Handwriting in the news

Turning his spills into skills by Dr Jane Collins, The Times Paediatric Consultant. Times, Feb 28th 2004

I am concerned about my eight-year-old son. His handwriting is terrible, he is a messy eater and generally clumsy. He also finds it hard to concentrate. My GP and the school seem unable to help. Recently I read an article on dyspraxia and wonder whether this could be the cause of his problems. How can I find out more about this condition? Ms K. Walter, address supplied

Developmental dyspraxia, or developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), the preferred term used internationally, is recognised as a developmental difficulty of motor function. It used to be described as "clumsy child syndrome" but it is now realised that DCD is often more than an isolated motor problem and can be a feature of several conditions including ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), some disorders on the autistic spectrum, forms of language disorder and dyslexia.

A child with DCD has difficulty planning and organising smoothly co-ordinated movement but often has a mixture of any of the associated conditions mentioned above. The precise cause is not known and is probably multi-factorial with several genetic or environmental factors. It is not uncommon in children who were born prematurely or were of low birth weight. It is more common in boys. Unfortunately, DCD often goes unrecognised and children are labelled as being lazy, even though this condition affects between 5 and 6 per cent of children with normal intelligence
 

Please go to the Times Archive for the full article

Motor skills masterclass Daily Telegraph 11th October 2003 (you have to register to use the site)

Your son is bright, inquisitive, articulate. But, as his school career progresses, his teachers begin to notice that he struggles in certain things. Dyspraxia, once known as 'clumsy- child syndrome', often goes undiagnosed, says Kate Punwani

The handwriting on the wall is illegible, The Globe and the Mail, 18th October 2003

Poor penmanship is a real problem. In fact, in the case of doctors, it could be downright dangerous.

Another article that mentions the work of Kate Gladstone.

'Writing not on the wall for pencils' Cambridge Evening News; 28th March 2003

The world wide pencil manufacturing industry has, according to figures just released, reached a record production total of 15 million. The European Writing Instruments Manufacturers' association recorded a 12% increase in the production of black lead pencils between 2000 - 2001. The spread of literacy in developing counties does not fully explain the growth because sales in North America have risen too. This is the age of computer aided writing, tablet PCs and numerous other gismos. While personnel computer sales have slowed the little lead in a wooden case continues to go from strength to strength. The writer speculates that the pencils' success lies in the fact that it is "cheap, never crashes or runs out, works underwater or in outer space, needs no electricity and, above all gives you time to think while you write."

' If you ask me' The Guardian (Education supplement) 25th March 2003

The issue of equality in exams and the apparent unfairness experienced by some candidates with SEN continues to concern parents. One mother questioned why her 16 year old daughter, who has DCD/dyspraxia, only receives the standard 25% extra time allowance in exams when her writing speed is 10 wpm and the examination board at AQA calculates that the average speed at this age is 20 wpm.

Designers unleash radical rethink of school furniture The Guardian; 28th February 2003 and 'Furniture - Design Council' TES; 31st January 2003.

The TES reported that schools spent £94.2 million on furniture during1999-2000
representing almost 10% of the total equipment budget. A child spends approximately 15,000 hours of their school career, sitting down. Researchers at the University of Surrey's centre for health ergonomics estimate that around 40 % of children suffer back pain and that one of the causes is poor seating. The ubiquitous polypropylene chair has the advantages of being stackable and cheap (about £8 each) but the sloping seat certainly has an adverse effect on posture.

A report published by the Design Council last year, Kit for Purpose, found that much of the furniture bought by schools was "poorly designed, standardised and well behind adult workplaces." When the Furniture for the Future scheme was launched (a joint initiative between the Design Council and DfES) it was the first time in 50 years that that these issues have been addressed. The 3 finalists, selected from over 60 entrees, have been given 4 weeks, and awarded £20,000 each, to come up with a prototype for "beautiful and affordable" furniture.

'Left, write, left, write' The Independent, 4th November 2002.

The focus of the report was the imaginative work of NHAs Gwen Dornan at Putney Girls Junior School where she founded the 'South Paw' club (named after left-handed boxers) 11 years ago. She was concerned that the left-handers she taught would have more difficulty acquiring relaxed rhythmical handwriting but would not welcome extra help. Using a pencil is less challenging than using pen which must be held correctly to prevent smudging. It was noted again that children who fail to write fast and legibly are disadvantaged. The South Paw club only meets 3 or 4 times a year and is successful because children pick up tips from one another more readily than they do from teachers.

The Removal of the writing block, The Sunday Times, 27th October 2002. 

The article drew attention to the discrepancy between children's reading and writing abilities. SATs results for 11 year olds in 2002 show that approximately 50% of boys and 40% of girls fail to reach the average standard in writing, compared to a short fall of only 20% for both sexes, in the reading tests.

A former editor of this journal, Rhona Stainthorp, explained how the difficulty with writing stems from the complexity of the task which involves a combination of different skills, including the physical co-ordination required for handwriting. She emphasized the need for automaticity and how the component skills, such as joining up letters and spelling, need to be in place by 11 years. Creativity will suffer if the child has to focus on the mechanics of writing. As a group, reluctant writers lacking practice, will trail behind their more able class mates whose skills improve rapidly just because they write more.

Many children can read far better than they can write but a few simple tricks may help them improve, says Karen Gold

Twelve-year-old Claire Elliott owes her French penpal two letters. Her English homework is always skimpy and late, and her friends have given up e-mailing her because she never replies. Yet, according to her mother Megan, Claire is a voracious reader. She just hates writing.

A copywriter herself, Megan Elliott had assumed that all her children would learn to write as they had learnt to read, with relative ease. But as soon as Claire started school her writing seemed to be a problem. "Claire could never work out how to hold the pencil. Eventually, she ended up with this very tense, odd grip," says Megan.

"Every year at parent's evening I'd say, She still doesn't seem to be holding her pencil very well, and the teacher would say, No she doesn't, does she. We all left it, and now Claire is capable of writing, though in a rather stilted style. But she hates it. Which seems a terrible shame."

Please go to The Times Archive for the full article.

The French standard model of writing,  Independent Review, Monday 23rd September 2002.

This account discusses the reasons behind the French Education Ministry's plans to suggest a standard model of handwriting. The new simpler style of forming and joining letters will help future generations of French children to produce scripts that are not only similar but legible. Education minister, Jack Lang, "felt it was time France had a clearer; more businesslike handwriting for the 21st century." He organized a national competition and the two winning entrees were amalgamated to produce a less ornate script. The drawbacks of the traditional baroque handwriting style were noted; namely, loss of legibility at speed and the failure of some disadvantaged secondary students to write at all.

Written off', The Times, 26th September 2002.

The consequences of poor handwriting - low self esteem, poor exam results and an inability to express oneself were summarized in the first paragraph of this feature article. The activities of the Handwriting Interest Group were highlighted and reference was made to Beverly Scheib's role as Vice-Chairman. The experiences of children with handwriting difficulties and the tuition they received from Beverly at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre were reported in some detail. Beverly's ideas on ways to encourage pre-writing skills and the problems faced by left-handers were also mentioned.

Poor handwriting can lead to low self esteem and problems at school, reports Sally Morris

Doctors are so bad at it that they are the subject of corny jokes, but for many people poor handwriting is no laughing matter. Illegible scripts, slanting lines or just slow movement can mean poor results in examinations and lack of self-esteem, an inability or unwillingness to express oneself and even, in extreme cases, a personality disorder.

Michele Lyon of Guildford was shocked to receive a phone call from her daughter's school some years ago telling her that Georgina's teacher suspected that she had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) because she found it difficult to settle down to tasks or to concentrate.

Please go to The Times Archive for the full article

Back to Top