Re: OT: Handwriting(printing)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/10/02 10:09:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

hickeyadk@... writes:

> The teacher feels yes hand over hand to teach

> correct technique...I wonder what is best? Thanks H.

>

--

My son could never tolerate hand over hand because (1) he is so tactilely

defensive

and (2) usually the teacher/aide was behind him or out of his peripheral

vision and

he can't stand to have someone in a position where he can't predict their

movements.

Have you heard of " Handwriting Without Tears " ? Their website is

www.hwtears.com.

Celia

[Guest guest]

,

If you have not done so you might want to check out www.hwtears.com. This

might be something you will want to try.

Ann

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/10/02 10:33:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

hickeyadk@... writes:

> Well, my son can make the shapes with the wood but

> how does this help with his strength in his hands or making the

> letters smaller? I haven't looked at the book in a while

--

I was really thinking of the writing activities that you do with the small

slate.

It is easy and immediately rewarding. If your son has trouble grasping the

chalk, you could start with the small sponge. As he gains confidence, he'll

want to do more and that alone should help his hands and fingers to get

stronger. With more strength in his fingers, maybe then he will be able to

make the letters smaller. Do you think the problem with lack of strength is

developmental, or just because he doesn't use his hands very much to do

things? My son really resisted eye-hand activities and wouldn't do them and

his hands and fingers were very weak. Vision therapy and enzymes have really

helped though.

Good luck!

Celia

[Guest guest]

> Our 6 yo son just started 1st grade. He has a good teacher and aide

> and seems to enjoy going but HATES printing. He is weak and limply

> holds the pencil. He can make the letters but they are big and

> crooked. I want to hear others say this will get better as he ages

> and to know should we do hand over hand until he gets the correct

> size and position? The teacher feels yes hand over hand to teach

> correct technique...I wonder what is best? Thanks H.

My oldest son hated handwriting. I am not using enzymes with him, but

I am chelating him. He is in third grade now and he is beginning to

" tolerate " it LOL. His writing is more legible and the letter spacing

is better and the letters are smaller now.

I used tracing with him, not hand over hand. I made the letters with

dots, then he connected the dots. This worked for him *somewhat*. I

believe the chelation is really helping him in this area.

Dana

[Guest guest]

---

Celia, I feel real dumb with this handwriting without tears. It was

given to me last year by OT and my dad made all the pieces of letters

in his workshop. Well, my son can make the shapes with the wood but

how does this help with his strength in his hands or making the

letters smaller? I haven't looked at the book in a while...maybe I

need to go back and follow through what to do after able to make the

shapes with wood. I have a tendency to quit prematurely and look for

the next treatment. Thanks H.

C In @y..., AICFan@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 9/10/02 10:09:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

> hickeyadk@y... writes:

>

>

> > The teacher feels yes hand over hand to teach

> > correct technique...I wonder what is best? Thanks H.

> >

>

> --

>

> My son could never tolerate hand over hand because (1) he is so

tactilely

> defensive

> and (2) usually the teacher/aide was behind him or out of his

peripheral

> vision and

> he can't stand to have someone in a position where he can't predict

their

> movements.

>

> Have you heard of " Handwriting Without Tears " ? Their website is

> www.hwtears.com.

>

> Celia

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

--

Ann, Thanks, just ordered the next step to HWT program. Never new

about all the additional products. We have lots of work to do now.

KAren- In @y..., bpwatts@a... wrote:

> ,

>

> If you have not done so you might want to check out

www.hwtears.com. This

> might be something you will want to try.

>

> Ann

[Guest guest]

,

if you are not already using EFA's you might consider checking out

Eye-Q at equazen.com. Some people have had good results in

handwriting and focus by using EFA's.

Suzanne

> Our 6 yo son just started 1st grade. He has a good teacher and

aide

> and seems to enjoy going but HATES printing. He is weak and limply

> holds the pencil. He can make the letters but they are big and

> crooked. I want to hear others say this will get better as he ages

> and to know should we do hand over hand until he gets the correct

> size and position? The teacher feels yes hand over hand to teach

> correct technique...I wonder what is best? Thanks H.

[Guest guest]

My daughter has that limp hand thing going on,too. Funny thing though

she can rip things to shreds when she wants to :-) I don't just mean

paper either!! She has a hard time with buttons, snaps, car door

handles,etc along with writing. She does squeezing exercises(she has

this fish head that when you squeeze it a tongue pops out-things like

that) I am not sure how much it helps. She loves music so she has a

radio/tape player and we get heavy ones so she is getting a little

work out when she lugs it around. I don't know that any of it has

helped her penmanship though! I was probably no help here lol. I

don't know if it makes any difference but her fingers are like triple

jointed,too.

> In a message dated 9/10/02 10:33:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

> hickeyadk@y... writes:

>

>

> > Well, my son can make the shapes with the wood but

> > how does this help with his strength in his hands or making the

> > letters smaller? I haven't looked at the book in a while

>

> --

>

> I was really thinking of the writing activities that you do with

the small

> slate.

> It is easy and immediately rewarding. If your son has trouble

grasping the

> chalk, you could start with the small sponge. As he gains

confidence, he'll

> want to do more and that alone should help his hands and fingers to

get

> stronger. With more strength in his fingers, maybe then he will be

able to

> make the letters smaller. Do you think the problem with lack of

strength is

> developmental, or just because he doesn't use his hands very much

to do

> things? My son really resisted eye-hand activities and wouldn't do

them and

> his hands and fingers were very weak. Vision therapy and enzymes

have really

> helped though.

>

> Good luck!

>

> Celia

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Our 6 yo son just started 1st grade. He has a good teacher and aide

> and seems to enjoy going but HATES printing. He is weak and limply

> holds the pencil. He can make the letters but they are big and

> crooked. I want to hear others say this will get better as he ages

> and to know should we do hand over hand until he gets the correct

> size and position? The teacher feels yes hand over hand to teach

> correct technique...I wonder what is best? Thanks H.

For some it is fine motor deficit rather than fine motor delay and

after years of torture the testing confirms that fine motor deficits

remain. See Sam,a boy with Aspergers on our web site.

http:saras-autism-diet.freeservers.com/ Thus continual focus on

printing small legible letters as opposed to recognizing the letters

(a key to reading) and possibly intoducing adaptive technology can

result in problems later with refusal, avoidance and so on. Not all

children with autism have fine motor deficits but many do. Just

because they cannot always speak verbally also does not mean they

cannot learn to read. I have taught many autists to read who could not

write or speak. It requires adaptive teaching materials and also

adaptive testing tools. I can possibly convert my programs (lesson

plans) to PDF for upload and download. I have worked as a teacher in

schools exclusive for autism spectrum children.

[Guest guest]

-Celia, Thanks for your input. I ordered the slate ,printing book,

teacher manual and extra lined paper. I think my son will like the

slate activity and even the letter descriptions of how to make them.

His memory is phenomenal so he will memorize how to print them I bet,

the problem will be for me to remember the technique. Our OT never

told me there was more than the wood letters and the manual that went

with it...can't really blame her though, I am sure the manual gave

the website and more product lists. H.

-- In @y..., AICFan@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 9/10/02 10:33:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

> hickeyadk@y... writes:

>

>

> > Well, my son can make the shapes with the wood but

> > how does this help with his strength in his hands or making the

> > letters smaller? I haven't looked at the book in a while

>

> --

>

> I was really thinking of the writing activities that you do with

the small

> slate.

> It is easy and immediately rewarding. If your son has trouble

grasping the

> chalk, you could start with the small sponge. As he gains

confidence, he'll

> want to do more and that alone should help his hands and fingers to

get

> stronger. With more strength in his fingers, maybe then he will be

able to

> make the letters smaller. Do you think the problem with lack of

strength is

> developmental, or just because he doesn't use his hands very much

to do

> things? My son really resisted eye-hand activities and wouldn't do

them and

> his hands and fingers were very weak. Vision therapy and enzymes

have really

> helped though.

>

> Good luck!

>

> Celia

>

>

>