Learning How to Write Makes A Difference For Children

Children acquire many new skills as they grow. Learning how to write is one of the most challenging of these fresh talents that children face other than teaching them how to read and recognize words. There are strategies used by parents and professionals that can help learning how to write a pleasant educational experience for everyone involved.

Handwriting Without Tears is a great program that can be used at home or in the classroom. This program makes learning how to write a fun process through its innovative approach to the task. Many parents look to programs like Handwriting Without Tears to help their children progress with this challenging skill.

Many children who have pervasive developmental disorders like autism have great difficultly with learning how to write. The process is painfully hard for many of these children who face multiple obstacles in acquiring this skill. In fact, many therapist and autism professional suggest that some children who have pervasive developmental disorders are better off learning how to write on the keyboard rather than by hand.

As an autism therapist, I had the opportunity to work with many children who resisted learning how to write. The task was one of dread for both the client and for me as well. Fortunately, a behavior specialist introduced us to Handwriting Without Tears and the process took a turn for the better.

The first activity we tried in the program involved a small chalkboard with a wooden frame. I would trace a line right next to the frame with a wet sponge. The child loved to trace the wet line with her chalk. As she became more comfortable with using the chalk I moved on to more complex shapes and letters. This was a great strategy for learning how to write for this client.

Not all children are the same. This approach wasn’t well received by some of my clients so we tried a number of different strategies to make learning how to write more enjoyable. One of my favorite ideas introduced to me by an elementary school teacher was to use texture and color to make the letters touchable and enjoyable to look at.

Most of my clients loved learning how to write through the texture method. They got to draw letters in sand and mud. They used glitter and glue to make interesting textures on paper and cardboard. Some children even used pipe cleaners to form letters. Gradually, we had the children trace the letters with their fingers then we moved on to using finger paint, crayons and pencils.

Learning how to write can be challenging but with a little thought and imagination it can be great fun for everyone involved.

Source: http://www.writers-publish.com/learning-how-to-write.html