Special
Education Services
Plano Independent School District
Posture and Stability
Look at
correct sitting posture and appropriate chair and table heights.
A child’s feet should be flat on the floor and the desktop
should be 2 inches
above the bent elbow. Use the
90 - 90 - 90 rule. Ankles, hips, and knees should be bent
to a 90-degree angle
for appropriate sitting posture. If table
is too high, elbows will be up and out to sides. If table is too low,
the child will slump in their chair or rest their head on their
hand.Use footstool
to support feet if the child’s feet do not rest flat on the floor.
Allow students to
work in various positions other than seated (standing at a vertical
surface, lying on the floor propped on elbows).
Do warm-up activities
to provide kinesthetic input to large
and small muscles groups. -
Jumping jacks
-
Dancing Finger songs
-
Simon Says at a quick pace
-
Donkey kicks or animal walks Back to Top
Working
on a vertical surface promotes the wrist extension and shoulder stability
necessary for control of the fine movements involved in writing.
When working on
a vertical surface, paper or work should be positioned just above eye
level.
Examples of ways
to incorporate vertical surfaces into your classroom:
Let the children
write/draw on easels, white boards and/or chalkboards.
Desktop slant boards
can be used for individual work at the desk.
You can also place
a 4-5 inch empty 3-ring binder on the desk for incline. Position the binder
with the rings toward the top of the desk and the slant toward the child.
Then rotate the binder to a 45-degree angle. Consult with your occupational
therapist on any questions you may have.
Have your students
draw or write on paper taped to the wall.
For
younger students:
Place a Magna Doodle
in a vertical position so theeraser side is at the top.
When using pegboards,
mount them to the wall with Velcro just above eye level.
Use magnetic letters/shapes
on the chalkboard or side of a metal cabinet.
When using flannel
boards, make sure they are just above eye level. Back
to Top
There
are two types of grasps: efficient and
inefficient. An efficient
grasp the pencil is held between the pads of the thumb
and index finger while resting on the middle finger. An acceptable variation
of this is when the pencil is held between the pads of the thumb and index/middle
fingers while resting on the ring
finger. If a child
is using an efficient grasp, their thumb and index finger should form
a circular shape.
An inefficient
grasp can include any of the following: fisted grasp, pencil held between
the pads of the thumb and all four fingers, thumb
wrapped over the top of the index and middle fingers, thumb tucked
under the index finger,
the hand held in a thumb down
position, index and middle fingers wrapped around the pencil,
or thumb pressing the pencil into the side of the index finger
(thumb and index do not form a circular shape). See Quick
Fixes for ideas on ways to promote an efficient pencil grasp.
Back to Top Paper
slant
To best
align paper, have student clasp hands in front of him/her and
lay them on the desk. Their arms and bottom edge of desktop should form
a triangle. The paper should be aligned parallel to the arm
of the dominant hand. The paper should be at an approximate 45-degree
angle.
The non-dominant hand should be used at all times to stabilize the paper.
Back to Top
The following are various methods used to facilitate learning of proper letter, number and shape formation.
Air writing (visual/kinesthesia)
- draw shapes or write letters with large arm movements with and without
vision.
Mystery writing
(visual/kinesthesia) - the teacher or peer moves the student’s hand
to form shapes or letters on blackboard or in the air and student
guesses what was drawn.
Rainbow writing
(motor memory/visual) - trace over shapes/letters or numbers several
times with different colors (crayons/markers on paper or chalk
on board)
Tactile writing (proprioceptive/tactile/kinesthesia) - trace shapes,
letters, or numbers on carpet square, sandpaper, shaving cream, window
screens, foil, finger paints, sand, pudding, Cool Whip, etc.
Vibrating pen (proprioceptive/kinesthesia)
- practice shapes or letters while getting good sensory feedback.
Constructional writing proprioceptive/kinesthesia/tactile) -
construct basic
lines/shapes on a color board or flannel board using Wikki
Stix, play dough, pre-cut flannel pieces, etc.
Use plant sprayer
to spray water on the side of a building or on the sidewalk to practice
drawing shapes, letters, and numbers. Back
to Top
Use pencil
grips on pencils to teach and practice correct finger placement: The
Pencil Grip or Stetro Grip
Have student
hold a novelty eraser tucked under the ring and little fingers while
writing, cutting, drawing or using manipulatives. This promotes
the use of the thumb, middle and index finger for skilled movement
and the ring and little fingers to support the hand.
Sharpen or break pencils down to about 2 inches in length to encourage
efficient pencil grasp and better control of the pencil.
lace Cylindrical
Foam sleeves that are approximately an inch long on writing utensils
to increase the diameter and promote proper
finger placement.
Use large/chubby
writing utensils such as large sidewalk chalk broken into 2-inch pieces,
Jumbo Crayons broken into two inch pieces, or Sure
Grip Crayo
Use masking
tape outline on the desktop to indicate how paper should be slanted.
If the student writes with too much pressure on the pencil, have him/her
write with a 0.5 lead mechanical pencil and/or have him/her
write with their paper on a carpet square or placemat.
These techniques will teach a student how to vary the pressure used on the pencil to avoid breaking the lead or putting holes in the paper
If a
student writes with a “hooked wrist”, have them do written work on
a vertical surface just above eye level.
Back to Top
Plano Independent
School District
Department of Special Education Services
2700 W. 15th Street
Plano, Texas 75075-7543
469-752-8240
Lisa Long, Director of Special Education Services
Comments or suggestions