
Does your child have trouble writing? Have you been diagnosed with dysgraphia (writing difficulty)? You can take advantage of the methods presented below by handwriting experts that are quite fun, effective and very simple to apply at home.
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Feel the letters.
The disappearance of one sense experience often strengthens another. Experts recommend that your child try activities based on feeling rather than seeing – how a letter is formed.
For example, you can draw a letter on your child’s back with your fingers, or he may close his eyes and try to guess this way while you draw a letter on his palm. Then test whether it can show the same letter on your spine or on a piece of paper.
Or you can make this process more challenging by typing in a capital letter and asking your child to write it in lowercase or vice versa.
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Write large so they can see it.
Children with dysgraphia (writing difficulties) often have trouble remembering how to put letters together and form them. Therapists have a way to make this process more memorable; Children’s writing accompanied by wide motor movements and the use of multi-perceptual materials.
At home, young children can draw letters on the wall with shaving cream when it comes to bath time. Or they could flatten the cream on the wall and write the letters on it with foam. They can also form letters in a plastic bowl with moist sand inside, as well as adding sand to the finger paint will strengthen the sensory input.
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Stick into the clay.
Highly dense and elastic, clay is a versatile tool. Bugs can disappear with a pinch of clay.
Thread the clay on threads and enjoy creating letters with your child. In this way, the hand muscles strengthen and fine motor skills develop. At the same time, the shapes of the letters are well placed in your mind.
Another option: Flatten and spread a layer of clay on the cookie tray. Then call your child and ask him to carve letters on clay with a pen. In this way, sensory feedback is provided through clay that gives more information to the brain on how letter shapes are formed.
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Try grabbing and shooting objects.
For many children who have difficulties in writing, keeping the pencil properly is a struggle. With tools such as tweezers, chopsticks (connecting on one side) and ice tongs, your child can learn to “grip the pencil” while his fingers get stronger.
Try this game: Place pieces of grain, piled up paper, or small pieces of eraser on the table. Then see how many you and your child can pull and collect with the tools at hand in a minute.
Another option: Play board games and use tools to help you move and grab game pieces.
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Begin bodybuilding training.
For a child to write properly, both sides of their body must work together: One arm keeps the paper balanced, while the other takes care of the actual writing using a pencil.
Any activity that encourages coordinated movement on both sides of the body provides good reinforcement. Crafts made using scissors include: One hand holds, the other cuts.
Physical exercises that require body coordination are also helpful. Before your child begins to write, see if he jumps and touches his toes alternately and whirls.
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Provide strength and solidity.
Typing may not seem physically difficult. But sitting down and controlling pen and paper properly requires muscle strength and balance in the shoulders and center.
Activities that organize these areas can help. These include boards, push-ups, wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, shooting baskets, hanging on anchors in the playground and rope climbing. Even while lying face down on the ground, reading is empowering.
Therefore, take time to add activities like these to your child’s life. He can do these moves in any gym, playground, your own backyard or playroom.
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Tell a “regular” story.
Children with dysgraphia (writing difficulties) often have trouble organizing their thoughts. You can help your child by making structured storytelling.
Before going to bed, ask him to tell you what his day was like. Start with an introduction about yourself like “Today was Thursday and it was a busy day for me and my friends” and ask about his day. Ask him to describe what he did in the morning, afternoon and evening. Then, he can gather in his head and make sense of how the day passed in general.
You can use this approach with any experience your child wants to share with you.
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Talk about it first.
Children with dysgraphia (writing difficulties) may be full of big ideas. But verbalizing these ideas in writing can be a frustrating obstacle for them.
Encourage your child to record their own voice (on a smartphone or other device) while telling their thoughts or the story they want to tell. You can replay the recording to keep typing, which can be a very useful and confidence building tool.