The start of October sees both Dyslexia Awareness Week and Dyspraxia Awareness Week take place, which aim to help raise awareness around the conditions and also raise serious issues of dyslexia and dyspraxia being overlooked within education.
As someone who has always advocated for all children to be effectively supported throughout their school career and life, the aims of these awareness events really resonate with me.
I have also had the pleasure of working alongside children, teenagers and adults with dyslexia and dyspraxia, helping to improve their handwriting and build their writing confidence.
So I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of my thoughts as we approach these awareness events.
‘It’s recommended that children learn to write using continuous cursive handwriting, so they don’t have to learn how to form letters twice when they need to write more quickly later on.’
This is a comment we have previously seen from a Special Needs Group and is something we wanted to address.
If I am able to achieve one thing during these awareness weeks, I want to share my knowledge to empower children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, by acknowledging their strengths and dispelling a myth about handwriting.
Special needs groups have encouraged children with dyslexia and dyspraxia to learn a continuous cursive style from the start of learning to write by hand, ‘so they don’t have to learn how to form letters twice when they need to write more quickly later on.’
This is a myth.
All children need to learn how to print using letter formation first, so they can develop strong foundations that they can build on.
I will be sharing why in my next blog, so make sure to keep an eye out on the Morrells Handwriting Blog to learn more.
If you have a child with dyslexia and/or dyspraxia who is struggling with handwriting, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be more than happy to discuss your concerns and issues.