Writing Difficulties Are Almost Never About Writing
Writing challenges are about underlying developmental skills that haven’t fully formed yet, like:
✅ Whole-body coordination
✅ Core stability
✅ Sensory processing
✅ Motor planning
Be More Cat: The Value of Cozy Spaces
Just like our feline friends, children often benefit from having cozy spaces where they can retreat, reset, or simply feel contained.
More or Less Sensory Input?
But remember: sensory processing is not static. Children can fluctuate between needing more and less, and many have what we call mixed responsiveness.
Why More Writing Practice Isn’t the Answer (and What Actually Helps)
Writing difficulties aren’t about willpower. They’re not a behaviour problem.
They are neurological.
They reflect how your child’s brain and body are wired ……. their sensory processing, coordination, motor planning, regulation, and how all of that fits together.
Why Your Child’s Writing Isn’t Improving (Even After All That Practice)
Writing isn’t just a cognitive skill.
It’s a complex coordination of multiple systems and it builds in a specific sequence.
At the base of this developmental pyramid is sensory processing. From there, each layer supports the next.
Does Your Child Hate Writing? Here’s Why (and How to Help)
Most parents think it’s a pencil grip issue or just lack of practice.
But writing struggles often have nothing to do with the hand.
The truth is, if your child avoids writing, the problem usually runs much deeper. And the solution isn’t “more handwriting practice.”
How This Child Gained Confidence in Writing — A Holistic Approach for Struggling Kids
Parents often wonder if progress in movement and coordination relates to writing and the answer is YES!
When we build foundational skills, the ripple effect reaches beyond just writing.
This child didn’t gain writing confidence by being pushed to write.
They gained it by becoming stronger, more aware of their body, and more regulated; and the writing followed.
5 Tips to Help Left-Handers with Writing
Kids who are left-handed can sometimes take extra time to develop their hand dominance. It’s important kids can use both hands together so that their dominant hand is for moving and controlling the pencil and their opposite or non-dominant helping hand is for holding the paper.
Do Pencil Grips Help with Writing?
Using a pencil grasp requires strength and coordination on the child’s part and is ultimately, an exercise in itself.
Kids first need to develop sensory processing, core strength and fine motor skills for pencil control or to more comfortably use the grip.
Benefits of Yoga for Children in Occupational Therapy
Breathing alongside movements encourages children to breathe while moving (many children who are weak tend to hold their breath while doing motor tasks as they are using their diaphragm, a breathing muscle, to hold their body versus to breathe)