Can anything to be done to improve handwriting?!

[domesticnoir]

DD has fairly appalling handwriting. Her school didn't think it was a problem for GCSES and tbf, DD did very well in her exams regardless, so that's okay...but after looking at an old essay where she couldn't read her own writing 😂 she's asked the school if she can use a laptop for A-level essays/exams, and they've agreed.

She's academic, thinking about Oxbridge etc, but I think that there will be times in the future where she's still required to handwrite. I don't think laptop use is allowed - either for entrance exams (if she does them), or exams once there, if she gets in. So I'm wondering if there might be a way to keep her handwriting ticking over a bit in the meantime, or ideally even improve it?! Any ideas?

Yes I believe so, with some OT. My DD had some OT input for other skills (cutlery and laces).

@UnbeatenMum - thank you...by OT do you mean Occupational Therapy? With my DD it's not dyspraxia or anything, just bad handwriting. Plus she's 16 so I'm not sure this is something we'd qualify for?

Yes, Occupational Therapy. My DD was assessed for dyspraxia (DCD) but didn't meet the threshold but she was still offered some input on the NHS. You could try an NHS referral or just see a private one if you don't have more general concerns. But even with 'just' handwriting issues I don't think there would be any harm having a full assessment to work out what the cause is.

Op my hand writing is shocking and I’ve got a degree and a masters. It’s a very common theme in my family unfortunately. If she writes in cursive, try getting her to right in single letters, this is often clearer but more time consuming. And to be honest, depending on her career choices, she may never need to write a huge amount. Voice to text software has come on HUGELY since I did my degree so I recon she will be fine

Does she suffer from myopia?
According to a friend pediatrician it’s quite common to write tiny short letters like o/a/e and spindly tall letters like l/t if you’re short sighted.
DC1 was pulled up on it in first year of secondary when a test was given back with 0% as unmarkable.
They soon developed “test style” handwriting and very elegant it is, too!

Practice!! These books are good but assuming no physical impairments she just needs to put in the time. Probably from Book D onwards if she can write but is just messy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09L6MF7GG?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_awt_sb_pc_tpbk

Can she practice not joining her letters? Ds has started doing this and his writing has gone from illegible to beautiful! It took some time though!

Any change she is hypermobile? My son is hypermobile and his handwriting is poor as he can’t really grip the pen properly.

This is very true in my family, triangular pen grips help for most of us.

Why don’t you think she’d be able to type university essays? Of course she will - she’ll be expected to - they have to go through plagiarism software.

In-person exams will obviously be written.

When I started Univerisity one of the lecturers advised us to abandoned cursive and focus on block writing. He suggested rewriting the notes we took in lectures (probably showing my age!). Having a notebook that we wrote things like shopping list/random tips we came across/book/tv shows we might be interested in in block writing. By the time exams came around it was habit. My handwriting was perfectly clear on the exam paper. Still use block rather than cursive writing to this day.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I don't think it's an issue with eyesight or hypermobility - but might see if a different pen grip helps. She does write joined-up already, it's just not good - and I think changing to printing single letters would be difficult to adjust to for exams, where time is of the essence!

@tichy - at uni of course she'll be able to submit typed coursework, but it's the timed exams I'm worried about. I think - unlike A-levels where if the school allows a laptop if deemed necessary - during those, one has to handwrite?

Literally just practice.

I would strongly recommend trying some different pens. My DS has tiny scrawly handwriting but before GCSE exams we tried lots of different pens and found it made a huge difference. It’s not just grip but thickness of nib, how quickly ink dried (to avoid smudging) etc

A uni will also make adjustments if needed

And approach a private OT for assessment.

Right or left handed? There are a few extra steps for lefties as they have the added challenge of smudging.

Either way, getting a bunch of different pens is always worthwhile, along with a good paper. (You don’t get to choose the paper quality in exams but it helps for practice, and basically anything that helps the sensory experience will remove a barrier to practice.) The more a pen feels like an extension of your arm, the better. That won’t be instant, but some will feel better than others. Don’t waste any time with the ones that feel rubbish.

The most successful way to improve is one letter at a time. Doesn’t matter if you go in order or mix it up, but basically the first step is find the letter shape for each letter and repeat it hundreds of times. One letter a day is great for muscle memory, with a little review at the end of each session where you write all the letters you’ve done before, joining them together, just a few times. If there’s no visual cue there for what the letter shape should be, there are a few strategies. You can use a handwriting book, a font sampler, or look for examples from handwriting out in the world to just see what you like and then trace or mimic. (There’s a lot more freedom today in what is ‘good’ handwriting and essentially if it’s legible, it’s fine, so might as well model an example you like. Again removing a barrier really.)

Once you’ve been through the whole alphabet, then you start putting it into words. Doesn’t matter what words you’re using, so might as well double up the usefulness and do handwritten revision notes, make your own flashcards, etc. Part of the success path will be looking back at the handwritten notes and spotting what is looking good and what isn’t, then taking those letters back to the one letter a day step.

It’s old fashioned but it works, and I’ve used this pattern with all ages, from kids to pensioners, and the only times it hasn’t worked dramatically have been if someone gave up quickly or there was a secondary thing that we needed to go fix first - usually weak grip which at her age would be no problem to improve with a resistance ball/block to squeeze and release a lot, or shoulder pain that I would refer to physio or similar, and then come back to the steps when there’s no pain.

Good luck!

This may sound bizarre, but I found my writing was worse with a ballpoint/Biro and much better with a fountain pen (even a cheap Chinese one from eBay or Amazon).

I therefore wrote all my exams in fountain pen - GCSE’s, A Levels, Degree, Accountancy professional exams. Despite needing to refill pens from bottles of ink under time pressure, my writing was much more legible - so it worked for me.

We found STABILO Exam Grade - Ballpoint Pen helped they are very smooth actioned helped. You can also try various grips.

We've been trying since they were in primary to get improved handwriting by 16 they didn't want to do practise and in exams just wanted to write not try and print. We did all the excerises and did book of exerices with grip stengths - a slope did help DS massively but didn't want to use in secondary school.

There is dsypraxia - disputed by schools found by uni testing - and I belive likely hypermoblity in joints - they click out reguarly like mine do.

You could talk to the school SENCO see what steps are needed to allow accomodations in exams like laptops - gauge if that's possible in time you have before them.

We did write from the start books, Speed Up!: a Kinaesthetic Programme to Develop Fluent Handwriting, many excerises to improve muscle strength - and so many letter formation handbooks - even ones for teens and print handwirting for adults calligraphy ones - and many different types of pens and nibs.

You may have more luck if there's no underlying problems but we never managed to get any permanat improvement - but these pens made it easier and smoother to write so they get less tired so it's enough improvement to be helpful.

My DD is younger (12) but she has those exercise books that you write on to practise letters and sentences. Her writing has come on loads since using them. Also a pen that encourages proper holding. Simple, cheap and effective imo.

Added some pics so you can see what I'm talking about.

My left handed mum had very tight writing, apparently, when she changed schools in year 6. Her teacher made her write using three line spacings. Write on the middle line, upstrokes go through the top line and downstrokes to the bottom line. Capital letters used too and middle lines. It was just a matter then of training her muscles.

Dh, also left handed, also had remediation at the same age but I don’t know what technique was taught.

This isn't the case. My son will type his exams or write them on a tablet (maths) due to his needs.

Ask yourself if this is the most efficient use of her time - when she could just contact the university and ask about exam access arrangements and reasonable adjustments for exams.

Thank you so much everyone - such interesting and thoughtful advice, I'm really grateful for the input. I will try some of your suggestions and will report back in the future about what helped in case it's useful to anyone else! Many thanks again.

You want a triangular grip cartridge pen. Specifically this one Zieler Ergonomic Handwriting Rollerball Cartridge Pen (twin pack) Suitable for right & left handed use – Soft rubber ergonomic grip – Extra smooth medium-point 0.7mm nib – 2 ink cartridges https://amzn.eu/d/02gmuqcz

Also a writing sloping. Both of these will make the process more comfortable and smooth at little impact

Yy to double or triple line spacing. Especially on exam papers

Handwriting CAN be changed but you need to be at it every day. speed up program and learning hand/card magic do also help