FUNCTIONAL TASK AT SCHOOL: HANDWRITING Flashcards
It is one of the functional tasks required of a child in his or her occupation as student
Handwriting
What problem in the school setting is the most frequent referral for occupational therapists?
Handwriting
In what ways can intervention programs in Handwriting can be done?
Often delivered on site at school, either individually or in a small group using an inclusive (integrated classroom) and/or pull-out model of service delivery
What are the importance of Handwriting?
- Vital for academic success and daily life (e.g., note-taking, assignments).
- Impacts communication and participation in educational and social activities.
What is the OT’s role in addressing handwriting challenges?
- Focus on skill development and functional performance.
- Collaboration with educators and families to address handwriting challenges.
The role of Handwriting in education is present among this 2
Academic Achievement and Self-esteem
What are the role of Handwriting in Education particularly in a child’s Academic Achievement?
- Linked to reading fluency and composition skills.
- Influences test performance and classroom engagement
What are the role of Handwriting in Education particularly in a child’s Self-esteem
- Poor handwriting can lead to frustration, reduced participation, and lower confidence.
Example: A child hesitates to write due to fear of peer judgment.
What are the common handwriting Challenges?
- LETTER FORMATION (e.g., reversed letters).
- ALIGNMENT (e.g., writing off the lines).
- SPACING (e.g., words too close or far apart).
What is/are the indicators that there is a need for an OT referral?
- Poor legibility and fluency.
- Delays in handwriting developmental milestones.
What are the 2 assessment tools?
- Standardized: Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH)
- Non standardized: Classroom observations, interviews with teachers and parents
What are the Performance Skills particularly in Motor Skills that influences Handwriting?
MOTOR SKILLS: Fine motor control for precise movements.
What are the Performance Skills particularly in Process Skills that influences Handwriting?
PROCESS SKILL: Organizing and sequencing actions.
What are the Performance Skills particularly in Communication Skills that influences Handwriting?
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Expressing thoughts effectively.
What are the client factors that could influence handwriting?
- Body structures/functions like postural control, joint stability, and visual perception.
It is the ability to move and position objects within the hand.
IN-HAND MANIPULATION SKILLS
What is the importance of In-hand Manipulation Skills?
- Directly impacts pencil control and writing efficiency.
What are the types of In-hand Manipulation Skills?
Translation, Shift, and Rotation
What type of In-hand Manipulation Skills where it involves moving coins from palm to fingers?
TRANSLATION
What type of In-hand Manipulation Skills where it involves Adjusting grip on a pencil?
SHIFT
What type of In-hand Manipulation Skills where it involves twirling a pencil to use the eraser.
ROTATION
A stable base (trunk and shoulders) is essential for controlled hand movements.
POSTURE AND STABILITY
What are the interventions for improving posture and stability?
- Activities like wall push-ups and therapy ball exercises to strengthen core and upper body.
What are the signs of a good sitting posture?
- Thoracic spine extended
- Lumber spine flat
- Head balanced on torso
- Ankle must be 90°
- Both feet must be touching the floor
What are the signs of a bad sitting posture?
- Neck flexed
- Back flexed
- Pelvis tipped back
- Head tipped back
- Knees apart
- Heels lifted
These joints need to be stable and controlled to allow for fluid and precise handwriting.
SHOULDER, ELBOW, FOREARM AND WRIST STABILITY
What joint must be stabilized first so that the rest would also stabilized?
Shoulder
What must work together to keep the scapula and shoulder in a neutral position
MUSCLES OF THE SHOULDER GIRDLE AND SCAPULA
What allows the forearm to maintain a neutral position during writing which ensure more controlled and efficient movements?
EFFICIENT GRASP PATTERN
How to have a good wrist stability?
Slightly extend writing on a vertical surface rather than a horizontal one
It is important to be stabilized as it is essential for effective handwriting and fine motor control
FINGER JOINT STABILITY
What finger joints must be ready to ensure a stable grip?
Thumb and Index finger
What are the interventions to stabilize Finger Joint?
-Squeezing stress balls
-Therapy putty (playdoh but with resistance)
-Pinching tasks
-Picking up varied objects
-Bead lacing.
What are needed to sustained writing tasks?
Hand arches and Finger strength
What are the activities to improve hand strength and endurance?
-Squeezing therapy putty
-Manipulating small beads
-Paper crumpling exercises
It is the ability to perform tasks across the body’s midline
MIDLINE CROSSING
What are the signs that children have difficulties in midline crossing?
- Switching hands during writing or avoiding cross-body actions
What could be the interventions done to improve midline crossing?
- Cross-body activities like figure-eight tracing and reaching games
Ex. Popping bubbles, draw shapes on a large sheet of paper, tracing line from left to right, catch the ball etc.
It is the synchronization between visual input and hand movement.
EYE-HAND COORDINATION
What are the signs that children have difficulties in Eye-hand Coordination?
- Poor performance in mazes or coloring.
- Difficulty to pick up an object from the table
What could be the interventions done to improve Eye-hand coordination?
- Activities like dot-to-dot drawings and lacing cards.
- Ball games by catching, throwing, and hitting through a bat.
It is the ability to conceptualize and carry out motor actions.
MOTOR PLANNING
What are the signs that children have difficulties in Motor Planning?
- Awkward pencil grip, inconsistent pressure, clumsy movements.
What interventions can be done to improve Motor planning?
- Heavy work tasks (e.g., carrying weighted objects) to improve proprioception and spatial awareness.
- Obstacle courses
It is the interpreting and organizing of visual input.
VISUAL PERCEPTION SKILLS
What are the Signs that children have difficulties in Visual Perception Skills?
- Letter reversals (e.g., b/d confusion).
- Irregular spacing or alignment.
What interventions can be done to improve Visual Perception Skills?
-Puzzles
-Block designs
-Formal programs like the Visual-Motor Integration (VMI)
It is the understanding of left-to-right and top-to-bottom orientation.
DIRECTIONALITY
What are the Signs that children have difficulties in Directionality?
Letters written backward or misplaced on the page.
What strategies can be done to improve Directionality?
- Use of visual aids like arrowed paper and tactile feedback tools
What are the types of Assessments?
- Standardized and nonstandardized assessments
- Classroom observation
- Student self-assessments
What are the Handwriting Assessments?
-The Children’s Handwriting Evaluation Scales (Stott et al)
-The Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH; Amundson, 1995)
-The Print Tool
-The Screener of Handwriting Proficiency
It is a handwriting assessment that measures the speed and quality of the child’s handwriting skills.
The Children’s Handwriting Evaluation Scales (Stott et al)
It evaluates legibility and speed in six areas of handwriting of The Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH; Amundson, 1995) ?
(1) alphabet production of lower and uppercase letters from memory
(2) numeral writing of 1-12 from memory
(3) near-point copying
(4) far-point copying
(5) speed
(6) sentence composition in both manuscript and cursive formation.
It is a nonstandardized assessment from Jan Olsen’s Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. It focuses on the eight key components of handwriting: memory, orientation, placement, size, start, sequence, control, and spacing. It also “helps pinpoint the cause of difficulty and provides guidance for a remediation plan specific to the child’s needs.”
The Print Tool
It is a free online Handwriting Without Tears tool that assesses writing of numbers and letters generating individual and classroom reports that compare student’s handwriting accuracy to same-aged peers using percentiles.
The Screener of Handwriting Proficiency
What is Visual Perception?
- Organizing and interpreting visual input
- Skills required: spacing, direction, starting point, and size recognition
What are the Visual Perceptual Skills?
- DiscriminationVisual Memory, Form Constancy
- Sequential Memory, Figure-Ground, Visual Closure
What are the Visual Motor Skills?
- Coordination of eyes and hands
- Eye-hand precision in writing tasks
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to detect differences or distinctions between items, such as identifying which letter in a sequence is out of place. This skill is essential for recognizing the difference between similar letters like “b” and “d.”
DISCRIMINATION
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to remember shapes, letters, or words and recall them when needed. For handwriting, children need to remember how to form letters or numbers and later recall them to spell words or write sentences.
VISUAL MEMORY
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to recognize that an object or letter remains the same, regardless of size, orientation, or color. For example, a child should understand that the letter “J” is still a “J” whether it’s large or small, dark or light.
FORM CONSTANCY
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to remember the sequence of items, such as letters in a word. This is essential for spelling, as children need to recall the correct order of letters to form words (e.g., remembering that “dog” is spelled “d-o-g”).
SEQUENTIAL MEMORY
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to distinguish important elements (like letters or words) from the background. In handwriting, children must be able to identify letters on lined paper and differentiate them from the background lines.
FIGURE-GROUND PERCEPTION
It is one of the Key Visual Perceptual Skills that has the ability to recognize an object or letter even when it’s incomplete. For handwriting, this skill helps children recognize letters that might not be fully formed, and they mentally complete the letter shape.
VISUAL CLOSURE
It is one of the Visual Perceptual Assessments that measures visual-motor integration, visual-motor speed, and the components of visual perception such as spatial relations, figure ground, visual closure, position in space, and form constancy.
The Developmental Test of Visual Perception, Second Edition (DTVP-2)
It is one of the Visual Perceptual Assessments that measures nonmotor visual perception in children by testing visual perception without requiring a motor response.
The Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, 3rd edition (MVPT-3; Colarusso & Hammill)
It is one of the Visual Perceptual Assessments that measures nonmotor visual perception in children by testing visual perception without requiring a motor response.
The Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, 3rd edition (TVPS-3; Martin)
It is one of the Visual Perceptual Assessments that measures the ability to recognize reversed images, letters and numbers in isolation and in sequences.
The Jordan Left-Right Reversal Test, 3rd edition (Jordan-3)
What are the Visual Motor Assessments?
The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition
The Test of Visual-Motor Integration-Revised (Gardner)
It is one of the Visual Motor Assessments that measures the ability to integrate visual and motor skills. Visual perception and motor control supplemental tests are available and may be used in addition to the visual-motor integration test to further, and separately, assess perception and fine motor skills.
The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition, (Beery VMI)
It is one of the Visual Motor Assessments that measures both the reproduction of developmental sequencing of geometric shapes and visual-motor integration.
The Test of Visual-Motor Integration-Revised (Gardner)
What are the AOTA Intervention Strategies?
- Create or Promote
- Establish or Restore
- Maintain
- Modify
- Prevent
(CEMMP)
What are the different learning styles?
- Tactile, kinesthetic approaches
- Visual/verbal cues
It is the ability of Cognitive processes to help individual manage and regulate their behavior, thoughts, and emotions
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
What are some Executive Function Challenges?
- Organizational issues (spacing, letter size)
- Motor planning difficulties
What are the Components of Executive Function?
o Inhibition
o Shift
o Emotional control
o Initiation
o Working memory
o Plan/organize
o Organization of materials
o Monitoring
It is a component of the Executive Function that prevent the self of attending to extraneous stimuli
INHIBITION
It is a component of the Executive Function that is changing tasks or transitioning in the school environment.
SHIFT
It is a component of the Executive Function that maintains emotions appropriate to the current situation
EMOTIONAL CONTROL
It is a component of the Executive Function that is about starting tasks
INITIATION
It is a component of the Executive Function that is about remembering the sequence of current events
WORKING MEMORY
It is a component of the Executive Function that is about managing time, assignments and materials to complete tasks
PLAN/ORGANIZE
It is a component of the Executive Function that keeps the desk and book bag organized.
ORGANZATION OF MATERIALS
It is a component of the Executive Function that involves self-awareness of performance
MONITORING
What are the strategies under classroom accommodations that would lead to success?
- Simplify writing tasks
- Use structured tools (lined paper, spacers)
- Individualized Education Program (IEP) support
What are the Classroom Accommodations for Left-handed writers?
- Positioning adjustments (e.g., paper angle, seating)
- Writing techniques for visibility
Assisstive Technology has two solutions for writing
Low-tech Solutions and High-tech Solutions
What are the Assisstive Technology under the Low-tech Solutions?
- Slant boards, pencil grips, raised lined paper
- Styluses, digital pens
What are the Assisstive Technology under the High-tech Solutions?
- Laptops, portable word processors
- iPad apps for writing practice
What is the benefit of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
- Inclusive strategies supporting all students
- Adaptations for various classroom needs
Upon collaborating with teachers and parents, what would be the possible recommendations?
- Regular home practice using fun activities.
- Classroom adaptations like slanted desks or highlighted margins.
