Watch How You Hold That Crayon

[thundley4]

NOAH LASCANO, 8, had a problem: His teachers couldn’t read his handwriting. His homework became a frustrating exercise in writing once, and then, at the teacher’s request, writing again, just for legibility.

His brother, James, 5, was struggling in kindergarten — even drawing stick figures was a task. When his mother, Paula Lascano, tried to cajole him into completing a few workbook assignments, he reported that “his hand got too tired.”

Like many parents, Ms. Lascano decided it was time for help, so 10 months ago she hired Casey Halper, a pediatric occupational therapist, to work first with James, and then with Noah, once a week. The boys manipulated stiff green putty, put pegs into boards, created chains of pennies and plastic connectors and wrote the alphabet — again and again.

These days, many little fingers are being drilled. Twenty-five years ago, pediatric occupational therapists primarily served children with severe disabilities like spina bifida, autism or cerebral palsy. Nowadays, these therapists are just as focused on helping children without obvious disabilities to hold a pencil.

In affluent neighborhoods in and around New York, occupational therapists have taken their place next to academic tutors, psychologists, private coaches and personal trainers — the army that often stands behind academically successful students.

NYTimes

Seriously? 

[Mike220]

You've got to be shitting me. 

Pathetic parents. Teach them yourselves. Between mom and teachers, I didn't need an OT to learn how to write.

[thundley4]

You've got to be shitting me. 

Pathetic parents. Teach them yourselves. Between mom and teachers, I didn't need an OT to learn how to write.

I think I learned to hold a pen, pencil by learning to color inside the lines before kindergarten .

[Mike220]

I think I learned to hold a pen, pencil by learning to color inside the lines before kindergarten .

Same here. Do they even make coloring books anymore? Or do people just give kids laptops now?

What amazes me is how few people can write cursive script anymore. I'm among the definite minority in any of my classes. Guess penmanship isn't important.

[IassaFTots]

Same here. Do they even make coloring books anymore? Or do people just give kids laptops now?

What amazes me is how few people can write cursive script anymore. I'm among the definite minority in any of my classes. Guess penmanship isn't important.

I bought some pretty nifty coloring books for my niece this year.  My penmanship sucks, but it ain't from lack of trying, I am left-handed. 

[longview]

Oh, heck yeah.  I'm an occupational therapist.

Kids don't learn to tie.  Velcro closures on shoes.  They don't button, zip, or belt up.  Living in sweats and tees.  Helping mom cook?  All the stirring, and cutting that can help build the intrinsic muscles?  Nope.  No one cooks like that anymore.  Same for cutting up paper, coloring, drawing, finger painting, creating little kingdoms outside.  None of that.

When they try to do something with those soft little hands, it hurts.

You can almost tell what kind of childhood someone has had by how they respond to some elementary school tasks.

[Alpha Mare]

What amazes me is how few people can write cursive script anymore. I'm among the definite minority in any of my classes. Guess penmanship isn't important.

I took my son to the high school gym to sign up for driver's ed. Lots of papers to fill out and sign. Out of the thirteen kids there, he was the only one who could sign his name in cursive, or even knew what it meant. The instructor gave up explaining and told the rest they could just print.  How sorry is that?

[Chris]

Writing is definitely one of those 'use it or lose it' skills.  It's been years since I had to do any serious writing... my penmanship is horrible. 

I do have a pretty snazzy signature, though.

[Splashdown]

I teach in a private, Catholic school. The handwriting I get on in-class essays is what you'd expect from a third or fourth grader when I was a kid.

[Alpha Mare]

I teach in a private, Catholic school. The handwriting I get on in-class essays is what you'd expect from a third or fourth grader when I was a kid.

I went to a private Catholic school. Let's just say the nuns 'encouraged' everyone to write legibly. If they couldn't read it, you kept writing until they could.

[Splashdown]

I went to a private Catholic school. Let's just say the nuns 'encouraged' everyone to write legibly. If they couldn't read it, you kept writing until they could.

I was trained under the "ahem" loving care of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Think Green Berets, only meaner.

[littlelamb]

Being a lefty myself I know how hard it was to master writting in cursive. I wonder if Alpha Mare teachers and my 3rd grade teacher were friends she was straight from hell

[Eupher]

Writing is definitely one of those 'use it or lose it' skills.  It's been years since I had to do any serious writing... my penmanship is horrible. 

I do have a pretty snazzy signature, though.

I've found that in that in the past several years, my penmanship style has changed. I used to write everything connected, as if cursive style. Now it's not so connected - for some unknown reason, I tend to break the connection and continue writing by physically lifting the pen off the paper. Bizarre to describe perhaps, but I'm wondering if anybody else in middle age has found that their penmanship has changed in some way.

[thundley4]

I've found that in that in the past several years, my penmanship style has changed. I used to write everything connected, as if cursive style. Now it's not so connected - for some unknown reason, I tend to break the connection and continue writing by physically lifting the pen off the paper. Bizarre to describe perhaps, but I'm wondering if anybody else in middle age has found that their penmanship has changed in some way.

When I have to write, it usually comes out as a mix of cursive and printing.

[DefiantSix]

I've found that in that in the past several years, my penmanship style has changed. I used to write everything connected, as if cursive style. Now it's not so connected - for some unknown reason, I tend to break the connection and continue writing by physically lifting the pen off the paper. Bizarre to describe perhaps, but I'm wondering if anybody else in middle age has found that their penmanship has changed in some way.

In my occupation - engineering background - 99% of everything written by hand is hand printed.  "My" cursive has adopted a lot of that as I've "matured".    At least it's readable, and it's left-handed, too.

[mamacags]

Some schools don't even bother to teach cursive anymore.  So in 20 years we will have a country of moron kids who can't even sign an autograph for being in the idiot hall of fame.