Poor penmanship?

Evening News photos by KIM BRENT

Adam Casto, 9, is having an easier time with schoolwork this year thanks to the handwriting clinic at Mercy Memorial's Rehabilitation Center. A fourth-grader at St. Michael Catholic School in Monroe, he no longer has to spend extra time re-doing homework that is illegible. Here is an early sample of Adam's handwriting. The instructor wrote the first example. Following are Adam's attempts. He had trouble completing his circles, so that "A's" looked like "U's." This caused him trouble on spelling tests.

Class shows youngsters how to improve poor handwriting

By CYNTHIA RAMNARACE
Evening News staff writer

Ask Adam Casto about how his handwriting used to be and he describes it in one word: sloppy.

The 9-year-old St. Michael Catholic School student was having trouble with his cursive. He didn't completely close his circles when forming the letter "O." He wasn't crossing his "Ts."

So when he took spelling tests, in his mind he might have spelled the word correctly. His mother, Kathy Casto, who had grown accustomed to his penmanship, could see he spelled it right. But as far as his teachers were concerned, it was illegible and wrong.

"He'd bring home papers and say the teacher couldn't read it," Mrs. Casto of Monroe said.

This problem with his handwriting extended beyond grades. It affected his confidence, Mrs. Casto said. He felt singled out as the kid with bad penmanship.

All that changed last year when Adam enrolled in a pilot program through Mercy Memorial Hospital's Rehabilitation Center. Therapists partnered with St. Michael's for the Handwriting Without Tears class. Letters were sent home to parents, asking if their children would be interested. Mrs. Casto talked with Adam about it and he was willing.

Handwriting Without Tears was such a success that a second session open to everyone will start this month. The program is a 30-minute one-on-one clinic held after school. Occupational therapist Joy Kaminski uses arts and crafts, block shapes and other fun activities to help children understand the mechanics of word construction. She teaches a simplified form of cursive for those who are struggling. She works with pencil grip, which if done wrong can make writing difficult.

Many times, the problems aren't obvious.

"A lot of other things can come into play," Ms. Kaminski said. "There can be too much distraction. Children are putting so much energy into forming letters that they can't concentrate on what's going on."

Mrs. Casto says Adam's block lettering was never perfect either, but when his class moved to cursive, things got really difficult. Teachers did not have the time to give Adam the individual, intensive attention he needed. Mrs. Casto tried to work with him at home, helping to build up his hand muscles by working on fine motor skills like picking up beads or threading a needle.

"He would always complain that his hands hurt, that he can't keep writing," Mrs. Casto said.

But the real change with Adam came after the six-week handwriting session. During her classes, Ms. Kaminski does an initial assessment where she asks students to write out the letters of the alphabet and numbers one to 10. She then evaluates their strengths and weaknesses.

For many children, letter formation is a problem. She uses a set of blocks made up of small lines, big lines, big curves and little curves. For instance, a capital E would use one big line and three little lines. A capital D would use one big line and one big curve. Breaking it down like this helps children understand each stroke required to form a word.

"You need to make it fun for them," Ms. Kaminski said. "They know they are here because their writing stinks. We want to make them want to do this at home."

Ms. Kaminski has worked with children ages 5 to 12. Older children can be more challenging.

"They come in and say, ‘I don't care what my handwriting looks like,' " Ms. Kaminski said. "I say that in junior high, your teachers won't be so lenient."

Poor handwriting is rarely a sign of a learning disability, Ms. Kaminski said. Some children just need individualized attention. But if the problem is caused by a larger deficiency, Ms. Kaminski has and will make a referral to the Monroe County Inter-mediate School District for an evaluation.

When Adam learned of the class, he was "real receptive to it," his mother says. It was so helpful, in fact, that he is considering signing up for a second session.

"He runs home and shows me his papers," Mrs. Casto said. "We've gone to an open house at the school and he had some papers hanging up. He was very proud of himself."

Class to start

The next session of Handwriting Without Tears will start Feb. 24 at Mercy Memorial Hospital's Rehabilitation Center, 650 Stewart Rd.

Students meet with an occupational therapist for 30 minutes once a week for six weeks. Cost is $130 and the program is not covered by insurance.

For more information, call 240-1950.