About 'Help With Handwriting'
The knowledge and resources to improve handwriting and cursive writing for kids
My name is Sheilagh. I’m a TES award nominated UK based children’s Occupational Therapist. I have over 20 years experience in helping parents and schools improve children’s handwriting. I’ve written a few best selling books and spoken at leading seminars including TES Sen Show, OT Show and many more.
Help with Handwriting is a place where I share my knowledge and resources with you on anything and everything to do with handwriting. The reason why I do this is that I want to make handwriting easy and fun for everyone – even those who say that they hate it!
I became an Occupational Therapist in 1996 and I have never looked back. Before then I was a graphic designer and I think this is what makes me different. Today, I still use my problem solving and creative skills. However, I do this in a way that helps others to achieve their true potential.
Occupational therapy is about helping people to lead independent lives. Sometimes children need a little extra ‘je ne sais quoi’ to help them reach developmental milestones. I have seen children who have struggled to write and I’ve helped them win school story writing competitions. And I’ve seen how by just changing the style of a pen I have increased a child’s handwriting speed by a whole year group.
Why Choose Me
One to One Service
For those who need more than excellent handwriting worksheets, I offer services ranging from Skype sessions to home visits, to handwriting training for schools.
Qualified to help
I have a MSc, BSc OT (Hons) degree with over 20 years experience. As an Occupational Therapist, I am registered with the HCPC. I’m a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the National Handwriting Association.
Fair Prices
My prices are both fair and affordable. They range from just £13.75 to join my Get Set Write handwriting club, to £750 for a handwriting training course for teachers.
Award Winning
Nominated for the TES
Bev Evans Resource Author of the Year 2017. Featured in the Good School Guide, TES Special Educational Needs Show & more. I’m also the author of two books, one of which is a best seller.
Why Parents and Teachers Choose Me
Most parents and teachers who consult occupational therapists know of a child that has a handwriting problem. Often it is possible for them to tell what the difficulty is but not how to solve it.
Occupational therapy is a medical profession that uses scientific knowledge to identify the reasons why age expected skills are not being reached. We do this by looking at everyday activities e.g. handwriting. Identifying what developmental level a child is working at, before saying what area can be improved.
The aim of occupational therapy is to enable and to empower children to achieve their functional best both at home and at school.
It is possible to treat a wide variety of difficulties and thus improve handwriting. These include helping determine a preferred hand dominance, showing them how to form letters, improving letter legibility, teaching how to use spaces between words, how to write on the line and how to write at speed.
Treating almost any handwriting problem
As an Occupational Therapist with over 20 years of experience, I am able to assess and treat almost any handwriting problem.
These include:
- Awkward pencil grip
- Slow writer
- Writing letters back to front
- Reducing large letter size
- Providing support for extra time and support in exams via Access Arrangements
- Become neater in handwriting
- Gain in confidence and self-esteem when writing
- Not to have messy work
- Not rushing to write
- Poor letter formation
- Letters floating above the line
- Not to write words with a mixture of capitals and small letters
- Generally improve handwriting
Services for Parents, Teachers, Therapists and Training Providers
I can help improve handwriting in a number of different ways for different groups of people. To keep things easy to understand I’ve split my services into groups, click the button (below) that best describes you.