for you and your child.
- If your child reverses letters, my free report on “How to Solve Letter Reversals” will be a huge help to you.
- Use a research-based handwriting program. Handwriting Without Tears has been effective for many children with handwriting problems.
- Provide short bursts of handwriting exercise instead of long, drawn-out sessions. Many kids with dysgraphia need to work on fine motor skills. Activities such as coloring, cutting, painting, model-building, working with clay, working pencil mazes, and threading beads will increase dexterity and build fine motor skills.
- Schedule penmanship practice time for 5-10 minutes a day.
- If your child can’t remember how to form letters consistently—writing them correctly at times, but incorrectly at other times—it could be a sign that he has problems with his working memory.
- Work on correct letter formation by using multisensory methods and techniques that don’t require writing. Finger-writing in the air, in sand, in shaving cream, or on sandpaper are all great exercises that can encourage improvement in proper letter formation.
Dysgraphia Also Affects Reading and Spelling
For a child with dysgraphia, the very act of writing takes so much energy that it actually interferes with the process of learning, which can then negatively impact his ability to learn.
Because your child’s dysgraphia affects the way he learns to read and spell, it’s important to remove the handwriting barrier from both of these subject areas. All About Reading and All About Spelling are designed to do just that! In fact, both programs can be completed without requiring any handwriting at all.
Here are some features that will help your child learn more quickly:
- AAR and AAS are multisensory. With a multisensory approach, children take in and interact with information in various ways. Learning happens through multiple senses, primarily through sight, sound, and touch (kinesthetic). The kinesthetic approach can be very helpful to a child who has expressive language struggles.
- AAR and AAS are incremental and mastery-based. In both programs, students master one concept before moving on to a new concept. This helps reduce frustration and confusion and allows children to move at their own pace through the curriculum.
- AAR and AAS use color-coded letter tiles. Working with the letter tiles can make the difference between understanding a concept and not understanding it. The letter tiles provide a kinesthetic method for practicing spelling words without the need for paper and pencil.
- AAR and AAS have built-in review in every lesson. Children with learning difficulties benefit from lots of review. Customized review allows you to target the areas in which your child is struggling.
- AAR and AAS are highly motivational. Both programs use a wide variety of fun, hands-on activities that minimize the need for writing. Short, engaging lessons and the ability to track their own progress keep kids motivated from the very first lesson.
But what do moms who are in the trenches with their struggling learners say about overcoming dysgraphia?
Some Hope and Encouragement for You
Helping a child who is struggling with dysgraphia takes patience. Change may not come quickly, but trust that it will come! And to encourage you during this process, I’d like to share a few success stories from our community.
Here’s Tanya’s story:
“My daughter has dysgraphia and she is thriving with AAS! We just finished level 4 (starting 4th grade). The tiles are great for spelling when writing is just too much.
I like that the lessons are at our own pace, and that she can master the material in a way that works best for her! Thanks!”
This is from Rebekah, another mom who is finding success with AAS:
“Although we haven’t pursued an official diagnosis, our eight-year-old son has all the characteristics of dysgraphia. The best thing we ever did was back off from writing for a while. He still struggles, but it’s getting easier. He loves his AAR, and we will be starting AAS soon. Things are finally clicking, and I am so thankful that spelling, reading, and writing no longer involve tears!”
And Sharon shared what a difference All About Spelling is making for her son:
“My son used to feel defeated, but now he has so much more enthusiasm for reading since he doesn’t have to write. He doesn’t dread school when his hands don’t hurt and get tired. He also doesn’t waste erasers from erasing so often!
“He uses his magnetic letter tiles to build his words now, and he’ll often ask to handwrite the words he has built. The tiles help him tell his b, d, p, and q apart, which make writing and spelling easier. Being able to look at the letters while writing has helped his handwriting improve, too!”
The Bottom Line: Don’t Let Dysgraphia Rob Your Child
Handwriting may seem like a small part of education, but it affects your child’s ability to express ideas. It’s important to address dysgraphia, and to prevent it from stealing your child’s motivation, his joy of learning, and his self-esteem.
Starting today, you can help make learning easier for your child with dysgraphia by implementing three simple ideas.
- Compensation: Minimize the distractions and frustrations of the writing process by using alternatives to handwritten assignments.
- Evaluate: Establishing proper handwriting position is critical to handwriting success. Begin the process by checking your child’s handwriting position.
- Remediation: Work on improving your child’s penmanship skills by using the ideas in this post.
If you have any questions about your child’s dysgraphia and how it affects reading and spelling instruction, please feel free to call or email us. With All About Reading and All About Spelling, your child can continue to learn without frustration, and we’re here to help!
Does your child struggle with dysgraphia? What has helped? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo credit: @teachingthroughspecialneeds via Instagram
Stella. GoodSuccess.NwaChukwu
says:Wow! Great help! Now I know what to do and that we’re not alone in this challenge. Wow! Thank you really much!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was helpful, Stella!
Racheal Enchill Cudjoe
says:A kindergarten one boy who can describe how a letter is written but cannot write it on his own. Thank you.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceRacheal,
Interesting that the boy can describe how a letter is written but cannot physical right it. It may be worth considering having him evaluated by an occupational therapist.
April Belluck
says:My son is going to be six in Aug & is starting kindergarten we waited a year because of age we didn’t went him to be the youngest in his class & also the problem with his writing, he is gong into a English , Spanish class in a very good public school we also had him tested ! Learning problems do rum in my family myself , mother , father and other family number! My Father & I both have college degrees! My husband does not have any learning problems at all my daughter is a middle of the road student! Who works very hard! Thank You I would like as much information as possible since we saw it so early in him! We had him tested already!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceApril,
It sounds like you are doing wonderfully assessing your son’s needs so early in his learning! Wonderful! I’m happy to help with any questions or concerns you may have.
Neetika
says:Hi my son who is 9 years old find it difficult to write. In class work we can’t even read what he has written. His teacher is recommending OT but I feel he writes ok when motivated to and a few lines instead of big paragraphs in short time. I am planning to start handwriting classes and fine motor skills at home.
Caoimhe
says:My son is 7 and is struggling with school work. Particularly he doesn’t have the patience to write, wants it done quick. He gets some letters and numbers back to front and finds maths challenging. His hand writing isn’t great and has poor pencil grip. He does however seem to have no bother with reading his school books. I have noticed he reads them from memory or the pictures. He calls himself dumb and that breaks my heart and says school works is stressful. I have addressed concerns with the teacher but I am worried may be dyslexic or have dysgraphia or possibly ADHD. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you
Robin
says: Customer ServiceCaoimhe,
I’m so sorry to hear that your son is struggling and feeling so low about his abilities!
Can you start the process for getting your son evaluated for a learning disability? Does your school have the ability? In the US, a parent can request evaluation at any time, although it can require a request be in writing. However, from your use of the word “maths,” I suspect you are not in the US (here we say “math”). You would need to research how this is done for schools where you are. You may be able to request evaluation from your child’s doctor.
The tips in this blog post will help, and here is a Dyslexia Resources page that will be helpful as well.
Do you have specific questions I can help with?
Robin
says: Customer ServiceNeetika,
If your son’s teacher is recommending occupational therapy for him, it may be best to consider it. One of my children needed OT for a while, and it was a great help, not only during the therapy sessions but more so because the therapist recommended things I could do between therapies to help her have the best progress.
Occupational therapy could help move your son from finding writing to be difficult to being able to write quickly and easily, without much effort. As he gets older, writing easily will be essential for school and even work. It is best to address such difficulties as soon as possible.
Christine
says:My son, now 12 years old, is in speech therapy and we are on a waiting list to start OT. He’s autistic, adhd, speech is helping with his working memory and it’s helping, but when it comes to penmanship or any writings assignments it takes hours. We currently homeschool with Abeka and penmanship takes weeks for him to complete for each semester with many tears, and starting over, mistakes, can’t form letters right, or stay on a line right. They don’t offer any accommodations unfortunately for children with disabilities in their accredited program. (No one is perfect, that’s why God made erasers and white out!) My son is determined to complete what he started! I love his determination. This is his last 2 semesters of penmanship with them, so I pray they please understand how hard he is working, and that he is doing all of this with a disability!
Before homeschooling his public school wasn’t very helpful and he didn’t have the support there. He was bullied, picked on, staff over looked! I’ve got good therapist now, I’m home full time with him at his side helping. We just need to continue to get the right tools to succeed, never give up!
Any suggestions are welcomed.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceChristine,
I am pleased to hear that you have your son working with a good therapist now. That should make the biggest difference.
I suggest, and you should speak with your therapist about it too, to separate the physical act of writing from all other learning for him. As suggested in this blog post, allow him to dictate answers to you, use speech-to-text applications, and so on. A lot of learning can be done very successfully orally.
Then work with him on handwriting where he is at. It sounds like he needs to spend some time each day learning the correct formation of letters. Instead of focusing on getting X amount of work done, rather set a timer and have him focus on doing his best for 10 minutes, or whatever length of time allows him to end before he grows tired or frustrated.
Once he is comfortable writing individual letters, consider working with him with All About Spelling. Your focus moving through it will be on the physical act of writing words, not spelling mastery. Students like him can usually spell much more complex words easily orally or with typing but struggle to write even simple words correctly. So starting with All About Spelling Level 1, he will work on writing individual letters, then simple words, then two and three-word phrases. Level 2 moves into writing short sentences, and each level starts adding more complex sentences.
I hope this helps some, but it does sound like you are on the right track already!
Lura
says:I am so happy that dysgraphia is addressed here. I had severe dyagraphia as a left handed child. I could do many other things, like knit, type and sew. But writing was a huge struggle. Also, I had learned to read so quickly I skipped knowing phonics. Which also made spelling extremely hard until I learned the 72 phonograms. I wish I had AAS as a child.
I’m so happy to use AAS with my daughter. At age 5 she was a gifted reader and new her phonograms. But writing with a pencil at age 5 was a struggle. We were able to set aside penmanship for awhile as we learned to spell using the tiles app. She completed AAS with great enthusiasm and is now enjoying writing her letters separately to work on penmanship. She feels confident about her spelling because as recommended here, we separated penmanship from spelling.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceSuch a great point, Lura! Separating learning to spell well from the act of physically writing is so important for so many learners! Thank you for sharing. Your daughter is amazing considering her age!
Kwena Semono
says:My child is 9 years boy.. He can’t copy what is written on board and speech is a problem can’t speak properly. Spelling test problem.. And maths.. You can’t even read what he is writing
Robin
says: Customer ServiceKwena,
I’m sorry to hear that your child is struggling with learning.
My first concern is that your child cannot copy what is written on the board. This is often a sign that a student has a vision problem and may need glasses. Not being able to see well could cause problems with writing and even math too. You may wish to have his eyes examined.
Difficulties with speech can lead to difficulties with spelling. When students are unable to pronounce words correctly, they often have trouble hearing the correct sounds that make up the word. He may need speech therapy first to address his difficulties.
I hope this helps some, but please let me know if you have specific questions or concerns.
Jane
says:My Lillie one is 4 1/2 years now. Really slow in writing (he can write 1,2,4 but cannot write 3,5. Always writes half of the number or up side down or in wrong side (left instead of write).
When it comes to drawing, cannot draw looking at an object/picture. Always mixing up V instead of ^.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceJane,
What you have described is expected for a 4 and a half year old child. Many children that age cannot write any numbers or letters, and it is very uncommon for such a young child to be able to draw what they are looking at at.
Also, it is normal for children this age to write numbers and letters backward or even upside down. Before learning letters and numbers, directionality doesn’t matter. A child learns in his first year or two of life that a chair is a chair if it is facing left, right, or side ways. But when a child starts learning letters and numbers, they experience that the direction an object faces changes the object fundamentally. A 5 is five, but turn it the other way and it is not five. This goes against everything a child has learned before, and so it is no wonder that it can take many children quite a while to master forming letters and numbers in the correct direction.
Overall, it sounds like your little one is doing very well and is learning as we would expect for his age. He may be even a little advanced compared to other preschoolers. Keep up the great work! Provide gentle correction, and keep learning lighthearted and fun. He’ll master these things in time!
Jane
says:Thank you so much for taking your time to replay me!
I’m in kenya. Here they teach kindergartners to read and write. May I know this:
1. Is there any common milestones in reading/writing/knowing sounds for 4 1/2 kid?
2. To what extent? Write- how many letters/words?, sounds- how many sounds and what are they?, count up to which stage?
Thank you so much!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceJane,
Here in the US, most Kindergarten classes teach beginning reading and writing as well. So, in preparation for that, most children are taught the names of the letters and to recognize them both as capitals and lowercase. Children this age are often taught the first sound of each letter too. They are also taught to count orally up to 20 or more.
As for writing, four and a half year old child would be expected to be able to write their first name. Most would be able to write it all in capital letters, but some may be able to write it with a capital first letter and then lowercase for the rest. Anything beyond that would be considered more advanced than average.
I think you will find this blog post How to Teach the Alphabet to Preschoolers helpful. And for learning letter sounds, our free Letter Sounds from A to Z app focuses on just the first sound of each letter. Our company focuses on teaching reading and spelling, so we don’t have any reasons for teaching numbers and counting. However, you will likely find a lot available online for teaching counting and numbers to preschoolers.
Irine
says:Thanks slot I have a son in grade one who can’t write and when he writes he is very slow.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Irine. I hope the tips in this blog post are helpful for your son. However, if you have additional questions or concerns, I’m happy to help.
Swely Kamadu
says:Am a housewife but am education I did my A level n did my computer course…my son is 5 n he has childhood asthma….I understand he’s late in everything….I paid for private preprimary wen he was 3…at 4i send him to government preprimary…n both the teacher complained any him not talking…I asked Abt his writing skills n school activities…all were gud zey said n all his school works stayed in school…it’s on 9th January 1st day school for grade one zat I saw his preprimary school work…he could only trace letters …draw n paint. Now am teaching him how to write alphabet… he gets tired….he doesn’t leave space doesn’t know what’s capital n small letters… number r his enemy koz he gets difficult to write zem..1to 5unable to write…can anyone advise me…as a mother I will everyday continue to teach him alphabets n numbers 🔢 I want him to know how to write n count.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceSwely,
Your child is still very young. It is common for 5 year old children to still have trouble with writing letters and such. It will be best to approach teaching him as a brand new learner. Work on capital letters first, introducing one at a time so he can master each letter before learning the next. Also, review all the letters he has learned regularly so he doesn’t forget what he has already learned while working on learning new letters.
Once he has learned all the capital letters, then do the same for the lowercase letters, teaching one at a time while still reviewing everything he had already learned. Also, as you teach lowercase letters, but sure he can match them with their capital letter.
We have a lot of resources on our blog for teaching letters to children. Check out Top 10 Activities for Letter Knowledge.
Selam
says:My child is five years old she don’t have eating and writing in the class orally she is good
Geetanjli
says:My son has problem in writing
he is good in oral. But he cannot make sentence in writing and also mispelt the words.. Like when he writes the learn.. He always writes laner.. But orally he speaks correct spelling
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your son is having such trouble, Geetanli. I hope the tips in this blog article is helpful for him.
Rachel
says:I know my daughter struggles with her dysgraphia and I want to try the AAS cause I think it would help her but I can’t afford that 😩
Bonnie
says:Love your tios
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad these tips are helpful for you, Bonnie.
Uniel
says:How can I help 4 year old child who’s weak in number writing
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceUniel,
4 years old is still very young. Many children that age are not even ready to begin to learn how to write letters and numbers.
If your child is weak in that he or she does not yet know how to write numbers, start by teaching just one number at a time and working with it. Help the child to understand what 1 means and to master writing it before starting to work on 2, and so on.
If your child is weak in that he or she knows what the numbers should look like but cannot form them, then work on developing your child’s muscles to help. Playing with dough, painting, coloring, using scissors, and so on will increase hand strength. However, a person’s core muscles, those of the belly and back, are just as important. If a child’s core muscles aren’t strong, they won’t be able to hold themselves upright without the support of their arms, which won’t allow them to write well. To build core strength, children need to play with the entire bodies, such as running, jumping, and especially climbing.
I hope this help, but let me know if you have additional questions.
Chris James
says:Great read!!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog, blog like these will surely help each and every homeschooler in homeschooling their children.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Chris! I’m glad you find the blog helpful.
Elie atallah
says:Please my daughter has problem with writing only she is slow in writing and if she write you can’t read it but in the other way she is brilliant she can read and answer the questions all correct in class
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your daughter is struggling, Elie. I hope the tips and techniques suggested in this blog article will be helpful for your daughter. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to help.
Nathan
says:My son’s 10 his teacher is talking about holding him back a year . Maths is good reading is excellent but completely refuses to put pen to paper feels like the more I push the more he refuses ..
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your son is having such difficulties, Nathan. You can request your son’s school to evaluate him and develop an individualized education plan.
The tips and suggestions in this blog post can help, but building a student’s ability to write is a slow process if they do have dysgraphia.
Please let me know if you have specific questions I can help with.
Yuvan
says:He is not writing in school in single word in his english book.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your student is having trouble with writing, Yuvan. I hope this blog post is helpful for you. Please let me know if you have specific questions.
Shital dholia
says:My 8 yearold daughter has sharp memory n she is a smart girl in everyway but she can’t read or writes properly..
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry to hear your daughter is having difficulties with reading and writing, Shital. There are many reasons why a bright child may struggle to learn to read, but one of these is the possibility of gaps in the foundational skills and knowledge necessary for reading and spelling success. Take a look at The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling.
You may also find our Signs of a Reading Problem and 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner articles helpful as well.
If you have specific questions, I would be happy to help.
Amanda Hlophe
says:My 10year old son is struggling with writing, spelling and reading, he does very good in Maths but now that he is in grade4 there’s a lot of problem solving involved and he’s maths marks is dropping because he struggles with reading. I do not know how I can assist him.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your son is struggling, Amanda. Often older students struggle with reading and spelling because they have gaps in their skills and knowledge. It is important to fill those gaps so that students can be successful. The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling can help with that.
You may find our Signs of a Reading Problem and 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner articles helpful as well.
Susan Frank
says:My son was having difficulty writing what he was thinking, especially in math. I asked his school for an evaluation and he was diagnosed with disgraphia and they started him on a special ed program for help with that. They also discovered he qualified for the gifted program so he was going to both special Ed and gifted programs! It was wonderful!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you for sharing this, Susan! It is so great to hear that your advocating for him has to lead to him getting help for both his learning difficulty and his advanced needs!
Jennifer Lobo
says:My Sr. kg. Daughter is 5 yrs old and is just learning to write.
But now in School they have already covered Capital & small letters as well as 2 & 3 letter words. My kid finds it hard to write so much. Plus teachers r giving too much HW and stressing on her writing.
What should I do?
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceJennifer,
I think it would be best if you first speak to your daughter’s teachers about the concerns you have.
It sounds as if the other students have learned to write letters previously, so they are ahead of your daughter. It may be that she needs to focus on learning to write letters before being ready for this grade of school. Her teachers will be able to help you determine that.
Umo Ansa
says:I need an urgent help for my first son, have been looking for a way to help him in reading and spelling’s skills.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry to hear your son is having difficulties with reading and spelling. Here are some blog posts that may help:
10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner
Signs of a Reading Problem
The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling
If you have specific questions, I’d be happy to help.
Mel
says:Hi,
My 7 year old started primary school for the first time since covid. He started writing but never in completion of the days work. For the past 4 days of school he has not been writing. No matter if he was scolded in school or at home. He is not writing no matter what. The teacher is frustrated and it seems that after speaking to him she is just ignoring him now. I am frustrated as I have tried everything. He started to show improvements at one point but now no writing at all.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is having such difficulties, Mel. Have you asked him, during a time when neither of you is upset, why he hasn’t been writing these last few days? Children can be surprisingly insightful to their own motivations, at least occasionally.
Rebecca
says:Hi,
Thanks for the above info.
Should you correct an established incorrect pen grip? At the age of 11. Concerns are it will get harder with increased writing at secondary school.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceRebecca,
Considering your student’s age, I recommend consulting with an occupational therapist before deciding to interfere with an established pencil grip. It can be very difficult to correct an inefficient grip after so many years, so the decision to do so should be made carefully and with guidance on how to go about it. Some nonconventional pencil grips work well enough for individuals even with the demands of secondary and post-secondary schooling.
Rebecca
says:Thank you for this information.
I started googling after my 6 year old came home from school saying his teacher hurt his feelings today. He said it was in relation to his writing. I don’t think the teacher necessarily said anything hurtful. My son has recently become incredibly sensitive about writing. His letter formation and spacing was an issue last year in kindergarten, so we do try to practice, but it is so hard to get him to focus. He slouches and tells me he is dumb and can’t do it. When he makes a mistake, he can see it, and he gets really frustrated. I feel like he is getting to a point of avoidance. He has been told off at school for not writing any sentences during ‘writing’ time. I’m not sure what to do. I will enrol in writing without tears.
He is very intelligent otherwise. He reads novels (for kids).
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceRebecca,
Here are some things that can help with handwriting:
Have him work on one letter at a time. Either one per day or one for the whole week. He should write that letter 3-5 times, focusing on forming the letter correctly. Let him put a star or sticker above the letter that he thinks he did the best. (Have him tell you why he thinks it’s best. If you think another one is best, you could say, “That one is good! I also like how you made a nice straight line on this one…” pointing to one you like.) Getting him to slow down, make just a few letters, and identify the one he thinks was best will help him pay careful attention to formation.
Handwriting lines are not needed at this stage, and many kids are not ready for them. You may want to let him practice on a whiteboard. Show him an example letter, and then let him try it. Focus on forming the letter correctly with round circles, straight lines, starting at the correct spot, etc.
Incorporate kinesthetic practice, such as writing with a finger in sand, salt trays cornmeal, whipped cream, on carpet squares or sandpaper, in snow, etc. Write letters or words on the whiteboard and then have your son erase them with the pointer finger of his dominant hand, following proper letter strokes. These activities will reinforce the neurological connections needed for handwriting and make the motions more memorable. Here’s another article that has some additional ideas you can use for handwriting surfaces.
Make sure to incorporate lots of large-muscle play in his day as well, such as running, jumping, climbing, swinging, and anything that strengthens core muscles and gross motor muscles. These are incredibly important to handwriting. Many people think of handwriting as fine motor activity, but the gross motors (the trunk muscles that hold the body up so kids don’t lean on their arms as they write, the shoulder and arm muscles that control arm movements, etc.) are really important too.
Mazes, dot-to-dot, coloring, Lego, playing with cars, cutting, pasting, painting, etc. are good for reinforcing the fine-motor skills needed.
Have fun and enjoy your 6-year-old! Working on handwriting for a few minutes each day will help him progress more and more. Short lesson times that are fun done consistently over time will reap great results!
Kamohelo
says:My 7 year old is struggling to write and count but his a happy child. when I sit with him and assist I can tell that once he grabs or gains self confidence he will have a perfect hand writing I can see that. He was doing well in Grade R but this year in Grade 1 they could not gel with the new teacher that’s when he struggled with everything.One morning he said I’m no longer going to that crazy teacher. I told him that that’s not a perfect language to say about someone he said but then I’m not going to school and I’m sleeping. So I decided to look for another school and he was accepted unfortunately for him it was time for assessment. So I’m trying other ways to assist him.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m so sorry your child has been struggling, Kamohelo! I hope you can find ways to assist him and help him be successful.
If you have specific questions, please let me know. I’m happy to help.
AVASARALA VRK MADHAVA RAO
says:My son is 6 years old. He is well in oral. He can easily find out any albhabet, number and symbols. but he is not well and very poor in writing skills. Even he has no proper grip with pencil and slate pencil. give me suggestion and ideas to overcome that defect.
Samuel
says:This is sam from india. My son is 9 years old we found quit late that learning disability. Do we have to change to new school! Spending more time in his phone and Tv .Your Article was helpfull and understand that he is having trouble reading and writing, sports but playing with Art.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceSam,
I am sorry to hear your son is having such troubles! If a new school is an option to help him succeed in reading and writing, then it is for the best.
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask. I am happy to help if I can.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your son is struggling.
This is a good article that explains grips and when to work at changing it.
This occupational therapist mom says, “If your child’s poor pencil grip is affecting handwriting and causing pain and fatigue, then just telling your child to ‘hold the pencil better’ is NOT going to help! If you are in any way concerned about your child’s pencil grip, get a professional opinion. I recommend an occupational therapy assessment to help figure out whether your child is compensating for other weak skills, or whether your child has missed out on some developmental stage along the way.” Her article goes on to give ideas for strengthening fine motor skills.
You can help your child to develop these skills by scissors cutting activities, play-doh, and hand and finger activities. And don’t forget, lots of playing at the park to strengthen core muscles. You can find activity suggestions on this page.
Here are some things that can help with handwriting:
Have him work on one letter at a time–either one per day or one for the whole week. He should write that letter 3-5 times, focusing on forming the letter in the correct way. Let him put a star or sticker above the letter that he thinks he did the best. (Have him tell you why he thinks it’s best. If you think another one is best, you could say, “That one is good! I also like the way you made a nice straight line on this one…” pointing to one that you like.) Getting him to slow down, make just a few letters, and identify the one he thinks was best will help him pay careful attention to formation.
Handwriting lines are not needed at this stage, and many kids are not ready for them. You may want to let him practice on a whiteboard. Show him an example letter, and then let him try it. Focus on forming the letter correctly–round circles, straight lines, starting at the correct spot etc…
Incorporate kinesthetic practice, such as writing with a finger in sand, salt trays, cornmeal, whipped cream, on carpet squares or sandpaper, in snow, etc… Write letters or words on the whiteboard and then have your son finger erase them, following proper letter strokes. These types of activities will reinforce the neurological connections needed for handwriting, and will make the motions more memorable. Here’s another article that has some additional ideas you can use for handwriting surfaces.
Make sure to incorporate lots of large-muscle play in his day–running, jumping, climbing, swinging…anything that strengthens core muscles and gross motor muscles. These are incredibly important to handwriting. (Many people think of handwriting as a fine motor activity, but the gross motors–the trunk muscles that hold the body up so kids don’t lean on their arms as they write, the shoulder and arm muscles that control arm movements, etc… are really important too).
Mazes, dot-to-dot, coloring, lego, playing with cars, cutting, pasting, painting, etc… are good for reinforcing fine motor skills needed.
If you don’t have a program yet, check out Handwriting Without Tears. That curriculum was developed by an occupational therapist and has good methods for preventing (or correcting) reversals.
Have fun and enjoy your 6-year-old! Handwriting will come in time!
Happiness
says:My son is in grade 4….. He can’t read even writing…. When I teach him-he’s cramming and this think is stressing me…….. Last time he told me his teacher embarrassed him in front of class mate 😭 she says “hei you cnt even spell a word” that think touch me and sometimes he don’t wanna go to school
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m so sorry your son is struggling, and how terrible for his teacher to do such a thing!
I hope you find the tips and suggestions on the blog post helpful. Here are some others you may find helpful as well:
10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner
8 Ways to Encourage Spelling Success (and Happy Spellers!)How to Find a Spelling Program That Works
If you have specific questions or concerns, please let me know. I’m happy to help!