WORLD OF LEARNING: FINE MOTOR SKILLS

"Watch How You Hold That Crayon" The New York Times 2/24/10

Interesting to find this in the Times' Fashion and Style section (rather than Education). I guess it is "trendy" for parents to look for occupational therapists to help strengthen their kids' fine motor skills. With less emphasis on letter formation and handwriting in schools, that would make sense. In my own practice, I have seen a lot more kids who are seeing OTs, and I have integrated Handwriting Without Tears into more of my own work.

There is not a lot of research on the subject, but beyond the inherent value in being able to write legibly, I believe there is a connection between using your hand to write and learning to read. Virginia Berninger and Beverly Wolf back me up in their recent Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.