3 Quick Tips for Laying the Foundation for Handwriting
Many people think occupational therapy and handwriting are synonymous. I typically work with younger children so I like to think about what we can do now to support handwriting when they are in school. Here are some quick tips for supporting handwriting development. Using these strategies can be helpful in addressing handwriting difficulties with school aged children as well.
Tummy Time
Crawling
Small hands, small tools
Playing on the tummy and crawling support developing strength and mobility through the neck, shoulders, hands and core muscles. Tummy time also supports developing coordination of eye movements needed for tracking and looking around the environment. When considering hand writing this is eventually necessary in being able to look up at the board and copy things on paper. This also supports coordinating eyes to move across the paper. Tummy time and crawling can continue as part of play long past infancy. Lying on the tummy during coloring, play with cars or trains or over a ball while a parent rocks it back and forth and side to side are great ways to work in tummy time with children. Crawling through a tunnel or playing games where you pretend to be a puppy or kitty can be fun ways to encourage play on all fours. Even though fat crayons and markers are often marketed for younger children, they can encourage immature grasping patterns. Breaking regular crayons in half or using golf pencils can help encourage children to build strength in their hands and more efficient grasping patterns overall.
If your child is having trouble with handwriting, working with one of our occupational therapists can help! Contact us for a consultation.
