Hi, I have been trying to remediate handwriting issues in the middle school population as well. I would agree with Michael that proximal stability is key. Using this principal in conjunction with some of the core concepts and astronaut protocol by Mary Kawar have also been useful in preping the ocular-vestibular systems and following through with functional tasks. I have had some progress with spacing and sizing difficulties. Using the visual therapy literature and Kawar's "Eye sight to insight" I try to move kids using scanning from peripheral to focal vision. You can also do this by practicing saccades and pursuits, or scanning, copying and visual discrimination tasks. A great web sight to look at is http://www.eyecansee.com , and www.abcjesuslovesme.com. They both have free printable visual/perception worksheets and games. Good luck.
Andrea Houtras, MS,OTR/L -----Original Message----- From: Michael Holmes <[email protected]> To: [email protected]. Sent: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 1:03 pm Subject: [OTlist] Evidence Just to interject about the handwriting requests. I remember a saying that, "Proximal stability allows distal control." Perhaps a fancy way of saying that scapular/shoulder weakness prevents a solid foundation for stability to allow greater fine motor control with the writing utensil. The joint laxity, poor endurance, poor posture, etc., are all things that contribute to poor penmanship. Sorry if this is redundant, but hopeful it helps. Michael Holmes OTR/L -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
