How to Help a Child With Cerebral Palsy With Handwriting

Help a Child With Cerebral Palsy to Write

Handwriting will be one of the areas in which a child with cerebral palsy will need help and guidance. The amount of support that is required for physically handicapped children will depend on many factors, including their mental capacity, whether or not they are in a wheelchair, and to what extent muscle coordination has been lost. When helping a child with cerebral palsy learn how to write, there are classroom aids available as well as techniques that should be incorporated in the lesson.

Things You'll Need

• Fine motor skills toys
• Finger paints
• Adaptive handwriting materials
• Angled writing surfaces

Instructions

1. Work on fine motor skills. One way to do that is to strengthen hand and finger muscles. Clay, squeeze balls, wind-up toys, lacing beads and sorting toys can all help to improve these skills while the child is having fun.

2. Use finger paints before requiring a child with cerebral palsy to write with a pencil, crayon or marker. This will improve her coordination and fine motor skills, as well as teach her the movements necessary to form letters and numbers.

3. Provide an angled writing surface. Sometimes easels or desks that allow the writing surface to be adjusted at various angles will help the child stay comfortable and focused.

4. Purchase other adaptive writing equipment. In addition to angled desks, several types of writing tools are available that will help the student with a physical disability. Pencil grips and weighted pencils and handi-writers (soft elastic looped around the writing utensil and wrist that keeps the utensil in the appropriate space of the hand) make holding the pencil easier. Adaptive writing paper that is color-coded, sticky or rough on one side or has larger lined areas is another type of relatively inexpensive tool.

5. Keep writing sessions short. Do not force a kid with cerebral palsy to write for too long. Muscles will tire quickly. According to Jerome C. Yanoff, author of "The Classroom Teacher's Inclusion Handbook" (Arthur Coyle Press, 2007), writing sessions should be kept short for students with disabilities, and many breaks should be provided in between such demanding physical activities.

6. Enroll in occupational and physical therapy programs. The therapist will be a valuable asset for children with cerebral palsy. He will provide additional support to parents and teachers who are working with the physically disabled and help with the handwriting as well as other physical challenges these children inevitably face on a daily basis.

Tips & Warnings

• Always consult the family physician before making changes in physical exercise and development of children with cerebral palsy, and to obtain more tips and information on improving fine motor skills.