Priya-the-OT

Very often, I come across young mothers who are eager to start handwriting with their toddlers. "Any tips on which hand I should make him practice with? We are mostly lefties in our family, but he uses both hands equally while playing. Should I train the left anyway?" (mother of a 2.5 yr old)  "Should I guide him with hand-over-hand, or let him try out on his own?" (mother of a 3 yr old)  "Is tracing a good idea? We have quite a lot of unused practice worksheets from my nephew's previous academic year." (mother of another 2.5 yr old) "Should I let him draw more before I teach him to write letters?" (mother of a 3.5 year old) "What sort of paper do you suggest to start writing with- four lined, two lined or just blank paper?" (mother of a 3 year old) Generally, young and (especially)  new parents have overly optimistic expectations about parenthood and child development  and it is not uncommon that therapists come across enthusiastic...

Handwriting is unique to each individual , unlike typing. A person's handwriting style, and signature, stands out as permanent statements. Mastering good handwriting can help make that statement strong, beautiful, and most importantly, legible. Unfortunately, not everybody has 'good' handwriting.  What is 'good' handwriting? In order for a person's writing to be called 'good', it has to be legible . The letters have to be well shaped and evenly spaced from each other. The sizes of all the letters in a word have to be uniform and balanced.  Each word should again be evenly spaced from the next. All letters and words should have the same slant orientation (usually to the right) and uniform degree of slant . This doesn't  mean writing in a straight orientation is wrong or qualifies as bad handwriting, but just that the entire sentence or passage should be of the same orientation .   Handwriting need not be artistic to qualify for legibility, but it ha...

  V is a fifth grader, who according to his mother, has 'horrible' handwriting. V has ADHD and was my regular client at the clinic. His mother was fed up with the reports from V's school with negative remarks about his handwriting.  "No matter how much I scold him, he never writes within the lines. And nobody can read his handwriting. I am tired of going to his school to meet his teacher", mum poured out her frustration one day at the clinic. "Why do children need to write, anyway! We are in a world of computers and advanced technology. Why can't they switch to typing?! Handwriting is so outdated....who writes, anyway!" It is the memory the conversation I had with V's mum that prompted me to share with you a topic very close to my heart and a constant in my practice - Handwriting. Traditional handwriting vs digital writing Most adults today 'write' using a keyboard and computer. It is often easier to open a laptop and type or take out you...

  If you would have noticed, you would know that children love lining up their toys or placing objects in very specific ways. It may not necessarily make sense to an adult but it definitely makes complete sense to their little minds.  They find it best to have things a certain way, that if ever a parent tries to reorganize or upset their ‘pattern’, it may result in tears or screams of frustration, followed by a tantrum, even. Sometimes children position, order and arrange objects in very obsessive and rigid manners. For example, lining up things in order of size, colour or shape or even texture. Some children also like their food to be placed in a certain way on their plate and they can be very upset and react strongly & negatively if certain types of food are touching.  Lining up things can be looked at, from a child's perspective, as organizing or sorting. When they put similar items close to each other in a row, or stack them one above the other, they are actually ...