Handwriting: A Multisensory Approach

As children begin to learn handwriting, there are various complex factors that come into

play as this skill develops. Handwriting is a crucial skill for elementary education and allows

children to relay thoughts and information through written language. A multisensory approach to handwriting allows children a heightened sensory experience through the use of various mediums and tools to promote letter formation and motor memory of that formation.

Multisensory stimuli incorporate more than one sensory system at a time to process through

multiple channels and provide multiple means for children to learn the skills of handwriting. Multisensory approaches are fun and engaging for children while incorporating the foundation of skills needed to learn handwriting.

Ways to add a multi-sensory component to handwriting through visual, tactile, auditory, and

kinesthetic cues:

● Writing in various textures such as shaving cream, sand, gel, etc

● Using magic markers, chalk, paint, etc

● Writing on slanted or vertical surfaces

● Writing with verbal cues such as (line down, big curve, little curve, etc)

● Music or rhymes associated with letter formation

Woodward, S., & Swinth, Y. (2002). Multisensory Approach to Handwriting Remediation:

Perceptions of School-Based Occupational Therapists. The American Journal of Occupational

Therapy, 56(3), 305–312. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.56.3.305