Lets Learn Some Amazing ways to treat poor handwriting in children with Autism;
When we write something by hand, our brain captivates differently as compared with typing. Even several studies have found that writing develops memory; students remember learning better when working with innovative approaches through handwriting rather than typing.
The central nervous system is the main controller of both gross and fine skills. Speaking of which;
Fine motor skills involve little movements, such as writing and drawing; on the other hand, gross motor skills encompass larger movements such as throwing a ball or walking something.
Why has autism been the subject of study for years ?
Autism is a neurological disease, and differences in the functioning of the brain are not easy to decipher. Thus, professionals basically note the behavioral patterns exhibited by the development of motor skills.
Typically, when children have problems with motor skills, writing can be the only results. On the other hand, issues with gross motor skills may cause issues with motor control, balance and body awareness.
The child may feel difficulties playing sports or riding a bike, even carrying the stuff. Often the child feels difficult to coordinate with anything that involves the use of small hand muscles.
Why addressing the challenges with motor skills development is important ?
Once a professional observes that a child is feeling difficulties with certain motor skills, they develop the treatment plan.
Well, not every child with autism is challenged by the same degree of motor skill development. Some of them have difficulty with either gross or motor or with both.
Reasons for poor handwriting –
Poor motor and visual integration –
The leading cause of poor handwriting is poor visual-motor integration. This system is accountable for the communication between the visual and motor system of the body. Thus, proper communication leads to better handwriting; also, it enables the child to draw or copy numbers. In both visual skills and motor skills integration is the key because with the poor combination of input from these two systems will end in struggles with handwriting.
Problems with Orthographic coding
If the child has problems using orthographic knowledge to read and spell words. Orthographic coding is a skill that a child requires to remember the word or letter and how to go about creating it.
If the child faces problems while writing and is not able to figure out where the next part should lead to or frames every letter uniquely every time, they write it. All these signs indicate issues with orthographic coding; children with such issues fail to pen down a single word and take extra time to complete the task as compared to their peer group. Issues with orthographic coding may influence reading as well.
Poor perceptual reasoning –
It has also been concluded that unlike in younger children with autism, motor skill difficulties were not the chief factor influencing their handwriting capacity.
Rather, the study revealed that perceptual reasoning skills were the principal medium of handwriting skills in adolescents.
Perceptual reasoning is the ability of a person to organize and reason to resolve difficulties when given visual, or in the form of nonverbal material. In adolescents with autism, poor handwriting can be determined with reasoning skills.
But the good news is! Handwriting issues can be treated;
There are multiple ways for children to improve handwriting skills; here are a few tips that can help parents in improving and promoting the writing issues of their child.
1) Tuning the fine motor skills –
Multiple fine motor skills are involved in the act of handwriting. And children with autism usually lack fine motor skill development that is crucial to write without difficulty. Concentrating on developing those skills can help promote a child’s writing performance.
2) Consider hand exercises –
Hand exercises with fun toys help the children to build hand strength. Modelling clay is one of the best options; it enables the child to practice manipulation, meanwhile building the hand strength. When they roll the pieces, or pull off bits or do the clay twist, it encourages the hand movements. Coming to think of everything modeling clay helps before doing the fine motor activities, warming up of the hands is suggested, which is a nice way to promote performance and self-confidence.
Parents can start with thumb wrestling, which is a funny way to excite the child. Thumb Wrestling can correct fingers squeezing, thumbs stretching and prepare the hands for better writing performance.
3) Sensory Scribbles
As we already talked about the lack of sensory feedback and stimulation, it often leads to poor handwriting skills. The child usually struggles to figure out the pressure that is required to grip a pencil. More often, they need special pressure-related instructions to complete the task to maintain and strengthen the grasp.
Use of handwriting aids such as pencil grips and holders enable the children to learn the right amount of pinch and push required to write. And if when combined with the visual aids, it gives a push to children to develop the muscle memory they’ll require one day to give away the aids.
When parents get their child to indulge in the activities such as modelling clay of wet sand, it gives the child tactile stimulation which is an effective way to build muscle memory. Speaking of which tools such as magnatabs can come handy as they trace letters and numbers to let the child know if they are on the right track.
4) Don’t be so hard on your child and yourself
Augmenting lessons and progress is important to continued growth, but too much pressure can cause resentment and frustration. So, parents need to find the suitable right time to reinforce without being oppressive.
Whenever you think that your child is in a good mood, take the help of tablets or iPad so that child can work on their handwriting. Whether you are in a car, or in a shopping mall, try to engage your child with available handwriting lessons.
5) Put your child’s comfort first
Sadly, there is no one magical key to opening better handwriting skills. Or when it comes to parents of children with ASD parents, they must go with their child’s flow to find the most reliable ways of tackling handwriting challenges.
Finding a suitable routine is equally important that the child is ready to switch things up. Keeping tasks small and specific can further assist in reducing the stress level of a child and enhance their focusing level.
Let the kids choose their own style, with which they are comfortable because success in their favorite writing style could help them to build more confidence.
Special treatment therapies recommended by experts of Amritha Ayurvedam
We decipher the root cause –
As we’ve mentioned earlier, poor handwriting issues are prevalent in children with autism due to poor brain development. Apart from these therapies we also provide herbal treatments targeting brain development Such as;
Shasti shali pinda swedana
It is a type of massage that provokes sweat and gives strength to the muscles while strengthening and re-energizing the child’s body. Strengthening of the muscles enables the body tissues to get more nutrition and corrects the morbidity connected with Vata and Pitta doshas. The whole treatment is meant to relax the mind and repair the tissue damage.
Amritha Swarna Bindu prashana
Amrita Swarna Bindu prashana not only boosts immunity, but also intensifies intelligence, IQ, digestive power and adds to holistic development of a child.
So both herbal treatments are best in the brain development, at Amritha Ayurvedam we prepare specific doses according to the age and weight of the child to get maximum benefits.
Let’ us be your partner in their journey –
We Understand that handwriting is an important skill, and every parent wants their child to have proper command on it. But don’t be so hard on your child, celebrate the small victories. Take handwriting is just a form of communication and help your child to develop a clear way of communication.
At Amritha Ayurvedam every child is treated with the utmost care, so if you feel nothing is working with your child, don’t worry talk with our experts. Feel free to give us a call on 9989759719; we’d be delighted to have you.
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