Handwriting is a universal symbol of language used to communicate information and is learned usually in childhood. Learning to write legibly is an intricate & complex process involving an integration of linguistic, cognitive, perceptual & motor abilities. This skill is rarely if ever spontaneously acquired & it usually takes some time to perfect.

Children who are unable to master handwriting skills, often experience difficulty in academic performance. Typical handwriting problems present as an illegible script, avoidance of writing due to the strenuous effort to produce text, lack of automaticity of handwriting & inability to keep pace with written schoolwork. Children with poor handwriting may focus more on the mechanical aspect of writing thus compromising on the attention paid to the content of information. Teachers may interpret this as an indicator of non-compliance or poor cognitive abilities of the child. Lowered self-esteem, frustration or academic failure can result from any problems associated with poor handwriting.

Occupational therapist frequently assesses children who are experiencing problems with handwriting. The occupational therapist analyses handwriting difficulty with respect to its sensorimotor & perceptual cognitive components. Also determine which environmental variables may be affecting performance in the classroom.

Once these factors are identified, the therapist then designs a program of activities to improve those components, which appear delayed & seem to be interfering with handwriting skill. As these components improve, the therapist will help the child to generalize these skills to handwriting performance. Thus allowing the child to fulfill a major age appropriate occupational need.