Week 6 - Managing Handwriting Challenges Flashcards
Handwriting quality =
Legibility
- 6-7 years, develops quickly and plateaus by 7-8
Handwriting quantity =
Speed
- Develops linearly throughout primary school
8-9 years, becomes automatic
3 Factors that influence skilled handwriting
- Environment,
- Task
- Individual
Task demands of handwriting
- Nature of task
- copied vs academic
- creative vs academic
- Speed and accuracy
Environmental demands of handwriting
- Writing materials (paper/pens/pencils)
- Furniture (seating position)
- Ambient features (lighting, noise, blackboard distance)
- Expectations
_exposure to instructions
Consequences of poor handwriting
- Poorer marks
- Avoidance of writing tasks
- Slower time
- Decreased fluency and quality
Decision making for intervention
- Where is performance breaking down
- Context for performance and intervention
- Implementation of strategy (at home/school)
- Goals
Disability impact on handwriting
- ASD: poorer legibility of letter formation and errors, but not sizing, spacing and alignment
- ADHD: manual dexterity difficulties
What is the relevance of pencil grip to outcomes in handwriting?
Pencil grip effects:
• Muscular tension or fatigue
• Poor letter formation or writing speed
• Tightly closed web space that limits controlled precision finger and thumb movement
• Too much pressure in grip or onto paper
• Supports for modifying prehension pattern - triangular pencils, pencil grips
If a child was referred with handwriting difficulties, what would be key elements you would need to include in your assessment?
- Pencil Grip
- In-hand manipulation
- Isolation, grading and timing of movement
- Bilateral Integration
- Motor Planning
When selecting an intervention for handwriting difficulties what would you know to be effective or ineffective in addressing these difficulties?
Effective
• Actively involve students
• Engage students in goal setting and reflection about performance
• Multiple sensory systems for cueing and feedback
• Give visual and verbal cues
• Require memory retrieval during practice
• include adequate handwriting practice
Ineffective
• use single learning method that uses single sensory system
• Involve only copying or only visual or verbal cueing
If you were evaluating the suitability of a program to improve handwriting for a child with difficulty with letter formation, what key elements you would be looking for as needing to be included in that program?
- Copying model letters
- Verbal prompting of letter formation ( instructor and self-prompting)
- Copying from memory
- Self correction – encourage use of strategies
- Frequency of practise (at least twice per week for 20 sessions)
What is the preferred Paper Position for handwriting?
- Slanted on desktop
- Parallel to forearm of writing hand when child’s forearms resting on desk with hands clasped
- Enables visualisation of written work and prevents smearing of writing
- R handed – 25-30º to left with paper to right of body midline
- L handed – 30-35º to right with paper to left of midline
How do we Evaluate Handwriting Performance?
- Background – from parent and teacher
- Assessment of occupational performance, ie., handwriting skill
- Behavioural Observations
- Endurance, attention, motivation
- Effect of task length on performance
- Motivation to complete tasks, encouragement required
- Classroom Observations (if possible) and/or review of work samples
Formal Assessment or observation or key domains of handwriting performance in context
• Legibility
• Letter formation, alignment, spacing, size, slant
• Components and overall readability
• ETCH- Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting
• Speed: Handwriting Speed Test – (HST)
• Ergonomic Factors: Pencil grip / Writing implement / posture
