Occupational Therapy in Charlotte

The iPad and other technology is making a huge impression on our children. Angry birds seems to be of particular interest with the kids at the South Charlotte office!

I recently purchased an iPAD and I am exploring the use of apps in treatment sessions. I am very interested in how to make handwriting fun. One of my current staples for letter formation is "Letter School". It's produced by Boreaal and their website is http://letterschool.com. I copied this image from their website to share with you.

Letter school offers uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. It includes Handwriting Without Tears® (HWT), D'Nealian and Zaner-Bloser style handwriting. I love that it offers HWT style letters which is what we often in occupational therapy interventions. It also provides consistent formation which is very important for kids who have a hard time with handwriting. The app requires proper sequencing of formation and progresses in independence with each letter.

On the first attempt, children are simply required to locate the starting points and the app shows them where the lines should be formed. The second attempt requires the child to complete the tracing, and reinforces the formation with visuals of trains, lights, or lawn mowers to name a few. On the third attempt, the child is required to form the letter without any visual cues. Once the child has mastered all of the letters, there is a second level with new visuals to provide practice.

I love this app because it is fun and accomplishes education on basic letter formation, while allowing the child to show off what they have learned!