Articles Conditions Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD & ADHD) Writing Skills and Autism, ADHD and Other Developmental Delays

Writing Skills and Autism, ADHD and Other Developmental Delays

Here are some helpful resources about improving writing skills for children with autism, ADHD and other developmental delays.

Given the right environment, handwriting can be fun. You may be familiar already with the Handwriting Without Tears kits, and here are four other programs designed to help children with dysgraphia who strive to write legibly.

Callirobics

From CALLIgraphy and aeROBICS, Callirobics is a series of simple exercises set to music. This self-guided, creative approach, devised by handwriting expert Liora Laufer, is for home or school use. The multisensory exercises improve:

Eye-hand coordination
Fine-motor skills
Self-esteem and work habits

Many children succeed with Callirobics because the activities are brief (one to three minutes apiece), and the task of tracing abstract shapes is easily grasped. Exercises are set to appealing music such as “Danny Boy” and “London Bridge,” as well as to original melodies. Each program comes with a workbook and audiocassette. Two levels of Callirobics are available: Pre-Writing Skills with Music (ages 4-7), and Handwriting Exercises to Music (ages 7-14).

Let’s Do It – Write!

This series of workbooks – starting with Let’s Do It Write! – is designed to teach children how to write legibly and quickly. The goal of author Gail Kushnir, an occupational therapist and special educator, is for children to enjoy acquiring the skills that are precursors to writing. In her workbooks, “much of the ‘work’ is really child’s play. . . which is how it should be.”

The Writing Readiness Workbook is suitable for all children beginning their schooling (K-2), for use at home, school, or clinic. Easy instructions are provided for the parent, teacher, or therapist. Following the antics of Benjy Bear, the fun-filled prewriting exercises improve the child’s:

Sitting posture
Sensory awareness
Cutting skills
Pencil grasp

Spatial orientation
Shape formation
Problem-solving skills

Next in the series is Copying from the Board, geared to develop children’s handwriting skills. A friendly kangaroo entices the child to develop skills for copying accurately from the board. Proceeding through illustrated exercises, children have fun while developing new skills. This program offers exercises at different levels of difficulty, practice texts for board copying, evaluation tools for educators and therapists, and sources for referral.

Getting It Write

This Getting It Write remedial program by occupational therapists LouAnne Audette and Anne Karson is for clinic or classroom use. The manual for this six-week program is dedicated to every child who has ever been told, “Don’t worry, in the future everything will be done on computers.” The program is designed for groups of four to ten children, ages 6-12. Children with everyday handwriting difficulties or with diagnoses including learning disability, fine-motor delays, hyperactivity, or attention deficit disorder can benefit. A prerequisite is having already been taught how to form alphabet letters.

An occupational therapist and at least one other trained adult are always present throughout each one-hour class. A gym or movement area is required, as the exercises concentrate on sensory-motor skills that affect a child’s handwriting ability. Based on a blend of occupational therapy sources, including sensory integration theory, cognitive theory, and various handwriting approaches, the program covers areas including:

Body awareness
Motor planning
Kinesthesia
Tactile discrimination
Coordinating both body sides

Memory
Visual perception
Ocular control
Fine-motor coordination
Hand strengthening

Manual materials include workbook pages, equipment lists, and lesson how-to’s, as well as forms for screening, parent intake, observation, legibility components, scoring, and post-tests.

Loops & Other Groups: A Kinesthetic Writing System

This widely used handwriting curriculum was designed by Mary D. Benbow, MS, OTR/L. Based on studies of neurology and developmental hand anatomy, the system offers teachers a unique approach to traditional handwriting techniques. Students (2nd grade through high school) with learning disabilities and perceptual delays can learn cursive writing along with their typically developing peers in a mainstreamed classroom.

This imaginative approach makes learning fun, as students learn to form letters in groups that share common movement patterns. Memory and motor cues help students visualize and verbalize while experiencing the “feel” of the letter. “Clock Climbers,” for instance, are the letters a, d, g, q, and c, which a child can visualize on a clock face. “Hills and Valleys” are n, m, v, y, x, and z.

An appreciative educator describes this writing system as “my instant cure for students with disabilities. . . They enjoy and excel in the area of handwriting.” The manual includes two levels of reproducible practice sheets, alphabet models, and letter group charts.

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