5 Ways to Help Your Autistic Child Practice Handwriting

5 Ways to Help Your Autistic Child Practice Handwriting

Even with the ever-increasing use of technology in the classroom, handwriting remains a crucial skill that plays a role in school success and self-esteem. In the autism community, struggles with handwriting are not uncommon, and are often due to differences in motor skills, processing speeds, and difficulty with sustained attention.

There is more adaptive technology to help our students than ever before, and students who struggle with handwriting can communicate their thoughts in alternative ways. However, it’s also important for parents to know that with the right strategies and support, many children will improve their handwriting skills.

1. Start with Simple, Small Tasks

If your child finds handwriting challenging, and will do anything to avoid the task, you need to start by breaking down the task into smaller, more manageable steps. Begin handwriting practice with basic strokes, like straight lines, circles, and curves, before progressing to simple letters. 

Incorporate visual aids like step-by-step charts or highlighter tape to guide letter formation, which will help build motor planning. Then, over time, you will see their focus build gradually and they will be less frustrated with the task.

2. Motivate Them With Personal Interests

Keeping a child motivated is key to sustaining interest, so use the subjects they love in their handwriting practice. If your child loves dinosaurs, for example, use this theme to create activities like writing the names of their favorite ones. If they like superheroes, have them make a comic with captions. For fans of cooking, they could help write a shopping list or label ingredients for a recipe.

By integrating their passions into the learning process, you are providing a strong incentive for your child to engage with handwriting tasks, and enhancing their motivation overall.

3. Provide Sensory Support

Providing sensory support prior to or at the same time as handwriting tasks can make writing easier and less frustrating. Writing with finger paints or forming letters in a tray of rice can turn the task into a more playful activity. Engaging in resistance-based activities, like kneading dough or squeezing stress balls, can help provide sensory feedback that your child may find calming or soothing. Focusing on proprioceptive input, like doing animal walks, wall pushes, or jumping on a trampoline, before trying handwriting can help prepare their body for the task.

4. Choose the Right Tools

Choosing specific and helpful tools for your child can make handwriting more accessible and less strenuous. 

• Visual Organization Tools: Visual aids like graphic organizers, color-coded diagrams, or paper intended for handwriting practice can give the child clear and easy-to-follow structures.
• Slanted Boards: Slanted boards greatly reduce the strain on hands and arms, promoting better posture and hand positioning.
• Pencil Grips: For many autistic children, fine motor control can be a challenge. Pencil grips are designed to guide the fingers into an ergonomic position that makes it easier to hold and maneuver the pencil.
• Weighted Pens/Pencils: Weighting writing instruments provide additional sensory feedback through increased pressure, which helps improve motor control.
• Vertical Surfaces: Writing on a vertical surface like a whiteboard can change the dynamics of writing by allowing for a greater range of arm movement, and tends to be more engaging.

Adding some tools like these into your practice can help your child gain more confidence as they work to improve their skills.

5. Offer Rewards to Encourage Progress

Rewards can be a powerful motivator in encouraging their continuous effort. Set clear and achievable goals, and reward their accomplishment with meaningful incentives. For example, after completing a handwriting task, give your child a favorite snack, additional playtime or an opportunity to choose the next activity. Then, you are associating handwriting practice with positive outcomes and making them more eager to participate in the future.

If you’re looking for more tailored support and strategies for your child on the autism spectrum, we encourage you to reach out. Our experienced team uses a multidisciplinary approach to each child’s customized education plan, and is here to help your child thrive in every aspect of their learning journey. Contact us here to get started.

 

Resources:

https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/eight-handwriting-strategies-autism-children/

https://www.lwtears.com/blog/autism-handwriting