ABSTRACT
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 690 Background ..................................................................................................................... 691
Postural Stability .......................................................................................................... 691 Hand Mobility ............................................................................................................... 692 Hand Dominance ......................................................................................................... 694 Visual Skills and Writing ............................................................................................... 695 Gripping Skills .............................................................................................................. 696
Index Grip ................................................................................................................ 696 “Locked” Grip with Thumb Wrap ............................................................................. 697 “Locked” Grip with Thumb Tuck .............................................................................. 698 Lateral Pinch Grip .................................................................................................... 699 Quadrupod Grip: Static to Dynamic ......................................................................... 699 Tripod Grip: Static to Dynamic ................................................................................. 700 Adapted Tripod Grip ................................................................................................ 700
Indication for a Specialized Hand Skills Evaluation ..................................................... 701 Developing Mature Writing Grip ...................................................................................... 701
Readiness .................................................................................................................... 701 What Is a Mature Writing Grip? .................................................................................... 701
The Challenges of Handwriting Ergonomics ................................................................... 704 Postural Stability and Control ....................................................................................... 704 Writing Readiness ........................................................................................................ 707 Efficient Grips .............................................................................................................. 708 Paper and Writing Tools Selection ............................................................................... 711 Management of the Writing Paper ............................................................................... 712 Furniture Design .......................................................................................................... 712
Implementing a Kinesthetic Writing Program .................................................................. 714
Instructor’s Guide ........................................................................................................ 714 Student Motor Learning ............................................................................................... 715
Summary ......................................................................................................................... 716 Appendix A: Writing Problem Indicators ......................................................................... 717 Appendix B: Glossary ..................................................................................................... 718 References ...................................................................................................................... 720
INTRODUCTION
Many of us take children’s ability to learn handwriting for granted. Yet handwriting is physically and intellectually demanding. So demanding that between 10% and 20% of school-age children find it difficult to write (Hamstra et al., 1993).
