Author: Mahera Kantawalla| July 23rd 2022
Often children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) display a lot of disinterest and lack of motivation when it comes to writing tasks, making it difficult to build competence in writing skills. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced when working with children on the spectrum is gaining and sustaining attention for a non-preferred task such as handwriting. Visual attention is one of several foundation skills we need to write.
Hence the first step to handwriting success in ASD is to start early and present it as a fun activity to spark the interest. Instead of jumping straight into teaching letter formations at ages 2 and 3, spend a lot of time just having fun with a whiteboard, colourful markers or chalks making some random scribbles and lines or drawing shapes and pictures of their interest to make it meaningful and interesting. Play and fun are the keys to progress. Avoid introducing pencil and paper or handwriting books till they show good and sustained visual attention for the pre-writing activities on the whiteboard.
In order to build the visual attention, present the whiteboard or paper at eye level on a vertical surface like a wall, leaving little opportunity for the eyes to wander. Allowing them to stand instead of sit also helps children visually attend better. You can make the activity more fun by playing upbeat music in the background or using a therapy ball as a seating option instead of a chair. Practice working on a lot of fun pre-writing skills like drawing and tracing lines, basic shapes or tracing hands using colourful glitters crayons or markers. Only after they show some mastery in their pre-writing strokes, should letter formations be introduced.
When teaching letter formations, keep the language consistent, simple and concrete. Only say what is necessary. Use simple and consistent verbal prompts. Since children with ASD are strong visual learners, use eye-catching visual cues (using a neon highlighter to get children to trace line strokes and letters), visual demonstration and multi-sensory methods to supplement verbal information with a visual image.
Remember, starting early at age 2 and focusing on building visual attention through fun pre-writing tasks before introducing the writing of letters and numbers using a pencil will provide your child with a very strong foundation upon which handwriting skills will build.
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