What are Pre-Writing Skills?
Pre-writing skills are the lines and strokes children need to know and master before they learn to write the alphabet. It is like an introduction to writing.
What are the Developmental Milestones for pre-Writing Skills?
The lines and strokes are developed in a sequence basing on how old the child is. The developmental sequence is shown down below:
What is the difference in “imitating” and “copying” in pre-writing development?
“Imitation” means that the child first watches a demonstration of how the shape or line is being formed and right after, they try to do what they just saw. While “Copying” means that the child simply shown a picture or a model of the shape and they reproduce it on their own without a demonstration. So, children imitate drawing shapes before they learn to copy them.
What are the skills needed for Pre-Writing?
- Fine Motor Skills – are skills that involve the use of the smaller muscles of the hands.
- Gross Motor Skills – are skills that involve the use of the large (Core stabilising) muscles of the body.
- Crossing the mid-line – The ability to cross the imaginary line running from a person’s nose to pelvis that divides the body into left and right sides.
- Hand Eye Coordination – The ability to process information received from the eyes to control, guide and direct the hands in the performance of a task such as handwriting.
- Bilateral Integration – Using two hands together with one hand leading.
- Visual Perception – The brain’s ability to interpret and make sense of visual images seen by the eyes, such as letters and numbers.
If you have noticed that your child is struggling with their pre-writing skills, keep in mind that children develop their skills at different rates. Every child is different so it will depend on the child, some may be earlier or some later. It is not necessary cause for concern but an occupational therapy assessment may be warranted. Happy Dots Occupational Therapy for Children offers a variety of different services which has 2 locations in Cardiff and Medowie. For enquiries and contact information please click here.
