Hand writing tutor

[Gill123789]

Hello,

Looking to see if anyone can help/point me in the right direction.

My son is 5 and due to start primary school in August. He is left handed and struggles with holding a pencil, we have the little aids we put on his pencils which help a bit. I suspect he has Dysphasia - he struggles with fine motor skills and has always been really clumsy.

We are working on trying to help him with his hand writing, but he is really struggling. I’ve had a look online and see you can get tutors for handwriting - I cannot however, find anything near to where we stay central Scotland - I’m wondering if anyone here knows of anyone in central Scotland who offers tutoring for kids hand writing?

Sorry can't help with the tutor but this book works well.
https://amzn.eu/d/bLaqQA7
Also look at core strength (climbing, sit ups) as that will impact on writing

I assume you mean dyspraxia? There’s nothing a tutor could do that you couldn’t though. And he won’t be expected to be able to write in primary 1. Focus on mark making - stick in sand, painting, big chunky felt tips, making tiny balls with modelling clay etc all help develop fine motor skills.

Yes. This. Don't try to make him write yet just do exercises (play) to strengthen his wrist and hands and develop fine motor control. Remember the bones in his wrist won't be fully developed until he's 7.

My DS struggled with handwriting a lot when he started Reception, also a leftie. His teacher told us to do lots of things like lego and play doh to strengthen the muscles in his hands. His handwriting is fine now (age 6).

It really is too early to be worrying about his handwriting. Many kids in Reception don’t know one end of a pencil from another! He needs to do lots of fine and gross motor skills activities - threading beads, playing with Lego, finger painting, practicing with scissors etc. here’s some more ideas.
https://napacenter.org/fine-motor-activities/

I’d recommended you look for an Occupational Therapy assessment rather than a handwriting tutor.

It's much too soon for that at an age when children aren't even expected to have lovely handwriting anyway.

Exactly. He needs to do lots of fine motor skills in his play. Threading, play doh, puzzles, using tweezers, picking things up with his fingers and moving them to a container, planting seeds, paper weaving, drawing and colouring.

Definitely see an occupational therapist before you look at a handwriting tutor and also look up dysgraphia and see if it fits.

DS 13 still writes like a 4 yr old because of dysgraphia. He’s dexterous, incredible with screwdriver, soldering irons and other fine work but his brain just can’t do writing.

I'd say it's too soon for anything like that, at only 5 it is very common. Keep an eye on it and keep developing his fine motor skills for now and then see an OT if he continues to struggle.

It’s not too soon, I suggested an OT assessment and not a therapy block to work on handwriting.

He’s 5 and OP has concerns around difficulties grasping a pencil, fine motor skills and by the sounds of it motor coordination and gross motor skills.

OT can advise OP where he’s at and how to support the development of age appropriate skills which do include pencil grasp and pre writing skills. Can also advise on what will help with being left handed (the world and classrooms are still often not set up for left handers).

DCD/dyspraxia can be assessed for from 5 (which is what I think you mean by dysphasia OP) if it’s appropriate.

I am a children’s OT. I can make far more of a difference to a child’s handwriting by working on underlying skills at 5 than to an older child.

Early intervention (to work on age and developmentally appropriate skills) is always best and OP knows her child best so if she’s concerned there’s probably something that her child would benefit from some support with.

Play doh gym. Strengthen his hands. Lots of drawing. Maybe get some small construction kits. Get him to perfect writing his name.

I agree OT assessment
Fubnky finger work rather than pencil holding skills. He also needs really good core strength so lots of parks and soft plays.

Thanks for this advice. Yes sorry, I did mean dyspraxia. He was born prematurely (26weeks) and was under OT/Physio but was discharged from them at 2. He is still under Neurodevelopment and has yearly check ins.

There are lots of little things that on their own aren’t a big deal, but it felt like a breakthrough when I came across “Dyspraxia” - all the symptoms described him exactly. Prior to this I had even started to suspect he may have a very very mild cerebral palsy - I just couldn’t put my finger on it, but when I read about Dyspraxia it all fell into place.

We have him at various clubs - football and taekwondo in particular are where I started to notice he struggles with coordination - he copes far better with swimming and gymnastics.

Along with the difficult he has holding a pencil, he tip toe walks often, struggles to balance even for a few seconds on one leg, struggles putting shoes on (non lace shoes), generally very clumsy.

The writing/pencil holding are my main concern because it’s a life skill, I just don’t want him to struggle/feel left behind when he starts school. If he’s a bit clumsy/not the best at sports it’s not the end of the world, but certainly for his school years, he will need to write daily.

I do take your advice and will try and work on his fine motor skills outwith writing and call my GP and ask for a OT referral.

I’m sure that in 2026 holding a pen is a major life skill.

Sorry? I don’t understand?

As PP said, the goal now isn't writing and pen, the goal is coordination, strengthening and relaxing the fine motorics and grip.

If not writing or drawing, maybe modeling, tieing knots, screwing amd unscrewing, some finger games, "bathing" his hand in sand/small pieces, anything he might enjoy.

He’s five. I have an older child with dysgraphia (which might make more sense than dyspraxia for your child) and handwriting is painful and slow but something they manage in their own time.

You run the risk of ruining any fun or enjoyment your child has with learning.

Most adults record informational digitally. I would saying typing is more of a life skill than writing.

And? Fully developed fine motor skills are needed full stop. Activities requiring fine motor skills include writing and typing, but are not limited to just those. Development of fine motor skills enables development of those activities and a whole heap of others besides.

I agree with previous posters about working on hand strength rather than handwriting per se. The gross motor skills lead into the fine motor skills, so big arm movements and upper body strength is important too. We do doh disco at our school to help with hand strength. But yes if overall motor skills are a problem OT sounds like a plan. Are they in any childcare, do they have any concerns?

I never said they weren’t but this child is 5 and doesn’t need a handwriting tutor. If you read my posts you will see I suggested doing funky finger activities and seeing an OT.

Just focus on general fine motor skills and give him opportunities to use his left hand in pre-writing activities - chalkboard and chalking on the pavement, painting, writing on fogged up windows, etc. Fine motor skills can be improved with wooden blocks, magnatiles, Lego, play doh (both hands only and using play doh tools), popper toys, threading beads onto pipe cleaners, Lite Brite toy - really anything that requires coordination, pinching thumb and first magnates, to hold an object and place it carefully.

If you can get an OT assessment, I'd do that too.