Clinic
Does the Handwriting Clinic accept payment from my medical insurance?
Sorry, we do not file or accept medical insurance (this keeps our cost down significantly and most insurance companies do not reimburse for handwriting issues anyway).
How do I know if my child has a problem?
If your child is having difficulty with written assignments in school, or if their handwriting is difficult to read, they may have a problem. Contact the clinic to discuss any fine motor and handwriting clinic challenges.
How much does the Handwriting Clinic charge for sessions?
Refer to the brochure for current rates.
If my child has Occupational Therapy in the school system, why should I consider private therapy?
Many children need private therapy in addition to school based, educational therapy. At The Handwriting Clinic, the foremost goal is to augment or work towards the goals that your school based therapist recommends. The Handwriting Clinic can provide intervention so that a student can progress at a much quicker rate. Students also progress faster when there is a strong home program and parental involvement. In a school system, occupational therapists must integrate therapy within the educational setting, oftentimes with the result being that the teacher carries out the intervention. This is appropriate for many students and occupational therapy IS a vital related service to the school. But just like some children need tutoring even through their teacher is exceptional, many children need private intervention, even though their school based therapist is exceptional. At The Handwriting Clinic, students receive home programs, parent education, and therapy goals that are designed to be met quickly.
Is an assessment required before taking any of the classes?
Children who struggle with handwriting from Kindergarten up through higher grades, would benefit from a handwriting assessment prior to starting therapy. Children can attend classes without an assessment unless there is a specific disability, where it would be important to do an assessment first to develop goals and objectives.
My child learns handwriting in school, why do I need the Handwriting Clinic?
Children who struggle with handwriting from Kindergarten up through higher grades, would benefit from a handwriting assessment prior to starting therapy. Children can attend classes without an assessment unless there is a specific disability, where it would be important to do an assessment first to develop goals and objectives.
What is an assessment?
An assessment is an evaluation performed by a licensed Occupational Therapist that provides a written list of your child’s handwriting issues, and a set of recommendations on how to address the issues.
What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive Technology is the use of technology (computer software or devices, adaptations) to help students function within the classroom setting.
What type of handwriting does the Handwriting Clinic teach?
It is the belief of the clinic that students who struggle with handwriting do best with regular print instead of D’Nealian print, so regular print is the foundation of the print class. However, for students K and above parents have a choice of “Block” or “Snail Tails” handwriting. If you child does D’Nealian handwriting at school, we will teach your child to put tails on the letter. We teach “Block” to to all preschool children. All our handwriting is geared to closely match the standard school curriculum, except that ours employs proactive strategies.
Why was the Handwriting Clinic founded?
The Handwriting Clinic was founded to provide therapy in fine motor and pre-handwriting development. For pre-school children, the program is designed to prevent problems and achieve Kindergarten readiness. For older children the program is designed to correct current handwriting problems, and prevent future problems. The Handwriting Clinic also sponsors workshops presented by leaders on Occupational Therapy services related to Fine Motor Skills, Handwriting and Assistive Technology.
First Strokes
How can I order the First Strokes Handwriting Programs?
The First Strokes program can be ordered from the Products section of The Handwriting Clinic website. Select “Products” from the pencil menu at the top
How does First Strokes compare to Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) by Jan Olsen?
Similarities:
- Both are multi-sensory
- Both are therapeutic handwriting programs
- Both are popular with schools
- Both are easy to understand
Differences:
- FS Print immediately generalizes to Zaner -Bloser paper and then other forms of paper
- FS Cursive immediately generalizes to cursive ruled notebook paper, then regular notebook paper
- First Strokes is based on the “First Stroke” of the letter – therefore it is better for students who do frequent letter reversals
- First Strokes Print has a computer tutorial – and once the kids learn the “First Stroke”, they can be talked through any letter. They also learn that a “short line down” letter starts on the middle divider, as “tall line down” letter starts on the top line
- First Strokes gives cognitive cues in letter groups/categories
- First Strokes has a story book, in color, and also the storybook is narrated on the computer
- The entire philosophy of First Strokes is multi-sensory handwriting. While HWT has some slates and the “wipe, dry, try ” method is an excellent multi-sensory activity, the First Strokes program has a zillion creative multi-sensory methods outlined in the manual – designed to use during therapy, or to be set up in a writing lab where a teacher can use it for students who struggle.
- HWT uses an adapted paper – 2 lines, and some teachers are not too fond of having to adapt handwriting to the 2 lines – they want the kids to be able to use regular paper, the lines in the curriculum (worksheets, books, etc..). Experience at The Handwriting Clinic has shown that kids who have moderate to mild handwriting dysfunction can generalize to regular paper – usually very quickly or at least by the end of an 8 or 16 week class. The First Strokes manual give lots of good info about generalizing to regular paper.
Is there a First Strokes program for cursive handwriting?
Yes, we have the First Strokes Cursive program. It is very comprehensive.
What are Site Licenses?
The First Strokes Workbooks may not be copied without a site license. Site Licenses may be purchased for a moderate price, see the price list for current prices. Site Licenses are good for one (1) year or 100 copies, which ever occurs first. At the end of the year (or after 100 copies) the license must be renewed.
You may also purchase classroom or multi-packs of workbooks at a discount off the single book price. You will find that our workbooks may be slightly more expensive then other popular programs. However, our workbooks often include both upper and lower case sections. Most of ours contain twice as many pages as most popular therapeutic programs.
What is the First Strokes Print Program?
The First Strokes Print Program is a multi-sensory print program designed for pre-K through 1st grade children. The program is designed to be fun for children, and provides a way for parents, teachers, and others to effectively communicate and measure progress. We have the One-Hour-to-Legibility for students 2nd grade and above, who need help in print legibility.
What is the relationship to The Handwriting Clinic?
The Handwriting Clinic in Plano, Texas sponsors the First Strokes Handwriting Workshops, as well as other quality inservices related to fine motor skills, handwriting and assistive technology