Tips to manage Hand Writing Issues in students

Being stuck while others are writing too fast is a frustrating experience for any student. All of us might have faced this at one or other phase of education, while most of us would have managed well. However, this is not the case always as a very few kids struggle to get pass the bad and slow writing. Many students perform so well in all areas of academics but their hand writing allowed them only half the way through their final board exams. There is nothing more frustrating than this and the results at the end, a nightmare Handwriting is a very progressive skill as it takes a lot of time to train the coordination between our brain and hands. It is an ability developed by constant training, positive attitude, and interest. Let us look into the basic concepts of handwriting skills, problems and how to manage them with some easy tips and tricks. Role of our body and brain in hand writing Our brain is a lot more important organ than any other body part while learning to write. It assembles the information in a way meaningful way while receiving a lot of information from the outside. A healthy brain along with ears, eyes can quickly grasp the information to pass it to the central nervous system. Our brain also controls thoughts, memory, speech, movement of muscles, and the function of many organs within our body. All these together play a vital role in handwriting. Bad handwriting is not a serious issue until the child progresses to grade 4 or 5 because, even the normal under-fives generally struggle to hit the bars. However, on the biological basis, if the handwriting problems persist beyond the grade 2 is the initial sign of the issue. Some children might be poor in learning writing skills because of motor deficit, general health issues, ADHD, memory issues, and some specific behavioral disorders. Dyspraxia and dysgraphia can make it difficult - and sometimes even painful - to write by hand. Tips to improve handwriting 1. Be aware of limits It is important to understand the individual differences before forcing a child to learn writing or in fact any other skill. Parents must never compare kids with siblings or any other children, this can make things worse rather than doing good. Some children are naturally slow, in such case, allow some time to pick up as this can give some freedom of expression in children. Any medical conditions and serious mental illnesses to be traced at the earliest. 2. Diagnose the situation Poor hand writing itself is not a problem, rather it is the inclusive phenomenon affected by other ailments. Children suffering from abuse, malnutrition and some chronic or acute medical illnesses can have serious negative impact on their handwriting. Some common medical illnesses that affect academics need to be excluded at the earliest. An extensive range of health conditions may impact on students’ performance and the same can also affect writing. These conditions include asthma, chronic malnutrition, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, kidney disorders, cystic fibrosis, and cancer. 3. Improve the general coordination Writing is a neuromuscular activity which needs some cogeneration from muscles and brain. Children with stiffness in the neck, wrist and fingers need some regular interventions. Flexing the muscles of neck and hand every 15 minutes improves writing. A child can bend the fingertips down to touch the base of each finger joint which makes his hand look a little like a claw. This must be held for 30 to 60 seconds and release. 4-5 cycles every 2 hours once can relax muscles. 4. Train fine motor gripping skills. As a student, he must learn to hold the pen or pencil in a way that’s comfortable him. In addition, writing can often become Scribbling due to a bad writing instrument. It is good to choose the one that is comfortable and easy to grip, while it must also release ink in a smooth manner so that it shouldn’t cause pain while writing. 5. Maintain a good posture A good posture with the feet resting flat on the floor, while hips and lower back supported by the chair is a great way. Simultaneously, the knees should be flexed to 90˚ while the elbows are slightly flexed. The forearms must be adequately rested on the desk`s surface.