Everyday Hero Kids Professional Spotlight — Kids & Handwriting
Carol Peachey-Hill @Hand Print Kids — carol@handprintkids.com
Meet & connect with Carol on Everyday Heroes Kids — https://www.ehkidshealth.com/user/2NMhhaVGHdI7GdECuCNM
As a paediatric occupational therapist, I help kids develop fine motor skills, write, type and use technology to express their ideas. I launched Hand Print Kids during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide online occupational therapy for school-aged kids. I was inspired to make therapy more accessible for families, regardless of their postal code within Ontario. One parent told me that she set aside dedicated days to travel 1.5 hours to meet specialists and therapists. For her, Telepractice means less travel, stress, cost, and risk to her immunocompromised child. Many families rely on a multidisciplinary team to support their child. More than ever, we need to help families find the support they need. I joined the Everyday Heroes Kids (EHK) community to be a part of the team of paediatric professionals. The EHK community helps connect families to paediatric professionals and organizations in health, mental health and education.
`The kids and families I work with are Everyday Heroes’
The kids I work with…
· remind me of the importance of play, imagination, mastery, and freedom to choose
· inspire me to be flexible, creative, spontaneous, and genuine
· persevere, try new activities, practice skills that are difficult to do, like to have fun, and teach me something new every day
The caregivers I work with are…
· strong advocates, strengths-finders, collaborators, problem-solvers, cheerleaders, sacrificial, and quite literally my ‘hands’ during virtual therapy
Evidence-Based Research Guides Therapy
I consider the child’s strengths and challenges, and evidence-based research to customize individual therapy sessions. I strive to find the “just-right challenge” to guide my choice of activities that are not too easy or difficult and can be modified virtually. Therapy sessions are interactive and playful for the child.
Research Says…
Telepractice may be an option for your child
· Telepractice has the potential to deliver intervention to increased number of families and to address gaps in service delivery from early intervention to early childhood (17)
· Parent-mediated and parent-coached therapy at home can improve a child’s attitude and participation in literacy activities (i.e., reading and writing) and handwriting skills (5, 13)
Fine motor skills are foundational
· Elementary-school kids spend 60% of their time doing fine motor skills each day (3)
· Fine motor skills are needed for handwriting, and are a predictor of reading, math and science (6, 11, 16)
Handwriting is still relevant
· Elementary-school kids spend 18% of their time handwriting each day (3)
· Handwriting is a key skill for kids to learn in school and to transition throughout life (7, 11)
Some kids struggle with handwriting
· 25% of kids experience handwriting difficulties (1, 2, 8)
· Adolescents who struggle with handwriting (i.e., legibility and speed) are at risk of low grades and academic difficulties (7, 16)
Handwriting instruction and practice is fundamental
· Elementary-school kids do better when handwriting is explicitly taught (4)
· Handwriting instruction and practice improves legibility, quality of writing, and fluency of writing (15)
· Writing letters promotes letter recognition (4; 19) and reading performance (10)
· Kids who struggle with handwriting may need more practice outside of school (3)
Typing and technology can help
· Kids in grade four spend 14% of their time using technology each day (3)
· Typing can help students with fine motor and handwriting difficulties (14)
· Typing can help students with a specific learning disability in reading or writing (18)
Typing instruction and practice is important
· Explicit typing instruction and practice promotes proficiency and typing speed (18)
· Using an alphabetical sequence and multisensory method of naming letters while typing helps kids memorize the position of keys, and make a link between the letter name and the finger movements(9)
· Typing offers a new opportunity to learn to spell with your fingers (9)
Read & Write Google promotes literacy and written output
· Students who use Read & Write Google show improvements in reading (66%), writing (13.7%), enjoyment, confidence, and engagement of literacy, and expression of ideas (12)
To learn more about OT services @ Hand Print Kids, please visit…
my website at https://www.handprintkids.com/
my Everyday Heroes Kids profile at https://www.ehkidshealth.com/user/2NMhhaVGHdI7GdECuCNM
my welcome video at Hand Print Kids
https://www.facebook.com/carolhandprintkids/videos/666360037588444
To book an OT assessment @ Hand Print Kids, please contact me…
or
519–835–8725
I look forward to connecting with you!
Carol Peachey-Hill, B. Sc., B. HSc.,OT Reg. (Ont.)
References
1. Asselborn T., Chapatte, M, & Dillenbourg, P. (2020). Extending the Spectrum of Dysgraphia: A Data Driven Strategy to Estimate Handwriting Quality. Sci Rep 10, 3140. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60011-8
2. Bolton, T, Stevenson, B, Janesm W, Fancher, H, Bartolacci, O, & Anderson, M. (2020). Interrater Reliability and Internal Consistency of the Just Write! Functional Handwriting Assessment. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(4). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO2114
3. Caramia, S., Gill, A., Ohl, A., & Schelly, D. (2020). Fine Motor Activities in Elementary School Children: A Replication Study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(2), 7402345010p1–7402345010p7.
4. Fancher, L. A., Priestley-Hopkins, D. A., & Jeffries, L. M. (2018). Handwriting Acquisition and Intervention: A Systematic Review. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 11(4), 454–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2018.1534634
5. Grajo, L, Candler, C, & Sarafian, A, (2020). Interventions within the scope of occupational therapy to improve children’s academic participation: a systematic review. American Journal of occupational therapy, 74(2). 7402170020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.742001
6. Grissmer, D., Grimm, K. J. Aiyer, S. M., Murrah, W. M. & Steele, J. S. (2010). Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: two new school readiness indicators. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1008–17. doi: 10.1037/a0020104
7. Hen-Herbst, L. (2018). Dysgraphia among adolescents: what do we know about their body function, activity and participation characteristics? American Journal of occupational therapy, 72 (4). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S1-PO2001
8. Kadar, M., Yunus, F., Tan, E., Chui Chui, S., Razaob, N., & Kasim, D. (2019). A systematic review of occupational therapy intervention for handwriting skills in 4–6-year-old children. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 67(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12626
9. King, D. (2005). Writing Skills. Keyboarding skills. Educators Publishing Services.
10. Malpique, A. A., Pino-Pasternak, D., & Roberto, M. S. (2020). Writing and reading performance in Year 1 Australian classrooms: Associations with handwriting automaticity and writing instruction. Reading and Writing, 33(3), 783–805. 10.1007/s11145–019–09994-z
11. Peplaski, C, Hight, J, and Rushing-Carr, C. (2019). Effects of occupation-based interventions versus handwriting interventions on children’s handwriting: a pilot study. American Journal of occupational therapy, 73 (4). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73S1-PO2036
12. Playfoot, J. & Clarke, L. (2018). The Impact of Read & Write on Learner Achievement: An Evaluation Study.https://www.texthelp.com/en-gb/what-we-do/efficacy-impact-studies/the-impact-of-read-write-on-learner-achievement/
13. Poole, C. (2019). Collaborative parent coaching: an alternative handwriting intervention model for kindergarten students, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(4). 7311520417 https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73S1-PO3034
14. Rosenberg, T and Weintraub, N (2020). Reliability and Preliminary Outcomes of a Protocol for Selection of Test Accommodations for Higher Education Students With Dysgraphia: A Pilot Study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74 (4): 7404205080 https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.039826
15. Santangelo, T. & Graham, S. A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of Handwriting Instruction. Educ Psychol Rev (2016) 28: 225. doi:10.1007/s10648–015–9335–1
16. Schneider, M, Myers, C, Morgan-Daniel, J, and Shechtman (2019). A scoping review of the relationship between grass in handwriting performance in school age children, American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2019; 73(4) https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73S1-PO4018
17. Wallisch, A., Little, L., Pope, E., & Dunn, W. (2019). Parent Perspectives of an Occupational Therapy Telehealth Intervention. International Journal of Telerehabilitation. Spring, 11(1): 15–22. doi: 10.5195/ijt.2019.6274
18. Weigelt-Marom, H., & Weintraub, N. (2018). Keyboarding versus handwriting speed of higher education students with and without learning disabilities: Does touch-typing assist in narrowing the gap. Computers& Education, 117, 132–140. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.10.008
19. Zemlock, D., Vinci-Booher,S., & James, K. H. (2018). Visual–motor symbol production facilitates letter recognition in young children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 31(6), 1255–1271.
