Prewriting and Handwriting Skills Lecture 6 PDF

 objectives Handwriting intervention: Strategies for Handwriting Problems. Models of practice ❖Sensorimotor approach ❖Biomechanical approach  Strategies for Handwriting Problems : Spacing between letters Use finger spacing with index finger. Use fingerprint s...

 objectives Handwriting intervention: Strategies for Handwriting Problems. Models of practice ❖Sensorimotor approach ❖Biomechanical approach  Strategies for Handwriting Problems : Spacing between letters Use finger spacing with index finger. Use fingerprint spacing by pressing on an inkpad before finger spacing Spacing between words Make spaces with a rubber stamp. Use a dot or a dash between words. Spacing on paper Use grid paper. Write on every other line of the paper. Draw colored lines to mark (e.g., green is left, red is right) Placing text on lines Use pictorial schemes on writing guidelines. Provide raised writing lines as tactile cues for letter placement. Remind students that unevenly placed letters are “popcorn letters.” Sizing letters and words Use individualized boxes for each letter. Near-point copying Highlight the text on the worksheet to be copied. Teach the student to copy two or three letters at a time. Far-point copying Start with copying from nearby vertical models. Enlarge print for better viewing. Position the student to face the chalkboard. Dictation Attach an alphabet strip to a desktop for the student who cannot remember letterforms. Dictated spelling words can contain several but not all letters. Composition Be certain that students can form letters from memory. Provide magnetic words to write short poems or stories Speed Allow students to begin projects early to finish with peers. Photocopy math problems from textbook to reduce copying. Preselect volume of work to be done that may be different from that of peers. color-coded, laminated sheet ❖assisting students with text placement and size ❖verbal cues from the service provider ❖visual cues to the child the color brown represents the “soil” or “ground”; the space above the solid baseline and dashed black middle guideline are green for the “grass”; and the space above the dashed guideline to the top solid writing line is blue for the “sky.”  (3) Sensorimotor approach multisensory input to enhance the integration of sensory systems at the subcortical level. All sensory systems, including the proprioceptive, tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory. Writing tools provides additional proprioceptive input to children, because more pressure for writing is required than with the traditional tools of paper and pencil. crayons Paintbrushes Mechanical pencils Vibratory pens chalk vertical surfaces for writing include the chalkboard, poster board and laminated paper attached to the wall. These surfaces facilitate a more mature grasp of the writing tool because 1- a child’s wrist extension may result in more arching of the hand and an open web space between the thumb and fingers. 2- Standing in front of a chalkboard with the body in full extension and parallel to the writing surface may ❖promote more internal stability of the trunk, ❖ increase neurologic arousal, ❖provide more proprioceptive input throughout the arm and shoulder ❖allow the hand to move independently or dissociate from the arm. Writing on plastic freezer bags partially filled with colored hair styling gel or trays filled with sand or clay, provides unusual and reinforcing sensation.  Biomechanical approach: This model emphasizes modifications to the student’s context to improve handwriting and written production. Biomechanical approach: Ergonomic factors that influence handwriting quality and speed are: Sitting posture. Writing instruments. Paper position. Pencil grasp. Types of paper. 1. Sitting Posture: feet planted firmly on the floor, providing support for weight shifting and postural adjustments. The table surface should be 2 inches above the flexed elbows symmetry and stability. may recommend adjusting heights of desks and chairs, providing footrests for children, adding seat cushions and inserts, or repositioning a child’s desk to face the chalkboard in the classroom. 2. Paper Position: Paper should be slanted on the desktop so that it is parallel to the forearm of the writing hand enables the student to see his or her written work and to avoid smearing his or her writing. the non-preferred hand should hold the writing paper. Right-handed students may slant the top of their paper approximately 25 to 30 to the left with the paper just right of the body’s midline. left-handed tripod grasp students a slant of 30 to 35 to the right and paper placement to the left of midline are needed.  3. Pencil Grip: modifying a student’s pencil grasp when the child : Experiences muscular tension and fatigue (writer’s cramp), Demonstrates poor letter formation or writing speed., Demonstrates a tightly closed web space that limits controlled precision finger and thumb movements. , Holds the pencil with too much pressure or exerts too much pencil point pressure on the paper.  should encourage a mature grasp in young writers and recognize that modifying a grasp pattern may be more successful with younger children. Once grip positions have been established, they are very difficult to change. by the beginning of second grade, changing a child’s grasp pattern may be stressful and not recommended  prosthetic devices Facilitate tripod grasps by Stetro grips, triangular pencils and moldable grips. Writing muscle tension and fatigue may be reduced for some children by using a wider-barreled pencil. To gain more mobility of the radial digits, children may hold a small eraser against the palm with the ulnar digits, allowing for more dynamic movement of the pencil Older children with hand hypotonicity may achieve a viable pencil grasp by holding the pencil shaft between the web space of the index and middle fingers with thumb opposition. To encourage the delicate stability–mobility balance of a functional pencil grasp includes the use of external supports such as macrofoam surgical tape, ring splints A rubber band sling that encourages the student to use a slanted and relaxed pencil position for writing 4. Writing Tools: Traditionally, kindergarten and primary grade classroom teachers have promoted the use of a wide primary pencil for beginning writers. individual child determine which writing utensil is most efficient and comfortable. 5. Paper: lined paper improves the legibility of handwriting when compared with the use of unlined paper. Children typically start out with wide-spaced (1-inch) guidelines. As handwriting proficiency improves, usually in grade 3 or 4, the child begins using paper with narrow-spaced (3/8-inch) lines. Wider lines facilitated production of manuscript for kindergarten through second-grade students and cursive production for second and third grade students, not manuscript writing.