A child’s mastery of writing represents the culmination of so many crucial developmental skills: fine motor dexterity and coordination, visual processing, and visual motor coordination, to name a few. The skills underlying good writing ability are crucial to functioning in so many different areas, not merely graphomotor success; children who struggle with writing are likely to struggle in other areas as well.
Moreover, around half of the average school day revolves around writing. Graphomotor abilities become closely tied to an overall sense of academic achievement. Difficulties in graphomotor skills can therefore significantly affect a student’s self-esteem or social status.
Given the importance of successful graphomotor achievement and its impact on development and educational success, there is a tremendous need for professionals to recognize the signs of graphomotor delay, identify the underlying cause of the child’s individual struggle, and provide targeted intervention to ensure each child’s mastery of graphomotor control and the underlying contributing foundational skills.
Upcoming Graphomotor Intervention Courses
What are graphomotor skills?
Graphomotor skills, more commonly understood as the skills needed for writing, are a crucial part of both the developmental and educational process. Beginning with a baby’s first artistic attempts at scribbling, sweaty palms fully encircling a marker slowly morph into a more refined grasp; imitating basic shapes leads the way to letter formation; rudimentary sentences transform into effortless writing of paragraphs. Yet for so many children, this developmental sequence does not unfold naturally or smoothly; an estimated 10 to 30% of children struggle with graphomotor delays.
While writing may seem like a deceptively simple task, there are many underlying foundational skills required.
- Sufficient fine motor skills are required to control the pencil.
- Visual motor coordination is required for the hand to replicate what the eye sees and to remain within provided boundaries.
- Visual perceptual abilities play a crucial role as well. A child needs to be able to hold a visual representation of the letter or word in mind.
- Good motor planning is also required to execute a writing task.
A deficit in any of the aforementioned skills can result in a child having difficulty writing. The DSM-5 lists the term dysgraphia under learning disabilities, describing those with difficulty in writing performance who fail to meet grade-level expectations.
The courses are suitable for:
- Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapist Assistants
- Special Education Providers
- Regular Education Providers
Graphomotor courses
- Early rate
Dyslexia Demystified: The How and Why of Evaluation and Treatment
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Helping Horrible Handwriting: Interventions to Improve Graphomotor Skills When Formal Programs Fall Short
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The Write Way: Foundation Skills for Handwriting, Understanding Their Impact and Innovative and Engaging Ways to Improve Them (on-demand)
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FAQS
Taking online courses on graphomotor skills is a convenient way to better understand the causes of graphomotor delays. You will learn new and varied activities & treatment approaches to develop graphomotor skills, all of which can be customized to suit every child’s unique challenges and needs.
