Handwriting is a complex process of managing written language by coordinating the eyes, arms, hands, pencil grip, letter formation, and body posture. The development of a child's handwriting can provide clues to developmental problems that could hinder a child's learning because teachers depend on written work to measure how well a child is learning. Occupational therapists can evaluate the underlying components that support a student's handwriting, such as muscle strength, endurance, coordination, and motor control, and parents can encourage activities at home to support good handwriting skills.

What can an occupational therapist do?

• Demonstrate proper posture to supports the proper use of the arms, hands, head, and eyes.
• Measure the level of physical strength and endurance.
• Analyze fine motor control, such as the ability to hold a writing utensil.
• Determine visual and perceptual ability that influences a child's ability to form letter and shapes using a writing utensil.
• Help develop and evaluate handwriting curriculums and collaborate with teachers on effective strategies.
• Suggest home activities that promote the development of skills needed in good handwriting.

What can parents and families do?

• Encourage children to participate in sports and games that could improve visual, motor, and coordination skills, such as playing ball, jacks, marbles, and outdoor sports.
• Require children and teens to use silverware when eating to develop hand grip.
• Provide an activity that exercises the hands, such as cutting pie dough or pizza and using cookie cutters.
• Encourage writing handwritten letters to grandparents and friends.

If your child has difficulty with handwriting please take a look at our Handwriting Without Tears program and or our HOW TO GET STARTED page to see how we can help you.

Signs or symptoms of childhood apraxia of speech:

A Very Young Child

• Does not coo or babble as an infant
• First words are late, and they may be missing sounds
• Only a few different consonant and vowel sounds
• Problems combining sounds; may show long pauses between sounds
• Simplifies words by replacing difficult sounds with easier ones or by deleting difficult sounds (although all children do this, the child with apraxia of speech does so more often)
• May have problems eating

An Older Child

• Makes inconsistent sound errors that are not the result of immaturity
• Can understand language much better than he or she can talk
• Has difficulty imitating speech, but imitated speech is more clear than spontaneous speech
• May appear to be groping when attempting to produce sounds or to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw for purposeful movement
• Has more difficulty saying longer words or phrases clearly than shorter ones
• Appears to have more difficulty when he or she is anxious
• Is hard to understand, especially for an unfamiliar listener
• Sounds choppy, monotonous, or stresses the wrong syllable or word

Potential Other Problems

• Delayed language development
• Other expressive language problems like word order confusions and word recall
• Difficulties with fine motor movement/coordination
• Over sensitive (hypersensitive) or under sensitive (hyposensitive) in their mouths (e.g., may not like toothbrushing or crunchy foods, may not be able to identify an object in their mouth through touch)
• Children with CAS or other speech problems may have problems when learning to read, spell, and write

If your child has been diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech or has some of the signs listed above please go to our HOW TO GET STARTED page to see how we can help you.

Signs or symptoms of dysarthria:
A person with dysarthria may experience any of the following symptoms, depending on the extent and location of damage to the nervous system:

• "Slurred" speech
• Speaking softly or barely able to whisper
• Slow rate of speech
• Rapid rate of speech with a "mumbling" quality
• Limited tongue, lip, and jaw movement
• Abnormal intonation (rhythm) when speaking
• Changes in vocal quality ("nasal" speech or sounding "stuffy")
• Hoarseness
• Breathiness
• Drooling or poor control of saliva
• Chewing and swallowing difficulty

 
If your child has been diagnosed with Dysarthia or Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders or has some of the signs listed above please go to our HOW TO GET STARTED page to see how we can help you.