BY CHRIS PURGATORI, MOT, OTRL
Occupational Therapist

Handwriting is a fundamental skill that can directly affect a child’s academic success. Yet, many young children struggle to learn letter formation and continue to have trouble producing age-appropriate writing as they progress through school.

Spending time learning the individual stroke sequences of each letter is imperative. If a child doesn’t have a clear mental picture of how each letter looks, they will have trouble reproducing it from memory.

Here are the recommended steps for young children who are just beginning to write:

• Help your child identify uppercase and lowercase letters. Then compare and match the uppercase and lowercase versions of each letter.
• Have the child trace letters to help them understand the strokes.
• Demonstrate the correct stroke sequence of a letter, then ask the child to imitate you by producing the same letter.
• Ask the child to independently reproduce the letter with correct stroke formation from memory.
• To avoid confusion, children should learn how to write all uppercase letters first before moving to lowercase letters. Repetition is key: be sure the child practices each letter’s formation again and again.
• Once the basics are mastered, be sure to monitor handwriting as the child progresses through school.

Here are a few signs parents should look for that may indicate their child is struggling: Illegible handwriting; fluctuation in the size of letters; unfinished words or sentences; poor pencil grip; poor body position while writing; inability to write for very long due to writing pressure; difficulty organizing ideas on paper; avoidance of writing, leading to anxiety and/or emotional outbursts.

The answer might be as simple as providing a pencil grip for more control, or paper with more space between the lines. If the child still struggles, check with your child’s teacher for further suggestions and consider a visit to a pediatrician to rule out any visual-motor challenges. A professional who specializes in handwriting, such as an occupational therapist, could also help. At the Kaufman Children’s Center, we use tools such as the developmentally based Handwriting Without Tears program, which offers multi-sensory teaching methods and is fun to learn.

If you notice your child is having trouble writing, it is important to take action. When children are able to write letters easily and clearly, they can spend more time focusing on the message they wish to convey.

BY ALBIONA RAKIPI, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist

As a speech-language pathologist who works with young children, I can tell you that one of the best ways to ensure successful therapy is to discover what motivates the child: toys, treats and activities they love that can be used to encourage them to give their all in sessions.

This method is used across the board in our speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and applied behavior analysis (ABA) autism programs.

Discovering the right encouragement for each child takes time, effort and planning. We begin by building trust and trying to figure out their likes and dislikes. Depending on the child, this could take a few sessions, and input from parents can help us better understand who the child is and what motivates them.

Developing a bond and winning the child’s trust is important. They have to know that when you place a demand on them, they will be positively reinforced with one of their highly preferred items or activities. When a difficult task is paired with something the child enjoys, the task itself becomes a positive experience.

Parents can reinforce this positivity by promising something special if the child works hard in therapy. Be sure to communicate this with your therapist, so you’re all on the same page.

Once you discover how to motivate the child, it’s important to keep them motivated by making them feel successful. If every demand we place on a child is difficult, their motivation will decrease. Challenging tasks help move them forward in therapy, but mixing in activities that are easier helps give them frequent feelings of achievement.

Praise is so important! We make sure children know how pleased and excited we are about all their hard work. Children will often match the energy level of the adult they’re working with, so it’s important that we remain enthusiastic.

If you’re able to observe, be sure to compliment them on something specific they did during the session, such as, “I like the way you said ‘open’ when you wanted the box opened.”

Therapy should feel and look fun. Children should feel challenged, successful and reinforced with some of their favorite things. When you discover new and interesting things that motivate your child, don’t hesitate to share them with your therapist.

BY KERRY PETERSON, MA, CCC-SLP, BCBA
Speech-Language Pathologist
Board-Certified Behavior Analyst

The type of cup your young child drinks from can have a big impact on the development and function of their lips, teeth, tongue, and jaw — and ultimately their speech.

Speech-language pathologists often see children with developmental delays who are drinking from bottles or sippy cups instead of open cups way beyond an age that is recommended. This may be because the parents or the child have difficulty with change. It may seem silly to change something that seems to be working.

Transitioning from bottle to cup (and especially the right cup) is an important developmental step for feeding and for supporting the development of speech. Continuing to drink from a bottle or a sippy cup can have a long-term negative impact on a child’s speech development and the health of their teeth.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children transition from a bottle to a cup by 12 months and completely eliminate bottle drinking by 18 months of age. This is to ensure they transition from an immature to mature swallow pattern.

Without getting too technical, a more mature swallow pattern is important for having the tongue stabilize and rest in the best position in the mouth and allows the tip of the tongue to move and lift easily to contact the bumpy ridge on the roof of the mouth behind the teeth. The tongue needs to be fully inside the mouth at rest and for all speech sounds. Tongue tip elevation requires the mid-tongue be stable within the mouth in order move independently for letter sounds such as t, d and n.

The longer a child continues an immature sucking/swallowing pattern the more likely they may develop speech sound errors.

SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• The best cups are those with straws or recessed lids, or with open tops. Balance straw cups with open-topped cups as often as possible.
• The worst cups for speech development are those with bottle-like nipples for kids past 12 months, or those with hard, firm spouts.
• It is important that children only use their lips to draw up the liquid and not their tongues. If your child’s tongue is under the straw and thrusting forward with a suckling-like movement, cut the straw to a shorter length or eliminate straw drinking completely.
• Don’t be surprised if you get a little resistance when changing up your child’s cup. Be patient, set clear expectations, and know your child will benefit in the long run by transitioning to better drinking options.
• Don’t hesitate to contact a speech-language pathologist for guidance.

Nancy Kaufman's K-SLP treatment materials began with the Kaufman Speech Praxis Test, which helps SLPs determine which vowels, consonants, and syllable shapes are within the child’s repertoire, and to provide a systematic plan of care.

The additional materials help those with childhood apraxia of speech combine vowels and consonants to form the simple syllable shapes, progress on to more complex words, and to combine words to formulate expressive language for effective vocal/verbal communication.

K-SLP materials are sold online by Northern Speech Services. Click on a product below to learn more, watch instructional videos, and purchase.