The write start - Jennifer Hallissy 2010

From Scribbles to Script
Introduction

MY INTEREST IN TEACHING parents about writing-skill development started, like many things do, as a burning desire to solve a problem. As a young, go-getting occupational therapist, I consistently had a full caseload (and ever-growing waiting list) of children ranging in age from preschool to middle school. All of these children qualified for occupational therapy services, meaning that they demonstrated some measurable delay in their ability to perform age-appropriate developmental tasks. As a pediatric occupational therapist, it is my daily job to help kids master the skills they need to be successful at all of their daily jobs. To accomplish this, I do my best to combine everything I know about the science of child development with the art of creating the just-right activity for each child’s individual needs.

I was an itinerant therapist, which meant I traveled all around the neighborhood to see kids in their various environments, including home, school, and clinic settings. I had a car full of toys and tools, and lugged a giant tote full of gear into each appointment. The specific issues each child was experiencing varied. Yet one thing remained consistent across the board: every child I saw struggled with writing. Their teachers knew it, their parents knew it, and, most important, they knew it. From preschoolers who struggled to scribble, to middle schoolers who struggled with script, writing problems were plentiful. And although I loved every minute of working with these kids, a nagging question followed me to each stop. Why are there so many reluctant writers?

Every day as I worked, the question resurfaced. When it comes to teaching these kids to write, where have we gone wrong? Slowly but surely answers emerged. They showed up in the trunk of my car, in my tote, and in my treatment activities themselves. From preschoolers to preteens, all of my kids would consistently gravitate to the same stuff. How could that be? Despite my never-ending bag of tricks and all my cleverly conceived activities, reluctant writers of all ages continued to want (and need) to go back to the basics.

So with all of my reluctant writers, big and little, we went back to the foundation. Foundational skills, that is. Both young and not-so-young kids were on the same page with me as we revisited pre-writing skills. How to hold a pencil. How to sit upright in a chair. How to use one hand as a stabilizer while the other is at work. How to memorize the movements that make up each letter of the alphabet. We worked on hand strengthening, postural control, and eye-hand coordination. We even got down on the floor, crawling, to build shoulder stability, literally approaching the task of writing from the ground up.

And as we focused on the skills that support writing, a funny thing happened. My reluctant writers actually wanted to write. And, oh, the stories that came out! All of a sudden there were jokes and silly signs, letters to grandparents, love notes to Mom, diagrams for Daddy, and essays for school. When they began to crack the code of writing, it was as if they had gained a whole new voice, and a wealth of ideas to go along with it. Not to mention the confidence that comes along with mastery.

Now the concept of establishing a strong foundation was something I could really wrap my head around. As the daughter of an architect, this is something that was impressed upon me from a young age. I’ll never forget the day when my dad came to my kindergarten class for career day (wearing his hard hat and carrying a set of blueprints) and asked the class the all-important question, “What’s the first thing you need to build a house?” All of us wannabe builders promptly called out: “A hammer!” “Nails!” “Wood!” “Walls!” “Windows!” “A door!” “A roof!” But one boy sat quietly, hand raised high, and waited for my dad to call on him. “A hole,” he said with conviction. And although the children broke out in laughter, my father beamed. “Yes, John,” he nodded approvingly, “to build a house you must start with a hole.”

Child development is much like the house that emerges from the hole. Higher-level skills (like writing) need to be built on a strong foundation of basic skills. Lay the groundwork, and development can progress unencumbered. Proceed without proper support, however, and what follows will be shaky, at best.

Armed with this insight, it became my personal mission to catch kids before they fell. My goal was to spread the word to parents about writing development, starting with the foundational skills and working my way up. I led workshops, wrote handouts and newsletters, and provided parent consultations. As I now had children of my own, I was able to road test activities at home. Becoming a parent afforded me the additional insight that if something isn’t easy to incorporate into the daily routine, it won’t get done. So I learned how to serve up some writing readiness at mealtimes, pack it into car trips, tuck it into the bedtime routine, and wrap it up in holiday rituals. Because I am conscious of the developmental importance of writing, adding it to the daily grind has become second nature to me. And like most parents, I am juggling a lot. So I assure you, if I can do it with very little fuss, I know that you can too.