Advice and resources : Handwriting essentials
How can we help
Reversing letters and numbers in writing
Help with writing letters and numbers the wrong way round.
Learn moreHow can we help
Reversing letters and numbers in writing
Help with writing letters and numbers the wrong way round.
Learn moreHandwriting is a complex task which requires multiple skills. Some children and young people may need more support than others to develop handwriting skills. Have a look through the information on this page for some ways that you can help your child.
You can also view the full playlist on our YouTube channel.
What skills do we need for handwriting?
Posture and paper position
Sitting in a good, comfortable position with a stable base will help the child to concentrate and be able to control their pencil. It is also important to think about the positioning of the paper to make writing more comfortable.
If the child has poor core strength they may struggle, but core strengthening exercises should help.
Pencil grasp
Having a good pencil grasp helps the child to hold and move the pencil easily, with comfort, which will help them to make their writing easier to read. An inefficient grasp limits the movement of the pencil, making it hard for the child to write neatly, complete written work on time, and can cause tiredness and discomfort.
This video talks about functional and non-functional pencil grasp.
Pencil pressure
Some children may have difficulty knowing how much pressure to apply on the paper. They may apply too much force, causing pain and tiredness in the hands so it may take them longer to write. Or they may not apply enough force, making it hard to read their writing.
This video talks about pencil pressure and proprioceptive difficulties and the impact on handwriting.
Placement and letter formation
There are many strategies you can try with your child to help with legible letter formation, good alignment of letters and consistent spacing.
Alternatives to handwriting
Handwriting should not be discouraged as it is an important skill to learn. But for some children and young people it can help to find alternatives, especially if it is stopping them from achieving their academic potential or impacting their confidence.
This video talks about alternative methods of recording that you can trial.
Hand warm-up and theraputty exercises
Hand and theraputty exercises can be used by the child/ young person before writing or doing other fine motor activities such as cutting or drawing, to prepare the muscles of their hands. It can also help reduce pain or fatigue when writing.
Theraputty comes in various resistance or strengths, ranging from extra soft to hard. This can help to strengthen the muscles and provide sensory feedback to the hands.
Handwriting Essentials online workshop
Universal strategies to support handwriting development
Our Occupational Therapy team is pleased to offer this Handwriting Essentials workshop to offer strategies, practical advice and tips on how to support handwriting development in children and young people. These sessions are designed for parents and carers and those working within primary school age settings.
- Does your child find it hard to hold a pencil?
- Do they use too much or too little pressure?
- Do they have difficulty forming their letters correctly?
- Do they struggle to keep their letters on the lines?
There are no sessions booked in for 2026 at the moment. Please check later for new dates coming soon.
Important information about your personal data
When you visit the link for the training session, Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust will use the information you provide for service development purposes. Your email address will only be accessible to those Berkshire Healthcare staff involved in the delivery of the training.
Personal data will be deleted after the webinar, your information will not be shared with any third party and you will not be contacted by Berkshire Healthcare as a result of this training, unless safeguarding concerns arise from the session around your own, or your child’s wellbeing. If this is the case, data will be used to escalate appropriately to the safeguarding team.
Cameras and microphones will remain disabled throughout the session, however, please note that if you do not select ‘Join as a guest’ at the time of the training, your name will be visible to other attendees. Please select ‘Join as a guest’ when you enter and choose a name unrelated to you.
Resources
Find additional information, plus visual examples in our information sheet:
Handwriting Information Sheet
File size: 733KB