Exercises for writing and writing too hard?

[amo_mea_filiis.]

For ds I'll be getting callirobics, but the books are expensive and I feel it may be a waste on dd who has been writing for 4 years already.

 

My questions are relating to her (10yo/4th grade). She grasps the pencil very, very hard and writes very dark. She's even found a way to write hard with mechanical pencils.

 

Any idea what types of exercises she can do to strengthen the right muscles? Other than writing on paper over carpet, how else can I encourage her to write lighter, or stop trying to strangle the pencils? Could a pen help?

 

She's capable of writing very neatly, but falls back into messy habits by the second line (of anything) if I'm not up her tush.

 

I have horrible handwriting, and want to push her so her's isn't so bad as she gets older.

[wapiti]

I don't have any answers, but just wanted to mention that my ds7 does this as well. He has a history of SPD, and this seems to be an aspect of sensory under-responsiveness, i.e., he presses so hard because he does not have a good feel for the paper pushing back, so to speak. My guess is that the problem of pushing to hard on the paper probably does not have anything to do with the muscles but rather with some aspect of the nervous system, i.e., it's probably a sensory thing.

 

As for grip, I have no thoughts, unfortunately.

[PeterPan]

Ok, I had to take a breather here, because I was about to have an unsanctified moment. No child who is 10 needs a parent "up her tush" over handwriting. Children *want* to please and *want* to do what we ask them to, and they will when they can. What they *need* are answers as to why it's not working.

 

Thing ONE, eyes. You need to get her eyes checked. I'm about of the persuasion that every child deserves to have their eyes checked before they get labeled as dumb, non-compliant, stupid, lazy, or any of the other perjoratives frustrated parents end up using around here and in real life. http://www.covd.org What you want is a developmental optometrist. If you don't think she has eye problems, just get them to do a regular exam and *screen* for the rest. If they see more, they can keep going. If not, then it costs you nothing more than a normal eye exam. The eyes alone could explain what you're seeing, or there could be more going on. My dd's handwriting improved by about 50% (from scary to legible) with 3 months of vision therapy to work on the issues the developmental optometrist found.

 

Thing TWO, OT evaluation. Has she been evaluated? She could have muscle tone and/or sensory issues going on. An OT who does a lot of sensory can find this stuff easily. Ours started some Callirobics with us, and I got it to use at home. It has them doing foundational movements to music in order to improve motor control. My dd has some touches of dyspraxia (motor control problems), and you see it in her writing. She forms a letter and then it halts and jerks before starting the next. The Callirobics is very frustrating and hard for her, which of course means it's nailing her problem. However I think the music may be making it extra hard by taxing her working memory, I don't know. In any case, no Callirobics is not too young for a struggling 10-12 yo. That doesn't mean all kids need it. It's specifically for motor control and isn't doing anything for low tone, hand strength, or sensory problems.

 

As an alternative to Callirobics, someone at the convention this weekend suggested lots of doodling, doodling with upswings, circles, etc. to work on the same skills of the handwriting but in a way that is more attractive to a pre-teen. I'm trying it with my dd just to see if it will help her attitude.

 

Motor control (dyspraxia) vs. tone and hand strength. An OT, when they evaluate, can measure hand strength with specific little gadgets they have. We spent months and months working on hand strength, learning how to use certain fingers a certain way to isolate those muscles, etc. You just don't know what you're dealing with and what you need to fix till you get it evaluated. Low muscle tone can be genetic. Turns out I have it, so do dd and ds. Joy. Some cases have causes you can also do something about (carnitine levels, etc.). So again, you want the evaluation.

 

The OT will also look at other things you're not thinking about with respect to writing like core strength, shoulder strength, and how they "weight-shift" neurologically. For instance my dd didn't lean on her other arm in writing because her body didn't neurologically weightshift or sense and use other parts to shift the weight. As a result all her weight was leaning onto her writing hand, making it EXTRA sore. Mere attention to placement doesn't cut it. They have specific things you do to build the body's ability, neurologically, to weight shift.

 

So in the end, for certain problems with handwriting, the answer isn't more writing but specific exercises to work on shoulder or core strength, weightshifting, etc. Go figure. Can't solve the problem till you know what it is.

 

Third LDs. When you get dyslexia, visual processing problems, working memory problems, etc. etc., these kids are just thinking so hard, and the steam is coming out of their heads so hot, they just grab and crunch that pencil to create stability and hang on. If something like that is going on, identifying and working with it is part of the answer to the handwriting problem.

 

Yes the vision therapy people gave her a special grip and worked on relaxing. But really, these things were just patches. We had to work on the big issues to get improvement.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

She was in OT for about 6 months. She does have some sensory issues, but nothing too severe. I've spent many hours learning and observing in the Ot world, so I do consider other things. DD's tone, strength, and range of motion are all perfectly normal. We did HWT for a few years, but her handwriting seems stuck.

 

She's seen an optometist (with SN kids) every year since she was 4. All testing that has to do with visual skills, patterns, copying, etc., are all slightly above average.

 

She can draw very well, and always has been able to. She plays the Violin which requires a decent amount of hand strength.

 

I didn't think callirobics was too young, in a babyish way for her, just that they're expensive and I think my ds would greatly benefit (can't afford to do both right now). I can always copy the activity onto plain paper for her to start.

 

I'm not up her tush in a bad way, nor would I ever label her (to her) as lazy, etc. When she writes on her own, she gets about 2-3 lines written and needs to stretch her fingers and wrist because she's strangling the pencil. I've tried every grip out there, and she still holds it wrong, which uses the wrong musles, which causes unneeded pain and sloppy writing. If I sit with her and fix her grip and pressure as soon as it happens, she can write much longer and neater.

 

She learned D'Nealian in Kindy-2 and it doesn't matter what we try, her sloppy D'Nealian shows through.

 

I'm aware of core/back/shoulder muscles playing a part. That's my ds's biggest problem; he has to do a few minutes of "tummy time" with toys daily, as well as being (comfortably) "tied" to a chair while writing to force him to use the weak muscles. He has low end of normal tone, as well as weak upper body strength.

 

ETA- DD loves to doodle. Has too many plain notebooks for doodling as well as 2 topic starter doodling books.

[DogwoodMama]

Just wanted to say helpful thread... we are dealing with writing challenges here but don't have a diagnosis other than it might tie in with her nonverbal disability (every issue she has seems to at this point!). Writing just exhausts her, and we've seen no development/improvement in about 2 years in her writing.

 

I don't even know where to start but reading this thread, thinking OT?

 

Also, I recently read about Waldorf form drawing, and it almost sounds other approaches, and it might work with my dd's personality too. Anyone familiar with that?

[PeterPan]

For us the low tone and sensory issues are connected. I don't know if you can have them separately. (I assume you can have sensory due to retained primitive reflexes and not have tone issues?) Given that tone can be genetic and that you have a ds with tone issues, I'd go back and ponder them. I'm wondering if you'd get different diagnoses with a different OT. I'm not meaning to be argumentative, just tossing out what seems strange to me. The writing issues you're describing are due to physical problems, so you have to look for physical answers. She's clearly trying to get control. She's either compensating for tone or mental strain or SOMETHING. When it happens after a couple lines, that's the fatigue thing. They're trying to hold it all together, and they just wear out.

 

On the eyes, was she checked by a developmental optometrist or a regular? Again, a developmental optometrist checks things a regular misses. http://www.covd.org

 

The reason I'm saying all this is because, for us, Callirobics was no miracle cure. Might be one component or a nice touch, but it's not going to change what's really going on, sorry. I'd retrace your steps and see what got missed.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

You can have sensory separate from tone issues. DD is severely sensory seeking in everything she does. She still puts things in her mouth, touches peoples hair and clothes, likes to be squished, etc. DS has slightly low tone throughout and is a mix of sensory seeking and avoiding.

 

She was not seen by a developmental optometrist, but since he has special needs kids of his own, I was confidant in his exam of both of my kids. Where we live now I doubt I'd even be able to find a developmental optometrist.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

According to the COVD website, both of my kids have had a comprehensive vision exam. Also on COVD, there are no providers closer than 3 hours.

 

DD is reading well above grade level, and for hours at a time, can write in a space given (just sloppy), can copy homework off the board, posture is fine, etc.

[merry gardens]

She was in OT for about 6 months. She does have some sensory issues, but nothing too severe. I've spent many hours learning and observing in the Ot world, so I do consider other things. DD's tone, strength, and range of motion are all perfectly normal. We did HWT for a few years, but her handwriting seems stuck.

 

She's seen an optometist (with SN kids) every year since she was 4. All testing that has to do with visual skills, patterns, copying, etc., are all slightly above average.

 

She can draw very well, and always has been able to. She plays the Violin which requires a decent amount of hand strength.

 

I didn't think callirobics was too young, in a babyish way for her, just that they're expensive and I think my ds would greatly benefit (can't afford to do both right now). I can always copy the activity onto plain paper for her to start.

 

I'm not up her tush in a bad way, nor would I ever label her (to her) as lazy, etc. When she writes on her own, she gets about 2-3 lines written and needs to stretch her fingers and wrist because she's strangling the pencil. I've tried every grip out there, and she still holds it wrong, which uses the wrong musles, which causes unneeded pain and sloppy writing. If I sit with her and fix her grip and pressure as soon as it happens, she can write much longer and neater.

 

She learned D'Nealian in Kindy-2 and it doesn't matter what we try, her sloppy D'Nealian shows through.

 

I'm aware of core/back/shoulder muscles playing a part. That's my ds's biggest problem; he has to do a few minutes of "tummy time" with toys daily, as well as being (comfortably) "tied" to a chair while writing to force him to use the weak muscles. He has low end of normal tone, as well as weak upper body strength.

 

ETA- DD loves to doodle. Has too many plain notebooks for doodling as well as 2 topic starter doodling books.

You can buy the Calirobics replacement books for $10.95--which is a lot less than buying the whole program again. https://secure.nexet.net/callirobics/ecommerce/ We started Callirobics at the begining of the school year, and now we're repeating the exercises on other papers instead of more books.

 

My son had very heavy writing, but no tone obvious tone issues. I have done several things with him to work on this. We tried several different writing instruments and grips. (Small fountain pens like these are my favorite now. http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/product/view/products_id/421) A weighted glove also helped. http://www.therapro.com/Weighted-Glove-for-Handwriting-P73176C4388.aspx

 

This is going off my memory of what I learned from my own reading on this topic, (but I can't remember the specific sources or specific terms used.) From what I remember, heavy writing can indicate the person needs a great deal feedback about where his hand is in space. Various other tasks that develop small muscles and provide that feedback can be helpful. , and even working with heavy items (like even bowling--which I learned about that the same week that my son had a pre-arranged bowling outing with his scout troop. :))

 

Maybe if my son had gotten an OT evaluation and outside therapy, I wouldn't have had to work on this for as long as I have been working on it with him, BUT things are improving. He writes legibly. His handwriting pressure is dramatically improved from where it was a few years ago--when he ripped through the paper when writing and the pages five layers down had impressions. Since you have already been working with a therapist, then I suggest you ask the therapist for her help on the handwriting and heavy pressure issues. OT's usually have access to various grips and writing instruments and other materials like those weighted gloves, so you might quickly find what is helpful to your daughter.

Edited April 6, 2011 by merry gardens

[K8LYN]

As a special ed teacher who's worked in a many different settings (mostly due to moving and having little ones along the way)... it doesn not sound like your daughter needs exercises for her hands, and if I am correct, she can write so she technically does not need another writing program.

 

It sounds like your daughter may find writing stressful. This may be due to her lack of interest, or it might be difficult to decode and then write- espcially if she is able to leisurely doodle and draw without as many issues.

 

Here is a link for some additional grips you have not already tried them:

http://thepencilgrip.com/

these might make writing more comfortable.

 

I also suggest triangle shaped pencils with soft lead since they are more ergonomic. I struggle with my penmanship until I was in my late teens- the nuns at the Catholic school were relentless and guess what, it wasn't until I decided I wanted better penmanship that made it happen.

 

Also trying a very smooth ballpoint pen, or even a fine tip marker for now. I know as an adult I tend to use the cheap pens and I find I cannot print for very long, but I use a nice fine time ink pen and I love it. It glides better and I want my handwriting to look 'conformed' and neat.

 

If you can 'read' what she is writing, I would ignore the lack of neat handwriting (within reason of course) for awhile and see if the less stress and easier writing tools fix the problem on it's own.

 

If you still want to encourage some 'handwriting' exercises I suggest Mona Brooks, Teaching Children to Draw. It starts with basic strokes: circles, dots, types of lines, etc. This might be a fun way for your daughter to experiment with different strokes and learn to control her fine motor skills without the pressure of making it look perfect. It is also not penmanship, but a nice way to use writing tools in a productive and therapeutic way.

 

Remember there are plenty of professionals with horrible handwriting. :) doctors? legal professionals? my brother is an engineer and he penmanship is that of a third grader, my sil is an accountant and her penmanship is also juvenille. These professionals can write, and people can read it, but most of the career they use a computer.

[Dobela]

OP, you also said you have terrible handwriting. Do you know why? Or think you know why? My handwriting is almost identical to my mom's and my mom's handwriting is almost identical to my grandma's. My dad and his sister have very similar handwriting, which is very much like their mom's. My brother, well, he is a lefty and we aren't so he gets his own grouping LOL. There can be a genetic links, IMO, in handwriting that have nothing to do with anything else. Your dd may have what you consider to be bad handwriting becuse Your dd is writing too hard, IYO, and tht can be stress, or it can be a sensory issue, or it could be nothing at all. Some people just have a heavier hand in writing. The most import thing is not how lovely the handwriting it but rather how legible it is. And honestly, in this time period, legibility is even becoming less important as we depend more on typing, computers, and so forth. I have tried many times to make my handwriting different than my mom's. Now, I do make some letters somewhat differently, but really, it still looks like hers. The case may be the same for your dd - as much as she works, her handwriting may always be more like yours than the ideal.

[K8LYN]

:iagree:

I have to admit that my handwriting is similar to my moms when I am moody (which my mom is very much) and when I am studious and focused it is more like my dads (which is all the time). However, there are weird things I do when I sign my name that looks exactly like my gradnmother's when she wrote my name in birthday cards.

 

I was asking another teacher friend (and homeschooling mom:)) today and she said she usedd to breakk her pencil when she felt pressure for it to be 'perfect' or 'just right'. As long as you can read it, and a stranger can read it, it is probably ok for now.