Orthography, Handwriting Legibility and OT! (New Handwriting Legibility Workbook)!

If I asked you what makes handwriting readable, what would you say? 

Writing on the line? 
Recognisable letters?
Spacing between letters?
Spacing between words? 

Would you include punctuation? Capitalisation? Spelling?

As an OT, we are often asked about functional handwriting.  What does that really mean? 

It can mean scribble on the page for a toddler. 
Writing one's own name for a child who is learning their own identity. 
It can mean completing a form so that the letters stay in the small boxes provided.
It can mean keeping up with classmates to write a story of suitable length and within a set time frame.
It can mean taking notes while the teacher is explaining new information. 
It can mean writing adequately under exam pressures.  

There is lot of literature that report higher grades for students who have more readable writing.  But what about the early years when a child is learning to hand write? Is it important?

What is "orthography" and why do we need to know about it?

Mathwin, K., Chapparo, C., & Challita, J. (2024) define orthography to encompass all features children learn when writing sentences by hand.  They include adherences to the rules for the correct use of the symbols (alphabet-letters) so that others can read and understand the writer's message.  These rules include:

• visual shape
• placement
• spelling
• word break
• the conventions of punctuation and capitalization

Orthrographic representation of letter(s) requires knowledge of the alphabet (ie. letter recognition for upper and lower case, letter name, sound-letter representations).  There is value in having alphabet knowledge prior to handwriting, integrating phonics instruction with handwriting, including spelling instruction with handwriting, using multisensory strategies and in using cognitive strategies (mental practice, self monitoring, self evaluation).  

Handwriting is cognitively demanding!

Cognitive load theory (CLT) provides a framework and information processing theory of the cognitive demands during classroom writing tasks and includes intrinsic CL (task complexity), extraneous CL (instructional design) and germane CL (motivation and mental effort required by the learner).  When the cognitive load is too high, the ability to access and add information to long term memory is compromised.  (Sweller, Ayres & Kaluga, 2011 cited in Staats, Oakley & Marais, 2019).

Handwriting requires the retrieval of orthograhic representations from long term memory, holding the information in working memory, applying the motor plan, establishing the size and placement of the letter and then doing the actual handwriting.  There is a hierarchy of handwriting tasks which can affect legibility. Pairwise comparison of writing tasks with differing cognitive loads for the same student can reveal potential challenges so this is useful as part of a handwriting assessment. 

Automatic access to  organised schemas can be developed wtih deliberate practice, allowing working memory to be accessed for understanding and learning new information. 

"Automaticity" refers to the effortless execution and absence of conscious awareness in teh component skills necessary to free up cognitive resources for higher-order process (Malpique, A. A., Valcan, D., Pino-Pasternak, D., Ledger, S. & KelsoMarsh, B. (2023).
​ 
Poor legibility reflects a lack of automaticity (Fogel, Rosenblum, Barnett, 2022). 

Limited handwriting automaticity constrains focus on other complex aspects of writing (eg. ideation and word selection) and can predict writing performance (Malpique, A., Pino-Pasternack, D., Ledger, S., Valcan, D., Asil, M. (2024).

What are the practical implications for OTs and others supporting children with handwriting?!

Occupational therapy intervention has traditonally worked on many aspects of handwriting, integrating fine motor skills, visual motor integration, motor planning, multi-sensory strategies with cognitive strategies.  Executive functioning skills are promoted including self evaluation and monitoring.   Phonics and spelling instructions are often referred to our speech therapist and teacher colleagues. 

​A "just right challenge" of cognitive load can help to maintain legibility when a student is learning to handwrite (Stats, Oakley & Marais, 2019). Copying is less cognitive demanding that dictation which in turn is less demanding than composition.  This heirarchy can be considered when assisting a student to maintain legibility.  Occupational therapists also consider the prompt hierarchy for levels of support. 

There is value in teaching subsets of handwriting legibility to match their cognitive load capacity.  Here are a couple more suggestions.
Top Tip Handwriting: Bump the line!
Handwriting Size and Spacing
​
At the end of this article, I have listed the references used.  This is not a systematic review of the literacture and presents a quick overview of this topic. ​

Introducing “Legibility Legends”-  a series of handwriting books created to focus on key aspects of legible writing, including staying on the writing line, using correct spacing between letters and words, recognising letter sizes, and applying capital letters and punctuation correctly. Friendly legends such as robots and unicorns guide children through these skills. Each book also includes a progress record sheet, handwriting checklists, and a range of multi-sensory and guided activities.

In this NEW book "Unicorns are Neat", join unicorns Lucy (who loves lines), Sofia ("Don't skip Letter sizes."), Cupcake ("Capital letters count!"), Pippa ("Punctuation Please") and Sweetheart ("Don't be a space invader.") as they help your children with neat writing through a series of guided activities

The workbook contains:

• Handwriting legibility progress sheet
• One page “Unicorns are Neat Checklist”
• Eight desk sized “Unicorns are Neat Checklists”
• Over 100 pages of guided activities (writing, cutting)
• Multisensory strategies
• NSW foundation font

114 pages

INTRODUCTORY OFFER INCLUDES FREE COPY OF "ROBOTS ROCK WRITING"!
Please note: Robots Rock Writing has been updated with corrections and new activities after being first published in 2024 (an increase from 76  to 114 pages).

Offer ends 1st December 2025. No need for a code, simply purchase "Unicorns are Neat" for both products. 

Unicorns are Neat Handwriting Legibility Workbook

Until next time, 
​

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
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Reference List:
Fogel Y, Rosenblum S, Barnett AL. Handwriting legibility across different writing tasks in school-aged children. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2022;35(1):44-51. doi:10.1177/15691861221075709

Malpique, A. A., Valcan, D., Pino-Pasternak, D., Ledger, S. & KelsoMarsh, B. (2023). Shaping young children's handwriting and keyboarding performance: Individual and contextual-level factors. Issues in Educational Research, 33(4), 1441-1460. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/malpique.pdf

Malpique, A., Pino-Pasternak, D., Ledger, S., Valcan, D., & Asil, M. (2024). The effects of automaticity in paper and keyboard-based text composing: An exploratory study. Computers and Composition, 72, 102848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2024.102848

Mathwin, K., Chapparo, C., & Challita, J. (2024). Handwriting accuracy of beginning writers and its impact on the readability of their sentences. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 18(1), 59–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2024.2315582

Staats, C., Oakley, G. & Marais, I. (2019). A legibility scale for early primary handwriting: Authentic task and cognitive load influences. Issues in Educational Research, 29(2), 537-561. http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/staats.pdf​

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