Handwriting Groups

Real Help With Handwriting      Individual Or Group Sessions

My son’s handwriting was very messy and his frustration in forming letters caused difficulties in school. After sessions at Sensational Kids, he is able to correctly form his words and he no longer gets poor marks in his schoolwork. The best result of his work with his therapist is his positive attitude towards writing. He is now proud to bring home his schoolwork and put it on the refrigerator.

My son used to avoid doing homework and all writing was such a struggle. After just a few sessions at Sensational Kids I could see a marked improvement in the quality of his writing as well as in his self confidence. He also became more willing to sit down to do written work and homework did not take so long anymore. Even my son’s teacher commented on his progress!

Parent from Mount Laurel, NJ

We have tried many things to improve my child’s writing. Finally, we found a place where the therapists are experienced, energetic and engaging. My child used to resist participating in therapy sessions before we found Sensational Kids. He now loves coming because his therapist knows just how to get him motivated.

Parent from Medford, NJ

 I used to not know how to help my child with writing, but his therapist made the complex understandable and showed me how!

·         Avoidance of pre-writing activities of pre-writing activities such  as scribbling, coloring, drawing	·         Difficulty holding a crayon, seemingly having difficulty how to plan movements.
·         Frustration / avoidance of handwriting, drawing or copying activities in class/at home.	·         Awkward or poor  pencil grasp, writes slowly ·         Holds pencil too tightly or too loosely
·         Difficulty forming, spacing, aligning letters and numbers	·         Quickly fatigues during writing/motor tasks. ·         Letter / number reversals
·         Excessive or insufficient pressure on pencil.	·         Poor word/sentence organization on the page
·         Difficulty remembering letters / numbers ·         Writes slowly, drops pencil frequently.	·         Omits letters or words when copying from the board or from the same page.

Handwriting is a complex task that requires more than just holding a pencil. It relies on sensory, motor, visual, perceptual and attention skills as well as on psychological factors including motivation. Educators and therapists agree that it is crucial to address handwriting issues as soon as detected. Children with handwriting difficulty often become frustrated with and avoid writing, which in turn often leads to academic difficulties and poor self-esteem.   

Utilizing proven methods / Keeping your child engaged:

Our group and individual handwriting sessions include engaging and interactive sessions for children from preschool through elementary school ages. We feature (amongst other programs) the critically acclaimed, award winning “Handwriting Without Tears” program, which is specifically designed to address reversals, legibility, speed and pencil grasp issues. Our developmentally appropriate sessions create participation and motivation by using specific games, movement, music and manipulatives, supportive to handwriting development. Children actually have fun learning how to write with us, instead of just using paper and pencil which frequently lead to frustration. We also use the researched “Interactive Metronome” program to improve underlying issues that might contribute to handwriting difficulties during individual sessions as appropriate. Sessions include therapist selected activities to develop physical, visual and movement awareness as well as fine motor skills supportive to the writing process. Our multi-sensory approach take in consideration the different Learning Styles of each child to maximize learning.   

Qualified Therapists with extensive experience in child and handwriting development:

Occupational Therapists specialize in analyzing important components to handwriting such as the bony structure of the hand, how muscles work together, brain processing of movements, vision, touch and the integration of these. Our therapists each have at least over a decade of experience in helping children with handwriting, attention, behavioral, motor, sensory, perceptual and vision issues, including children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Autism and Learning Disabilities. They regularly attended handwriting related seminars, specifically dealing with underlying causes and treatment of handwriting issues. These skills make our Occupational Therapists uniquely qualified to address handwriting and motor difficulties. We also offer consultations with your child’s school  to provide effective, practical classroom. 

                Facilitate your child's pre-handwriting skills using the acclaimed pre-writing development program "Handwriting Without Tears." This format uses creative teaching styles to allow your child to become aware of their body, build finger strength, dexterity, learn letter formation and identification, numbers and shapes. Children will be able to utilize "Handwriting Without Tears" materials and activites for practice in the group sessions, in addition to the home. Your child will learn various songs using tools to help build memory, forming and writing letters, numbers and shapes. Therapists will also utilize various sensory media to further build your child's individual handwriting needs. We also specialize in carrying over IEP / 504 Plan goals and objectives, provide parent feedback following each group and parents have the opportunity to consultwith our experienced Occupational Therapist.

If sitting down with your child and practicing is not working, contact us for an individual or group session at (856) 810 – 5777.